Recent Articles from Emily Dings
Leidos lands $987M Air Force contract
Leidos has won an up to $987 million Air Force contract to provide sustainment support for F-16 Foreign Military Sales customers, the Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor announced Thursday. The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a supersonic multirole fighter aircraft used for air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. General Dynamics initially developed the F-16 before selling its […]
Dollar Tree makes interim CEO permanent
Dollar Tree’s interim CEO, Michael C. Creedon Jr., is now the Fortune 500 discount retailer’s permanent CEO. The Chesapeake company announced the board of directors’ appointment on Thursday. Creedon joined Dollar Tree in 2022 as chief operating officer and was appointed interim CEO in November, after former CEO Rick Dreiling stepped down, citing health problems. […]
World’s first commercial fusion power plant planned for Chesterfield
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a Massachusetts-based fusion energy company, plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. “It’s a nearly $3 billion capital investment, paying taxes, and it’s a bunch of really high-tech jobs,” Garrett Hart, Chesterfield’s director of economi[...]
NoVa, Hampton Roads housing markets improve in November
The Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads housing markets in November showed signs of improvement from the same month last year, including increased home sales and selling prices. Northern Virginia Home prices and sales activity in Northern Virginia rose year-over-year last month, indicating a healthier market than the November 2023 one. November housing sales in Northern […]
JMU receives $2.5M gift for new library wing
James Madison University has received a $2.5 million gift for the new wing of its Carrier Library. Alexandria residents Stan and Rosemary Jones provided the donation, which the Harrisonburg public university announced in late November. A 1954 physics and math alumnus of what was then Madison College, Stan worked for McLean-based Mitre as an engineer […]
Richmond’s Movieland at Boulevard Square to undergo $5M glow-up
Movieland at Boulevard Square, the city of Richmond’s only first-run movie theater, is undergoing approximately $5 million in renovations and upgrades. The project, which began in October and is expected to be completed in spring 2025, represents “the most extensive enhancements to the theater since it opened in 2009,” according to a Wednesday news release. […]
Developer plans $3B data center in Appomattox County
A Connecticut developer plans to build a $3 billion data center on a 452-acre site in Appomattox County. AVAIO Digital Partners announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the Appomattox County Economic Development Authority to purchase the industrial site. “This project in Appomattox County exemplifies our strategy of expanding Virginia’s thriving data center industry […]
As bitcoin breaches $100K, MicroStrategy holdings, Saylor’s wealth surge
MicroStrategy, the Tysons-based tech company chaired by bitcoin whale Michael Saylor, has pursued bitcoin as an investment strategy since 2020. Now, it appears to have paid off as bitcoin breached the $100,000 threshold. Bitcoin rose above $100,000 per coin Wednesday night, after previously breaching $99,000 on Nov. 21. At 11:45 a.m. Thursday, bitcoins were trading […]
FAA certification clears way for DroneUp to scale up
Virginia Beach-based drone delivery company DroneUp has received a Federal Aviation Administration certificate that will allow it to grow its delivery operations. On Tuesday, the company announcedi t received an FAA Part 119 air carrier certificate under Part 135. The certificate allows DroneUp to carry third-party property as an air carrier and to fly drones […]
BAE Systems wins up to $238M Navy ship repair contract
Falls Church-based federal contractor BAE Systems Inc. has won a Navy contract worth up to $238.8 million to maintain, modernize and repair a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. The Department of Defense announced the $212 million firm-fixed-price contract award, which has options that would bring its cumulative value to $238.8 million, to the U.S. […]
EO opens workforce development hub in Abingdon
A former Kmart in Abingdon is now home to a workforce development and child care hub launched by EO, a nonprofit that spun off from the United Way of Southwest Virginia to oversee workforce development programs. EO received the certificate of occupancy for the 87,000-square-foot Regional Workforce and Child Development Hub and began moving employees […]
Danville whitewater channel plans float forward
Future Olympian kayakers may one day practice their playboating in the Dan River while tourists marvel from shore. In the Virginia budget approved in May, lawmakers included $3 million for the City of Danville to develop the White Mill Whitewater Channel, which is being designed to lure both recreational paddlers and water rescue trainees. The […]
Big deals
These economic development announcements were some of the largest in Virginia for 2023 and the first half of 2024: CENTRAL VIRGINIA Chesterfield County: In April, the offices of U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan announced that Danish electrolyzer manufacturer Topsoe plans to build a $400 million manufacturing facility with […]
New River auto group divests two more dealerships
On July 15, New River Valley automobile dealer Gary Duncan sold his Christiansburg Honda and Hyundai dealerships to New River Valley-Owned Shelor Motor Mile. Duncan declined to provide financial details. Representatives from Shelor Motor Mile did not respond to requests for comment. The deal follows Duncan’s 2022 sale of his Roanoke-based Acura, Audi and BMW […]