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In terms of business activity and economic development wins, 2021 turned out to be a stellar year for the Shenandoah Valley. “We have exceeded what we anticipated from a business activity perspective,” says Jay Langston, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, which promotes economic development from Shenandoah County to Rockbridge County. “When government shut […]
Big bird
In August 2021, Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies, announced it will invest $300 million to establish a 325,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County, creating 376 full-time jobs. Just two months later, Tyson broke ground on the project at Cane Creek Centre, an industrial park just outside Danville that’s jointly owned […]
Making headway
Corporate investments are on the upswing in Southern Virginia, along with a desire to increase production, says Linda Green, executive director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance. “People have a lot of pent-up demand, and companies are responding to that,” she says. “We have lots of interest and activity.” Companies are choosing Southern Virginia for […]
Big deals
CENTRAL VIRGINIA Chesterfield County: Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, plans to invest $25 million to establish a 191,000-square-foot vehicle inspection and reconditioning facility in the county with the potential to create more than 400 jobs. The project, announced in 2019, was delayed by the pandemic but is back on track. […]
Norfolk ‘micro-school’ will prep kids for future work
Music superstar Pharrell Williams’ educational nonprofit, Yellow, will be opening a new, independent “micro-school” with a focus on STEM and workforce preparation this fall in Norfolk’s Ghent neighborhood. The school, Yellowhab, is intended to be the first of a network of small schools. “We want to add more schools in Hampton Roads and beyond,” says […]
Danville’s White Mill gets second chance
The $62.5 million, first-phase redevelopment of Danville’s White Mill into a mixed-use commercial and residential project on the Dan River marks a new beginning for the former textiles factory that was the most visible symbol of the city’s economic decline. “It has become an eyesore and a reminder of the loss of our major industries,” […]
Pittsylvania officials hope to spur brownfields development
Pittsylvania County’s growth trajectory received an added boost in May when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the county a $600,000 grant to conduct environmental due diligence on 18 brownfield sites in the county. Five of the sites are considered high priorities. They include the former Southside Manufacturing mill site in Blairs; Pat’s Place in […]
Turn up the volume
The Port of Virginia is benefiting from pent-up demand for goods, seeing a significant uptick in cargo volume since last fall, which translates into more work for truckers. The $800 million-plus investment made in the port’s Virginia International Gateway and Norfolk International Terminal has allowed more room for vessels, and “cargo is flowing really well,” […]
A jackpot for Danville?
The now-blighted property that was Dan River Mills when textile was king in the city of Danville will soon morph into the gleaming, $400 million Caesars Virginia casino and resort. At one time, the 80-acre site in the Schoolfield neighborhood was the world’s largest single-unit textile manufacturing site. Now abandoned, the unsightly property represents the […]
Regional reboot
Public and private investments are boosting the economy in Southwest Virginia, bringing in a diversified group of new companies, from indoor salmon farming to medical information technology firms — as well as a long-awaited casino. Addressing the region’s steady decline in the coal industry, officials in the Southwestern region continue to lay out the roadmap […]
