Recent Articles from Robyn Sidersky
Norfolk City Council votes to purchase MacArthur Center
On Wednesday evening during a special meeting, Norfolk City Council members approved plans for the city to purchase the struggling MacArthur Center mall downtown for up to $18 million. The 23-acre MacArthur Center is owned by Wells Fargo & Co., which holds the mall following a loan default by the mall’s previous owner, Connecticut-based Starwood […]
Norfolk eyes $18M purchase of MacArthur Center mall
Read update: Norfolk City Council votes to buy mall Norfolk City Council will discuss acquiring the struggling downtown MacArthur Center mall for $18 million during a special meeting Wednesday. MacArthur Center is owned by Wells Fargo & Co., which holds the mall following a loan default by the mall’s previous owner, Connecticut-based Starwood Property Trust. […]
Activation Capital plans $53M innovation center in Richmond
Activation Capital, a Richmond-based innovation incubator, will redevelop a 102,000-square-foot innovation center in the Bio+Tech Park in downtown Richmond, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer and Activation Capital announced Friday. The 34-acre park, at Eighth and E. Leigh streets, is a commercial life sciences hub adjacent to the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and has more [&hel[...]
Caesars Virginia casino opens in Danville
On May 15, the first bets were taken at the 40,000-square-foot temporary Caesars Virginia casino in Danville, while a $650 million permanent resort casino is being built next door. The temporary casino looks like a simple white tent on the outside, but the inside feels “very much like you’re in any casino in the country,” […]
Something in the Water brings crowds back to beach
Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water made a splashy comeback to Virginia Beach from April 28-30, although wind and rain delayed the music festival’s start, and lightning and a tornado watch canceled the entire last day. Organizers promised attendees a one-third refund for tickets, which sold for $125 to $600. Williams, a Virginia Beach native, […]
Pride in their work
When Kathryn Fessler interviewed with Altria Group Inc. in 2008, she was disappointed to learn that the Henrico County-based Fortune 500 tobacco manufacturing company didn’t have an employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees. As an out lesbian, Fessler considered such groups a high priority when evaluating new workplaces, but she wound up taking the job […]
Va. Beach economic development director to depart
Taylor V. Adams, Virginia Beach’s deputy city manager and director of economic development, confirmed Tuesday night he will be leaving Virginia Beach after eight years. He will become the next president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), he said Wednesday. His last day is June 30. Last summer, Adams was […]
VPAP names new director
Chris Piper, former commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections under Gov. Ralph Northam, will be the next director of the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) after founder David Poole retires on June 30, the organization announced. Founded in 1997, VPAP started as a joint effort by the state’s five largest newspapers to track campaign […]
Alexandria’s QED Investors raises $925M for two new funds
Alexandria-based fintech venture capital firm QED Investors raised $925 million for two new funds, QED announced Tuesday. The funding comes from two capital commitments: a $650 million oversubscribed early stage fund and a $275 million early growth stage fund, according to a news release from QED, a key investor in San Francisco-based personal finance company […]
SWVA ‘ideal’ for small nuclear reactors, study says
Sites in Dickenson, Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton would be “ideal” for installing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), according to a state-funded feasibility study released Monday. Examining the technical feasibility, safety considerations and economic viability of locating small reactors in Southwest Virginia, the study conducted by Reston-based Dominion Engin[...]