Amazon opens new Chesapeake facility
Last week Amazon.com Inc. opened its new, 640,000-square-foot processing facility in Chesapeake, the global e-tailer’s first cross-dock fulfillment center in Virginia. About 900 of the 1,000 workers that Amazon announced it would be hiring for the facility are already on the job, an Amazon spokeswoman told Virginia Business. Located at 5045 Portsmouth Blvd., the Chesapeake […]
Creating community vibes
In Virginia Beach, most tourists flock to the Oceanfront. But just a couple blocks west, you’ll find an area that feels a little more artsy and a lot more local. In the 15-block ViBe Creative District, situated between the Virginia Beach Convention Center and the Oceanfront, coffee shops and restaurants operate out of former industrial […]
Cortland completes $1B investment in Arlington
Cortland, an Atlanta-based multifamily real estate investment, development and management company, has completed its initial round of apartment acquisitions in Arlington with the purchase of Evo Rosslyn, a 27-story apartment building. The purchase is part of a $1 billion investment in multiple Arlington apartment communities, first announced in May. Evo Rossyln will be renamed Cortland […]
Amazon HQ2’s Ardine Williams retires — again
Ardine Williams, vice president of HQ2 workforce development for Amazon.com Inc., has retired — again — Amazon confirmed this week. Williams, who had been one of Amazon’s most high-profile Virginia executives, was leading the effort to hire 25,000 workers by 2030 for Amazon’s multibillion-dollar HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington. So far, about 5,000 HQ2 […]
Amazon closes $198M PenPlace purchase from JBG Smith
Amazon.com Inc. has acquired the 11-acre PenPlace development site, part of its HQ2, its East Coast headquarters, from Bethesda, Maryland-based JBG Smith Properties for $198 million, JBG Smith announced Monday. Arlington County in April approved the 3.3 million square feet of office space spread across three 22-story buildings and Amazon’s planned spiral “Helix” building, inclu[...]
Va. companies aid Ukraine, pull business from Russia
McLean-based Mars Inc. and other companies with major Virginia presences are responding to the war between Russia and Ukraine, chiefly by helping employees who live in the Eastern European nation and sending other humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as suspending business dealings in Russia, a measure taken by many U.S. companies in recent days. […]
Thomas O. Ryder joins Focused Ultrasound Foundation board
Thomas O. Ryder, former CEO and chairman of White Plains, New York-based Reader’s Digest Association Inc., has been elected to the board of the Charlottesville-based Focused Ultrasound Foundation. Ryder has served on Amazon.com Inc.’s board for two decades. He worked for Time Inc., CBS and Education Today Co. Inc., where he was a co-founder and […]
Amazon to partner with 5 Va. schools for employee education
Amazon.com Inc. will partner with more than 140 colleges and universities, including five in Virginia, to provide fully-funded college tuition for its hourly employees, the company announced Thursday. In the Richmond area, Amazon employees will have access to degrees at Virginia Commonwealth University, Reynolds Community College and John Tyler Community College. In Northern Virginia, they [&helli[...]
Amazon to open Augusta County distribution facility
Amazon.com Inc. will open a 1 million-square-foot, nonsortable fulfillment center in Augusta County, creating 500 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The facility at 32 Trader Road in Fishersville will open in spring 2023 and will pick, pack and ship bulky or larger-sized items, such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment or rugs. “This new 1 […]
Arlington’s The Millennium apartment building sells for $200.5M
An affiliate of Washington, D.C.-based The UIP Companies Inc., in partnership with New Jersey-based furnished housing company Churchill Living, purchased The Millennium apartment building in Arlington for $200.5 million on Jan. 20, Arlington property records show. Located at 1130 S. Fair St., near Metropolitan Park — the first phase of Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 — the […]
Looking back
In November 2021, Gov. Ralph Northam sat down for an interview with Virginia Business, looking back at his eventful four-year term. This is a transcript of the full interview, part of which was used in the January 2022 cover story, “A dramatic shift.” The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Virginia Business: What […]
A dramatic shift
Four years ago, no one would have guessed Gov. Ralph Northam would lead the most progressive Virginia administration in modern memory. A native of Onancock on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, as well as a pediatric neurologist and Army veteran, Virginia’s 73rd governor was eyed by some Democrats with suspicion after acknowledging he’d voted twice for President […]