Amazon delays construction on HQ2
Amazon.com Inc. is delaying construction on the second phase of HQ2, its $2.5 billion East Coast headquarters in Arlington County. The news comes as Amazon plans to open HQ2’s first phase, Metropolitan Park, in June, and as the Fortune Global 500 tech company laid off a record 18,000+ workers amid concerns over slowing revenues and […]
The 2023 Heavy Hitters list
Virginia Business’ annual list of the commonwealth’s 50 most powerful and influential leaders provides our editors’ take on the heaviest-hitting of heavyweights in business, government, nonprofits and higher education. Think of it as an executive committee for the leaders populating our annual Virginia 500 issue — the top 10% of the state’s power elite. And […]
Amazon Web Services to invest $35B in Va. data center campuses
Amazon Web Services plans to invest $35 billion by 2040 to establish multiple data center campuses across Virginia, creating 1,000 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. Youngkin’s office said in a news release that “numerous localities in the commonwealth are under consideration” for the campuses, and specific sites “will be decided at a later date.” […]
Virginia 500 Spotlight: Catherine Buell
Director, Amazon Housing Equity Fund, Amazon.com Inc. Arlington County WHAT WOULD A COMPETITOR SAY ABOUT YOU? Much like the Roomba vacuum cleaner, Catherine is “pleasantly persistent” and doesn’t give up. She will keep at it, work to find a middle ground and show results. WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Don’t forget to have fun along the way! Life […]
Youngkin tours Amazon’s new robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk
Amazon.com Inc.’s 3.8-million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk opened in September, but the global retail colossus held an official grand opening at the facility Thursday, allowing Amazon officials to show off the center to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who attended the opening event and took a tour. The $230 million, four-and-a-half-story building in Northgate Commerce Park [&helli[...]
MacKenzie Scott pledges $15M to PATH Foundation
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has pledged $15 million to the Warrenton-based PATH Foundation, an organization that provides grants for health-focused organizations in Fauquier, Rappahannock and Culpeper counties, PATH announced Thursday. Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, has made large donations to many nonprofits and universities, including in Virg[...]
TOP FIVE STORIES AUGUST 2022
The top trending stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from July 15 to Aug. 14 were led by an exclusive update on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront surf park, which is being developed by music icon Pharrell Williams and Venture Realty Group. 1 | A new look at Va. Beach’s Atlantic Park Starting construction in October or November, […]
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[...]