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Tag: development

$550 million development planned for Pittsylvania’s Axton area

Plans for a $550 million mixed-use development in Pittsylvania County’s Axton area include a five-story, 150-room hotel and a 180,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by a grocery store, but it’s the project’s housing component that most interests the county’s economic development director, Matthew Rowe.

“First and foremost,” he says, “it is addressing a major need … for all types of housing in our area.”

Rowe anticipates that the entire Southern Virginia region will see an influx of workers as the Caesars Virginia resort casino makes additional hires before the casino’s planned opening late this year. Meanwhile, Pittsylvania’s Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill is in contention for a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility that could create another 1,500 jobs.

Plans for the 580-acre development, which does not yet have a name, call for about 1,800 housing units — roughly 1,500 townhouses and single-family homes and 300 apartments — plus two senior living facilities. One will be an independent care campus with 100 units and the other will be an assisted living memory care facility.

The project is being developed by Southside Investing, a limited liability company created for the project with Tony Salah, Todd Curtis, Dale Harris and Tom Gallagher as principals. Three of the four partners have ties to the region. Salah’s family has been in the Pittsylvania County area since the 1760s, and Curtis and Harris, who are also from the area, originally bought 342 acres of the Axton project in April 2022 for hunting and fishing, Salah says. Later, the team bought the remaining 237 acres. The partners became interested after learning about the 4,300 direct jobs and $1.25 billion in economic development investment the Danville region has attracted since 2018.

“We had some jaws-open moments where we’re learning about what is already in Danville and the region and what is potentially coming,” Salah says.

Says Rowe: “We made them disciples and believers.”

Southside Investing gained the necessary rezoning approvals for the project in August 2023 and is conducting pre-construction engineering. Construction could begin in the next 12 months, Salah says.

Developers say the order and speed of delivering the project’s components will depend on the market, but anticipate that the apartments will come first, followed by the rest in phases that could take 10 years to complete. 

Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky contributed to this story.

Developers put Fort Monroe marina redevelopment on indefinite hold

The redevelopment of Old Point Comfort Marina at Fort Monroe has been put on hold due to rising costs, with no timeline specified for when it could occur.

Instead of negotiating a long-term development agreement, the Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) and Smithfield-based hospitality management company Pack Brothers Hospitality (PBH) are now discussing a revised management agreement, the authority announced this week. PBH had been planning to invest $45 million to build a marina, renovate two existing historic buildings into conference space and a restaurant and hotel over the water, akin to its Smithfield Station development, in a development called 37 North at Fort Monroe.

The FMA’s long-term goal is to redevelop the marina, but rising construction costs and high-interest rates “have impacted the financial feasibility for PBH” to lead the renovation and reconstruction of the marina and portions of new construction for the restaurant, according to a news release. The marina can currently accommodate more than 300 boats that are up to 50 feet in length.

“The FMA does not have a timeline for the redevelopment of the marina,” FMA Executive Director Glenn Oder said in a statement to Virginia Business. “Our goal is to ensure the marina remains operational and the tenants as well as the public experience no change in the operating status of the marina.”

The original redevelopment plan was to start construction in fall 2024, with the marina and restaurant opening in fall 2025. The proposed hotel and conference center were planned to be completed 12 to 18 months later.

PBH is currently managing the marina under the terms of a revised letter agreement effective Dec. 29, 2023. The two parties have begun working on the terms of a longer-term marina management agreement that they aim to complete by Feb. 29, which would be “an annual arrangement that allows the management of the marina to continue while also still being nimble for future opportunities,” according to Oder.

“PBH looks forward to continuing its relationship with the Fort Monroe Authority and welcomes the opportunity to advance the initiatives of the FMA through this marina management agreement,” Randy Pack, PBH president and managing partner, said in a statement.

Leaseholders of the marina, including the Deadrise restaurant, are unaffected by the announcement, according to a news release.

The FMA oversees Fort Monroe, a national historic landmark in Hampton. The authority has more than $100 million in projected investment in the next two to five years, including public and private investment in preservation, renovation and utility projects.

Va. Tech Innovation Campus building opening delayed

The opening of the first academic building on Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus has been delayed to spring 2025, the university announced Thursday.

Virginia Tech started construction on the first academic building of the $1 billion campus in Alexandria in September 2021 and had planned to open the $302 million building this August. The delay on the 300,000-square-foot, 11-story building is due to construction supply chain issues, according to a university news release. Bethesda, Maryland-based JBG Smith Properties is the building developer.

Virginia Tech opened the Innovation Campus headquarters on the ground floor of 3000 Potomac Ave. in 2021, adjacent to the site of the future 3.5-acre campus. It houses executive offices and a café-style area.

Graduate students will continue to attend Innovation Campus classes at Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church. Classes in the center started in fall 2020. Currently, the university has 376 computer science and computer engineering master’s degree students based in the Washington, D.C. area.

The Innovation Campus is part of Virginia’s Tech Talent Investment Program, which aims to produce 31,000 in-demand computer science and related graduates in the next two decades. At its full buildout, the Innovation Campus will produce about 500 master’s program graduates and 50 doctoral candidates annually.

“Our vision remains unchanged. We are building a community perfectly positioned to connect talented students with Northern Virginia’s growing tech ecosystem,” Lance Collins, vice president and executive director of the Innovation Campus, said in a statement.

The Innovation Campus is part of a developing area. Anchored by the campus, the Potomac Yard-VT station opened in May 2023. In December 2023, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards are planning to move to Alexandria in a $2 billion deal that would create a 9 million-square-foot entertainment complex in Alexandria. In nearby Arlington County, Amazon.com’s $2.5 billion HQ2 began a phased opening in June 2023.

Nation’s first Goodwill-owned supermarket to open in NW Roanoke

Roanoke-based Goodwill Industries of the Valleys broke ground Nov. 14 on Melrose Plaza, a community hub that will be anchored by the nation’s first full-scale, full-service grocery store owned and operated by a Goodwill organization.

Slated to open in December 2024 in a Northwest Roanoke food desert, the 25,000-square-foot Market on Melrose is expected to create 50 to 60 jobs and will offer online ordering, curbside pickup and delivery options.

It’s part of a $30 million project to repurpose Goodwill’s Roanoke Jobs Campus headquarters at 2502 Melrose Ave. into the 79,000-square-foot Melrose Plaza, which will also house Goodwill’s Excel Center, a tuition-free adult high school offering certifications and high school diplomas. Plaza tenants will include an existing public library branch, a holistic community wellness center and a Bank of Botetourt center that will provide retail banking and financial coaching.

“While efforts for a grocery store have been ongoing for many years now, the timing couldn’t be better,” explains Mindy Boyd, chief operating officer for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. “Federal ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funds awarded to the City of Roanoke afforded a $10 million grant to uplift a grocery in a food desert. With our renewed mission and vision, the well-located property available, and a grant from the city, it made it a complete win for the community.”

Kjellstrom + Lee is the construction management partner for Melrose Plaza. In addition to the $10 million in federal funding, the project has an $8 million in-kind real estate donation from Goodwill. Another $12 million is anticipated to come from the federal New Market Tax Credits Program, additional public funding, grant opportunities and private contributions.

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys is partnering with the City of Roanoke and other stakeholders on Melrose Plaza. The nonprofit Goodwill will own and operate Melrose Plaza and Market on Melrose. The grocery store will be the first phase of the project to open.

The partnership, says Roanoke City Manager Bob Cowell, “will deliver exactly what the Northwest neighborhood has long advocated for and needed, fulfills a key priority of the mayor and City Council [and] implements the top priority identified by the citizen advisory board established to aid the council in their use of federal COVID relief.”  

100 People to Meet in 2024: Builders

These Virginians are building the future in bricks and mortar with major development projects in communities across the commonwealth. 

Duke Dodson

CEO, Dodson Cos./Dodson Development Group
Richmond

A Richmond native, Duke Dodson grew up vacationing in Colonial Beach. “It was a mini-Atlantic City then, but legal changes forced casinos out of business,” says the developer. When Dodson saw an opportunity to invest in reviving the downtown waterfront, he was all in.

Dodson’s $25 million Colonial Beach mixed-use development, which includes a hotel and a wine and cheese shop, is expected to create 250 jobs. 

Dodson founded his company in 2007, and although Colonial Beach is a major focus, he has Richmond projects as well, including a group of mixed-use properties on East Broad Street. In 2024, Dodson has plans for a baseball card shop and sports bar in Scott’s Addition.

 

Mike Hopkins

Managing director, Fairwinds Landing
Norfolk

Mike Hopkins got a glimpse at seeing projects through from start to finish as a general counsel for international shipping giant Maersk Line. It’s proved to be good experience for his current job, leading the development of Fairwinds Landing, a $100 million maritime operations and logistics center at Lambert’s Point Docks in Norfolk supporting Hampton Roads’ offshore wind, defense and transportation industries.

Development partners The Miller Group, Balicore Construction and Fairlead Integrated broke ground on Fairwinds Landing in June. Tenants so far include Newport News Shipbuilding and Dominion Energy. Dominion will monitor and coordinate construction of its $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm from its operations center there. It’s been “the best kind of job of my life so far,” says Hopkins, adding it’s exciting to be on the ground floor of a new endeavor.

 

Whitson Huffman

Co-CEO, Capital Square
Glen Allen

Whitson Huffman has been real estate firm Capital Square’s co-CEO for a bit longer than a year, but he’s not new to the industry. Before joining his father-in-law Louis Rogers’ firm in 2018, Huffman made his bones at Ernst & Young and JBG Smith.

A graduate of Georgetown University and a Washington, D.C., native, Huffman says he expects Capital Square, which specializes in sponsoring tax-advantaged real estate investments and developing high-end multifamily properties across the nation, to continue growing its institutional real estate business in 2024 with new Class A properties with top amenities and prices to match. Capital Square is the largest multifamily housing developer in Richmond’s trendy Scott’s Addition neighborhood.

Huffman serves on the board of the Maymont Foundation, which oversees the popular, 100-acre Richmond public park and former Victorian estate, where he enjoys taking his three young children.

 

Shawn Tibbetts

Chief operating officer, Armada Hoffler
Virginia Beach

As COO for the commercial real estate giant behind Virginia Beach’s Town Center, Shawn Tibbetts aims to “servant lead” — acting as a team captain instead of coach. “When a team sees that the leader is in the game with them and playing the game with them — win, lose or draw — that’s powerful.” Tibbetts also focuses on providing healthy returns for Armada Hoffler’s shareholders while coping with changing demand for office space. A graduate of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business, Tibbetts was previously the Port of Virginia’s COO and president until 2019, when he joined Armada Hoffler.

“This was a heck of an opportunity and awesome company with foundational elements that I believe are going to propel us into the next level in the future,” he says.

Ed Walker

Developer
Roanoke

Ed Walker estimates he’s built more than 500 apartments and helped redevelop several neighborhoods over the past two decades, but he doesn’t consider himself a developer.

“I think of it as community investing,” he says. “I’ve been a catalyst, but the colleagues I’ve worked with have made these projects reality.”

To date, Walker has been involved in multiple redevelopment projects that have transformed Danville and Roanoke, where he maintains two residences. He started The Bee Hotel and revived Roanoke’s historic Grandin Theatre. This year, Walker came back from the brink of retirement for his final act: redeveloping the sprawling campus of a former rayon factory in Roanoke. Dubbed Riverdale, the industrial property is set to include 375 apartments and a commercial building in phase one, and Walker is partnering with the City of Roanoke on the $50 million project.

Check out the other 100 People to Meet in 2024.

Hampton industrial site sells for $2.3M

A vacant industrial site on 2.8 acres in Hampton has been sold for $2.3 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer said.

Moir Park Industrial III LLC purchased the site, which includes warehouses, from Armistead & Riprap for development. The property is located at 402 Rip Rap Road off Interstate 64.

Robert L. Phillips Jr., of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

Real Estate 2023: DAN NOVACK

Novack was named president of the Dallas-based contracting and construction management company’s mid-Atlantic operation in January, but his career with Balfour started more than two decades ago.

As mid-Atlantic president, he provides strategic oversight for Balfour Beatty’s construction projects in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, and works with teams to sustain market growth in the multifamily, office, health care, federal and education sectors. He previously worked in purchasing, small business development, preconstruction and other areas, and has overseen about $2.5 billion in projects, including renovations at Washington Dulles International Airport and construction of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Prince William County and NPR’s headquarters in Washington.

Novack earned a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Alfred State College and an MBA from George Mason University. He recently completed a five-year stint serving on the board of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington.

Real Estate 2023: BRETT HITT

Hitt’s grandparents started the family business in 1930, now one of Virginia’s biggest general contracting firms, earning $5.41 billion in 2022 construction revenue and landing in the top 20 of Engineering News-Record’s 2023 Top Contractors list.

Hitt joined his family’s company as an assistant project manager in 1984. He rose through the ranks to become co-president in 2005 and was named co-chairman of the newly formed board in 2017, ushering in a new generation of leadership that included Kim Roy as CEO. The contractor worked on NASA’s headquarters and the Washington Nationals’ baseball park. In June, Hitt Contracting and the Glenstone Foundation settled a lawsuit over the delayed
$200 million expansion of the Glenstone art museum in Maryland.

A graduate of Georgia Tech, Hitt has been a major supporter of Virginia Tech. He and his family donated $5 million toward construction of Hitt Hall, which will house the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, with an anticipated completion date of spring 2024. Hitt also supports a variety of charities, including Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, JDRF, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Real Estate 2023: EUGENE J. BREDOW

In March 2022, Bredow was appointed president and CEO of NVR after Paul C. Saville transitioned to executive chairman. Bredow has worked for NVR since 2004 and became president of NVR Mortgage in April 2019 after holding several executive positions in accounting and administration.

Founded in 1980, NVR is one of the nation’s largest homebuilding and mortgage banking companies. NVR reported $10.5 billion in 2022 revenue, up 18% from the $8.95 billion reported in 2021. Its homebuilding segment is the nation’s fourth largest builder, operating under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes and Heartland Homes brands in 35 metro areas across 15 states and Washington, D.C. Its mortgage and settlement subsidiaries provide an array of financing and settlement and title services to complement its homebuilding business.

Bredow is a graduate of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business and serves as a member of its board of advisers.

Real Estate 2023: KIM ROY

From a young age, Roy has been interested in being a builder, and in 2017, she was appointed the first non-family member to lead the 86-year-old company that employs more than 900 workers in the commonwealth. A Virginia Tech alumna with a bachelor’s degree in construction, Roy went to work at Hitt in 1999 as an assistant project manager.

In fiscal year 2022, Hitt brought in $5.41 billion — a 60% increase over the previous year. This year, Hitt was ranked No. 18 on the Engineering News-Record’s list of the top U.S. general contractors, ranked by revenue, up from No. 29 in 2022.

Roy is also president of the Hitt Contracting Foundation, a nonprofit she helped launch that facilitates Hitt’s philanthropic efforts.

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPIEST: I love to travel and explore new places with the people I love. This summer, I crossed the 97th thing off my bucket list, with a trip to the islands
of Greece.

HOW I UNWIND FROM WORK: Reading a great book, taking a cooking class and walking on the beach do wonders for the soul.