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economic development

Aug 30, 2023

Economic Development 2023: JASON EL KOUBI

El Koubi has served as head of Virginia’s top economic development organization since March 2022, following a five-year stint as VEDP’s executive vice president. Part of the team that helped bring Amazon.com’s $2.5 billion-plus HQ2 East Coast headquarters to Arlington County, El Koubi continues to land big economic wins for the commonwealth, such as last […]

Aug 30, 2023

Economic Development 2023: H. GARRETT HART III

A major success for Hart this year was the announcement of the Springline at District 60 mixed-use development project in Chesterfield County. Long in the making, it features apartments, office, entertainment and retail areas. Demolition of the old Spring Rock Green shopping center began in March, making way for a $210 million, 42-acre first phase […]

WAKEFIELD
Aug 30, 2023

Economic Development 2023: JENNIFER WAKEFIELD

Assuming her current role in 2021, Wakefield served as interim president and CEO twice for the Greater Richmond Partnership, a regional economic development organization for Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. She has also been the partnership’s chief operating officer and senior vice president of marketing. Previously, she served as Orlando Economic […]

Aug 30, 2023

Economic Development 2023: BARRY DuVAL

DuVal, who has led the Virginia Chamber since 2010, oversaw the launch this summer of the chamber’s WiseChoice Healthcare Alliance, a multiple employer welfare association to offer health care plans for small businesses. Made possible through new state legislation, WiseChoice was the first such self-funded health insurance consortium in Virginia. A longtime advocate for Virginia’s [&he[...]

Aug 30, 2023

Economic Development 2023: STU SOLOMON

Solomon has been leading the public-private Connected DMV economic development group since 2019. In May, the organization and partners submitted a landmark U.S. Department of Energy application to create the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub, which would displace more than 420,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year and create an estimated 8,000 jobs by 2030. In […]

Henry County’s Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre received $22 million in state funding this year for site readiness. Photo courtesy Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre
Aug 30, 2023

Polish glass fabricator expanding in Henry County

Poland-based Press Glass Inc. will spend more than $155 million to expand its operations in Henry County and add 335 jobs, marking the largest expansion in the county’s history, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The largest independent glass fabricator in Europe, according to a news release, Press Glass will construct a 360,000-square-foot addition at its […]

Chet Parsons
Aug 28, 2023

Central Va. Transportation Authority names first leader

Chet Parsons will serve as the Central Virginia Transportation Authority’s first executive director, the organization announced Thursday. Parsons has served as director of transportation for PlanRVA, also known as the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission, since 2019. CVTA finances transportation projects across the Richmond region. It was established by the General Assembly in 2020[...]

Aug 24, 2023

Charlottesville-based Virginia Diodes to expand, invest $2.5M

Virginia Diodes Inc. (VDI) will invest $2.5 million to expand its operations in Charlottesville, adding an estimated 24 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. VDI was founded in Charlottesville in 1996 as a spinoff from the University of Virginia and in 2004 established its headquarters at the city’s Ix Art Park complex.  The company manufactures […]

Aug 17, 2023

Henrico County, Markel|Eagle acquire land for GreenCity

Henrico County and an affiliate of Markel|Eagle Partners LLC came to an agreement Thursday to purchase the 110-acre Scott Farm property, which will be a key part of the $2.3 billion mixed-use GreenCity development, for $35.1 million. First proposed in December 2020, GreenCity plans to include what is billed as the nation’s greenest arena, with […]

Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group's office in Henrico County.
Aug 10, 2023

Henrico insurer to create 72 jobs in $6.2M expansion

Henrico County-based insurance company Berkley Insurance Co. will invest $6.2 million to expand its office in the county’s Innsbrook area, with plans to create 72 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. A subsidiary of Connecticut-based Fortune 500 company W. R. Berkley Corp., the firm will lease an additional 8,920 square feet of office space from […]

Jul 30, 2023

Big deals

CENTRAL VIRGINIA Appomattox: In November 2022, Virginia MetalFab, a precision sheet metal fabricator, moved from Nelson County’s Gladstone area to nearby Appomattox, where it’s leasing the former Thomasville Furniture plant, which shuttered in 2011. Founded in 2002, Virginia MetalFab manufactures metal parts and assemblies for industries ranging from utilities to transportation and tec[...]

“Great things are happening in Southern Virginia,” says Telly Tucker, president of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. Photo by Hannah King
Jul 30, 2023

Betting on success

Thousands of new jobs are flowing into Southern Virginia as Caesars Virginia prepares to open its permanent casino resort next year, and industries move into the region or expand. Meanwhile, local economic developers have been pitching the vacant 3,500-acre Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill for megaprojects like electric vehicle assembly and battery manufacturing plants […]

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