Growth industry
When manufacturers thinking about setting up shop in Southern Virginia visit Pittsylvania County, the county’s economic development director, Matt Rowe, doesn’t just show off expansive, shovel-ready industrial sites. He also touts the region’s workforce, which includes many workers with advanced manufacturing skill sets. Eighteen percent of Southern Virginia’s labor force works in manufact[...]
CVTC property inches closer to redevelopment
Once home to more than 3,600 people with intellectual disabilities and other conditions, the Central Virginia Training Center property in Amherst County is drawing closer to a different future. In June, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law the latest state budget, which removed $25 million in tax obligations from the 350-acre site, making it more […]
Broadened horizons
Virginia Business’ 2022 Virginia CFO of the Year award winners represent large and small businesses and large and small nonprofits. Large business | Sal Mancuso, executive vice president and CFO Altria Group Inc., Henrico County A first-generation college graduate whose father immigrated to this country from Sicily, Italy, as a teenager, Sal Mancuso believes it’s […]
Gambling on Hampton Roads
Roy Corby’s first job at a casino was as a dealer. Now, Corby is general manager of the $300 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which is on track to become the first Virginia casino to open in a permanent location. It plans to open in January 2023 at the intersection of Victory and Cavalier boulevards, off […]
Youngkin, CNBC see room for growth in Va.
In July, Virginia ceded the top spot in CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business rankings to neighboring North Carolina, with Virginia taking third place in the annual list. Virginia had previously held the No. 1 slot for a record-breaking two years — a feat no other state has matched in the coveted award’s 15-year history. […]
Southwest Va. builds outdoor rec centers
Southwest Virginia has two new centers welcoming outdoor adventurists and another on the way. With a grand opening set for August, the $1.5 million Back of the Dragon Welcome Center opened in Tazewell in May 2020. In Coeburn, Spearhead Trails opened a 22,000-square-foot activity center in its renovated Coeburn headquarters last year. And the $2.67 […]
Big deals
These are some of the state’s biggest economic development announcements in 2021 and 2022, expected to create at least 100 jobs each. CENTRAL VIRGINIA Chesterfield County: Lego Group, the manufacturer of the iconic brightly colored interlocking plastic toy bricks, announced in June it will build a $1 billion plant in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park, […]
AeroFarms to add 66 jobs in Pittsylvania
New Jersey-based leafy greens producer AeroFarms plans to add 66 more jobs as it increases production at its vertical farm in Pittsylvania County, the governor’s office announced this week. This is in addition to the 92 jobs promised in its operations at Cane Creek Centre, a $42 million investment in what is promoted as the […]
Prince George County hires economic development director
Prince George County has appointed Panayiotis “Yoti” Jabri its director of economic development, effective Aug. 1. Jeff Stoke, who became the county’s administrator on April 12, selected Jabri as his successor. “We are very pleased to be able to appoint Mr. Jabri to this very important county position,” Stoke said in a statement. “He has […]
Virginia ranks 3rd in CNBC’s Top States for Business
After two consecutive years at the top, Virginia slipped to third place in CNBC’s 2022 America’s Top States for Business rankings, the business news channel announced Wednesday morning. North Carolina achieved the coveted No. 1 ranking this year. “A great education system is building a smart workforce,” CNBC said about Virginia this year. “But migration […]
First Va. casino opens in Bristol
Virginia’s first casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, held the grand opening for its temporary casino space Friday. “We are excited to open the temporary casino in Bristol,” Hard Rock International Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jon Lucas said in a statement. “Hard Rock’s rich and storied music legacy is a perfect fit for Bristol, […]
Va. receives $22.7M to reclaim abandoned mine lands
The Virginia Department of Energy will receive $22.7 million in federal funding toward redeveloping abandoned mine lands across the commonwealth, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. The funding is aimed at redeveloping the sites so that they can be used to attract new development and job opportunities to the region. Handled through Virginia’s Abandoned Mine Lands […]