2024 Virginia 500: Economic Development
JONATHAN S. BELCHER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND GENERAL COUNSEL, VIRGINIA COALFIELD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, LEBANON JOE BENEVENTO PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP CORP., RICHMOND BARRY DuVAL PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, RICHMOND JASON EL KOUBI PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP, RICHMOND &n[...]
Top Five September 2024
The five most popular daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from July 15 to Aug. 15 included news of Liberty University and Jerry Falwell Jr. resolving their legal disputes. 1 | Liberty, Falwell Jr. reach global settlement Liberty University and its former president and chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr., reached a global resolution agreement settling […]
Danville whitewater channel plans float forward
Future Olympian kayakers may one day practice their playboating in the Dan River while tourists marvel from shore. In the Virginia budget approved in May, lawmakers included $3 million for the City of Danville to develop the White Mill Whitewater Channel, which is being designed to lure both recreational paddlers and water rescue trainees. The […]
South Asian yogurt manufacturer to open Frederick County facility
Desi Fresh Foods, a producer of Indian-style spoonable and drinkable yogurt products, is opening a new manufacturing facility in Frederick County, creating 56 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. The New York-based company will “invest a significant amount of money to open a new manufacturing facility,” according to a news release. Desi Fresh Foods and […]
Hand-built electric classic sports cars to be built in Danville
RBW Sports & Classics, a United Kingdom manufacturer of hand-built electric vehicles that have designs inspired by British sports cars from the 1960s and 1970s, plans to invest $8 million to establish a manufacturing facility at Cane Creek Centre in Danville, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. The project is expected to create 144 jobs. Those […]
Va. tourism generated $33.3B for 2023
Virginia’s tourism industry generated $33.3 billion in visitor spending in 2023, an increase of nearly 10% over 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. “The commonwealth’s record-breaking visitor spending numbers are a testament to our abundance of attractions and unique destinations,” Gov. Youngkin stated in a news release. Virginia’s tourism industry supported over 224,000 jobs[...]
Solar startup moving into Bedford plant, creating 104 jobs
Solar energy startup Solarix plans to invest $63 million to start a solar module manufacturing facility in eastern Bedford County and create 104 jobs, the company, the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance and the Bedford County Office of Economic Development announced Thursday. Solarix, which bills itself as a 100% American-owned, SBA-certified, disabled veteran-owned company headquartered in [&[...]
QTS acquires rezoned Henrico tech park land
Henrico County’s Sandston area could soon see more data center facilities after the county’s board of supervisors voted in May to rezone a 622-acre site for the planned White Oak Technology Park II. Developer Hourigan shepherded the land, now owned by Kansas-based QTS Data Centers, through its rezoning to light industrial. “It is a fabulous […]
Launch pads
In the 2000s, economic development leaders in Southern Virginia strategized a path for building back a regional economy decimated by lost textiles jobs. These visionaries, according to Linda Green, executive director for the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, decided to invest in industrial parks and other locations readied for manufacturing operations. “We have been very blessed […]
Big deals
These economic development announcements were some of the largest in Virginia for 2023 and the first half of 2024: CENTRAL VIRGINIA Chesterfield County: In April, the offices of U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan announced that Danish electrolyzer manufacturer Topsoe plans to build a $400 million manufacturing facility with […]
Micron expects to expand Manassas facility soon
Bolstered by hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal funding, semiconductor manufacturing in Northern Virginia soon will be expanding. In May, Idaho-based Micron Technology applied for federal funding through the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which allocated more than $52 billion in subsidies for domestic companies researching and manufacturing semiconductors, to expand its […]
Virginia’s rankings
#1 Top States for Business CNBC #1 Education CNBC #1 Customized workforce training Business Facilities #3 infrastructure CNBC #3 Best business climate Business Facilities #3 Tech talent pipeline Business Facilities #3 Artificial intelligence CNBC #5 Business friendliness CNBC #16 Best state to start a small business in 2024 Forbes Advisor #24 cost of doing business […]