Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Upcoming Event

Best Places to Work in Virginia

Hamburger Menu Hamburger Menu

Tag: Roanoke County

Va. nursing homes, assisted living facilities struggle with staffing

Virginia’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities continue to struggle with staffing shortages, according to a Virginia Health Care Association-Virginia Center for Assisted Living survey released in December.

Of 154 long-term care providers who responded to the survey, 86% said their workforce situation worsened in 2022 compared with 2020, an increase of five percentage points from the 2021 survey.

Joe Hoff, president and CEO of Friendship, which has nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day care and independent living across two facilities in Roanoke and one in Salem, needs about 50 to 75 more employees to be fully staffed. Friendship currently has about 650 employees, with about 1,000 residents on average.

“There’s just a critical nursing shortage across the country, but I’d say within the past two years, it’s been a bit harder to find staff,” Hoff said. Although some people who retired or left the workforce during the pandemic are coming back, they aren’t returning to the workforce as fast as they left, he added.

A persistent problem

Of the facilities surveyed, 93% reported vacancies for certified nursing assistants/direct caregivers, 87% have vacancies for licensed practical nurses and 70% have vacancies for registered nurses.

Tom Orsini, president and CEO of Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk, has roughly 400 employees, about 190 of whom are nurses or nursing assistants. The facility has 104 long-term acute care beds and 192 nursing home beds. Orsini needs about 20 more nurses or CNAs and has been using contract nurses in the meantime.

“It’s just the field of people competing for this resource has grown,” said Orsini. “If you’re a nurse, you don’t have to come out and do hands-on nursing. There’s a lot of other opportunities for nurses,” like working in home health, doctors’ offices or labs.

Eighty-two percent of respondents had a shortage of staff to fill all shifts in the 60 days before the survey, which VHCA-VCAL conducted from Sept. 7 to Sept. 30. In those 60 days, 96% of providers said they had asked staff to work overtime or take extra shifts, up from 92% in 2021.

Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital has asked staff to work on their scheduled days off, Orsini said, even if they can’t work a full shift that day.

Facilities also had vacancies for dietary staff and housekeeping staff, with 67% reporting the former and 55% reporting the latter. Friendship raised its minimum wage to $14 an hour to recruit and retain dietary and housekeeping staff, Hoff said.

Part of the difficulty filling nursing positions has been a lack of qualified applicants, survey results show. More than half (55%) of the respondents indicated they had few to no qualified applicants.

Filling open positions takes longer now, Orsini said.

“Before COVID, it could just be just a couple of weeks,” he said. “We’d simply put advertisements in the normal professional advertising websites, and we would get applicants. It would just seem that there were more applicants out there.”

But now, the process takes about three to four months. Part of the problem, he said, is that health care facilities are competing with service industries that they didn’t previously have to compete with, like fast food restaurants, which can raise their wages quickly and pass prices on to consumers.

“We can’t do that. We deal with third parties — Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance — where rates are already set. So we have to wait till we renegotiate contracts or the new rate year starts,” to raise pay, he said.

Counteracting workforce challenges

To address these labor shortages, facilities reported taking a number of steps. Almost all (97%) reported they are working to hire new staff. Ninety percent reported increasing pay, and 83% responded that they are offering bonuses for overtime or double shifts. About 55% reporting using contract staff from staffing agencies.

Friendship raised certified nursing assistants’ minimum starting wages from $15 an hour to $17 an hour this year, Hoff said.

Friendship employees confer at a nurse station. Photo courtesy Friendship
Friendship employees confer at a nurse station. Photo courtesy Friendship

Friendship has also taken several steps to retain employees, Hoff said, including allowing flexible scheduling. The company also provided a “retention appreciation bonus,” giving each employee an extra $150 each paycheck for five pay periods, which cost the company around $350,000 total.

Both Hoff and Orsini reported using contract nurses from staffing agencies while searching for direct hires to fill their vacancies.

“Our goal is to have our own staff, but we’re having to backfill with contract nurses. The care is not as stable as we’d like,” Orsini said.

Both care companies are also working to develop workforce pipelines.

Lake Taylor serves as a clinical site for nursing programs from nearby schools like ECPI University, so students come to the center in rotations.

“Now that they’ve worked here, and if they like it and they feel comfortable, they’ll come back and apply to work here. They kind of test-drive us a little bit. We test-drive them,” Orsini said.

Usually, about eight to 10 students are in a class, and Lake Taylor will generally hire about four or five from a class, he said.

Friendship also serves as a clinical site for nearby schools like Virginia Western Community College and Radford University. The facilities can host cohorts of about 10 to 15 students at once, and Friendship generally hires one or two students from those cohorts, Hoff said.

Friendship and Lake Taylor are also training employees on-site.

Friendship now trains certified nursing assistants in on-site classes of 10 and pays them while they’re in training. Previously, CNAs had to complete training before receiving pay, Hoff said. If Friendship has more than 10 trainees at a time, the company will place the remaining students in an outside training program.

Lake Taylor runs classes for noncertified nursing assistants, teaching them how to feed patients in an eight-hour course, Orsini said.

Lowered admissions

Because of staffing challenges over the six months prior to the survey’s administration, 42% of respondents limited their number of residents to an amount below full capacity, up from 37% in 2021. Thirty-eight percent reported placing a hold on new admissions (up from 29% in 2021), and 34% reported turning away hospital admissions (up from 26% in 2021).

Lake Taylor sometimes had to slow admissions to or close one of its wings during COVID-19.

Now, “we’re not fully admitting [patients] to all the beds yet,” Orsini said. “We’re taking our time. We’re making sure we’re able to take care of the patients we have and make sure the staff is there as well.”

Friendship has not had to limit admissions, Hoff said, because the company has supplemented nursing staff with agencies, though he hopes to attract and retain enough employees to stop using agencies.

VHCA-VCAL represents more than 350 nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the commonwealth. Its members operate more than 97% of Virginia’s Medicaid nursing facility beds, and six in 10 nursing facility residents rely on Medicaid for their care, according to a news release.

The association is seeking aid from the state: “Virginia’s nursing homes are doing everything they can to keep their employees, who are the backbone of long-term care,” VHCA-VCAL President and CEO Keith Hare said in a statement. “Now, we’re calling upon Virginia policymakers and members of the General Assembly to make meaningful investments, which will help address key staffing challenges and get seniors access to the 24/7 care they need.”

Roanoke County day care begins $2.5M expansion

Children’s Nest Learning Center – Hollins broke ground Friday on its $2.5 million Roanoke County campus expansion, estimated to create 15 jobs.

Children’s Nest’s current facility at 504 Dexter Road in the Hollins area has 105 child care slots. The company will develop an adjacent parcel to build a 7,000-square-foot facility, adding more than 150 child care slots for day care and afterschool programs, as well as a splash pad.

“We want to be a gamechanger in our community and help more families find child care that offers quality and educational care,” Rhonda Spangler, owner of Children’s Nest Learning Center, said in a statement.

The expansion’s expected completion is late 2023.

Children’s Nest Learning Center – Hollins operates under the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education. The center provides infant, toddler, pre-K and after school care.

The expansion is within the area included in the Roanoke County Hollins Center Plan, a multiyear revitalization initiative that the county’s Board of Supervisors adapted in 2020. The plan explores higher density, mixed-use development in the Hollins area, which has the highest concentration of employment in the county.

“Children’s Nest is providing a much-needed service to our community and will be able to extend the availability of high-quality child care with this expansion in Hollins,” Marshall Stanley, an economic development specialist with the county, said in a statement.

Roanoke County names economic development director

Megan Baker will be the next director of economic development in Roanoke County, the county announced Monday.

Baker will start Oct. 24. She will replace Jill Loope, who announced her retirement in July. Loope will assist with Baker’s transition, then head up the tourism department in Roanoke County’s parks, recreation and tourism department until she retires in July 2023.

Baker comes to Roanoke from Peachtree City, Georgia, where she has been president of the Fayette County Development Authority. There, she led business attraction and retention programs for Fayette County, which is southeast of Atlanta, and spearheaded development of a 600-acre business park, according to a county news release.

Before she worked in Fayette County, she was policy director for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. She has also held roles at Georgia’s Clayton State University, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

“I am thrilled to be selected to serve as the director of economic development for Roanoke County,” Baker said in a statement. “I look forward to becoming part of the team and building upon the work that’s been done to position Roanoke as a top place to live and do business. My husband and I are excited to become part of the community.” 

Baker has a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and a master’s in public affairs from Indiana University. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute and a certified economic developer through the International Development Council.

Wisconsin company to open $2M plant in Roanoke County

Osseo, Wisconsin-based North American Specialty Laminations LLC, a company that provides lamination solutions to the building products industry, will invest $2 million to open a mid-Atlantic production facility in Roanoke County, creating 44 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.

NASL’s 57,000-square-foot plant will be located at 5185 Benois Road. It will serve NASL customers along the East Coast and Southeastern U.S.

“North American Specialty Laminations’ decision to establish its mid-Atlantic operation in Roanoke County reinforces the many advantages leading manufacturers can find in Virginia,” Youngkin said. “Advanced manufacturing companies are a strong cluster in the region, which offers the skilled workforce and higher education connections to guarantee a robust talent pipeline for the future. We look forward to supporting NASL as they ramp up in the commonwealth.”

In business since 1999, NASL is a profile-wrapping and specialty fabrication manufacturing company. A portfolio company of Boston-based private equity investment firm Building Industry Partners, it has facilities around the country and in Canada. The Roanoke facility will be a hub for profile lamination and fabrication capabilities for door, window, cabinet, wall panel, fencing and moulding customers. Doug Pence will be the facility’s general manager.

“With our extensive analysis, we selected Virginia for its consistent pro-business stance, progressive supporting programs and skilled workforce in the greater Roanoke area,” CEO Doug Rende said.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Roanoke County to secure the project for Virginia and will support NASL’s job creation through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

 

Generation next

There’s a new wave of “super collaborators” driving economic development in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

Many of the top positions in the region’s public and private sector economic development engines have turned over in the past couple of years. In multiple cases, individuals who had held positions for decades decided to retire or move on to other jobs. But most of the people taking their places are hardly newcomers to the region, or even their organizations.

“To a large extent, we’ve been promoted from within, so we have institutional knowledge,” says John Hull, who was named executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership in January last year. Before that, he had been director of market intelligence for the nonprofit regional economic development organization since 2010.

“I think we’re super collaborators,” Hull says. “We were already a great team at a lower level.”

His peers in similar positions agree that economic development collaboration is more critical than ever before in the region, which stretches from greater Roanoke, the largest metropolitan area in western Virginia, southwest to Christiansburg and Blacksburg in the New River Valley.

“We definitely have a history of working together but I do think whenever there are new folks involved … it’s a good time to see how we can collaborate with people in our region and outside our region too,” says Katie Boswell, who became executive director of Onward New River Valley last December. Previously, she oversaw marketing for Blacksburg-based Onward NRV, formerly known as the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance.

During much of 2020 and 2021, these new leaders couldn’t gather in person to talk through plans and strategies. “Now that things have opened up, we’re able to get together more,” Boswell says. “Our mission and our goal is to attract and retain world-class jobs and talent.”

That would be nearly impossible without the groundwork done by former economic development officials, Boswell and the other new leaders say. Tapping into funds available from the state’s GO Virginia economic development initiative, their predecessors pushed forward on projects like Wood Haven Technology Park in Roanoke County. They also brought together public and private entities to create destinations such as the Virginia Tech Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, which includes the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

“They were working together and really set the foundation for a lot of these projects,” says Erin Burcham, who became president of Verge, a regional technology alliance, at the beginning of this year. She also is executive director of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, a post she has held since summer 2021. Before that, she worked at the Roanoke Regional Partnership and the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, giving her a broad background in some of the region’s biggest forces in economic development.

The new leaders, with their varied strengths and skills, are “looking at problems in a different light,” Burcham says. And they’re figuring out solutions, especially when it comes to positioning the region as a hotspot for biotechnology and innovation. Integral to that process, Burcham says, is Brett Malone, who became president and CEO of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in the middle of 2020.

Malone himself is an innovator, and early in his career he co-founded an engineering software company at the Corporate Research Center. He went on to take leadership roles in companies across the nation involved in biotechnology, robotics, engineering and software. Malone returned to the New River Valley to replace his former mentor, Joe Meredith, who led the CRC for 27 years until his retirement in February 2020.

“Having someone with that skill set to come in and help us get biotechs from the startup stage” is a big coup, Burcham says, adding that Malone’s expertise creates “renewed energy” around that goal. “We’re saying, ‘How do we move this forward, and how do we move this forward fast?’”

Beth Simms was named director of economic development for Franklin County in April 2021 after serving in the same role for the town of Rocky Mount. Photo by Don Petersen

‘A new revolution’

Indeed, Malone finds himself energized by the region’s prospects. “There’s a new revolution going on,” he says, quickly adding that he and other economic development leaders are not afraid to think big.

A case in point, he says, is the approval of $15.7 million in state funding to renovate a Carilion Clinic building in Roanoke into Corporate Research Center lab space for life sciences researchers and entrepreneurs. Roanoke leaders were asking for a CRC expansion similar to what’s happening in Blacksburg, where 2,500 square feet of lab and studio space is set to be completed this fall. “I came in and said, ‘Why not?’” Malone recalls.

During this year’s General Assembly session, Malone and several other economic development officials from the region made the pitch for funding the Roanoke lab and innovation space. “All of us showed up on the doorstep in Richmond — not just one or two,” he says.

It’s that kind of teamwork that will bolster economic development initiatives going forward, Malone says. “There’s really a lot of trust among the team and there’s also clear skill sets that complement each other. …We know our roles.”

Marc Nelson, who was named director of economic development for the city of Roanoke about a year ago, says he was excited when Malone “came over to this side of the mountain” to talk about what they could work on together. “That really kicked off a good partnership with us.”

Nelson, who worked for the city for nearly 10 years before stepping into this role, makes a point to meet regularly with peers in the surrounding counties and nearby cities, as well as those at the regional technology alliances that have formed in recent years.

“It’s not that everybody’s young, but there are a lot of new people,” Nelson says. “I can’t recall any place I’ve been that we’ve seen this many changes in leadership within such a short period of time.”

The Roanoke and New River valleys include several counties and cities. Based in Roanoke, the regional partnership led by Hull also works to draw new business to Salem, Covington and Vinton as well as the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke. Likewise, Onward New River Valley led by Boswell represents Radford, Blacksburg and Christiansburg as well as the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski. Not all those municipalities have dedicated economic development staff. But of those that do, many have seen changes recently.

Tommy Miller became director of economic development for Salem in April this year. He had been a senior business investment manager for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. In nearby Bedford County, Pam Bailey was promoted to director of economic development last year. She had previously overseen marketing and business development.

Largely driven by a previous generation reaching retirement age, the widespread turnover throughout the region has led to “looking at things we didn’t always do,” Nelson says, such as community development partnerships and opportunities to bolster entrepreneurship. “We’ve always done retention and expansion very well,” he says.

He also points to the securing of $15.7 million in state funding for the Carilion renovation in Roanoke as a catalyst for continued collaboration among the region’s new development leaders. About $10 million in additional renovation money was secured from other public and private sources. The development of this new space is expected to create 250 jobs through startup businesses over the first five years.

“I cannot express to you what a game changer this is going to be. … This wouldn’t have happened two years ago,” Nelson says.

‘Generational turnover’

Burcham echoes Nelson’s praise for the Carilion project. “It just kind of fueled the fire,” she says. It’s always difficult to secure funding for major projects, particularly if those projects don’t have a proven track record.

“We’ve taken a couple of shots on goal,” Burcham says. Some have led to funding arrangements; others have not. “We have a driven team that says, ‘We’re going to do this. … We’re going to find a way.’”

But, she adds, the leaders before their cohort took over should be credited with their forward thinking. Their predecessors supported education advancements and created the infrastructure that allows their successors to move ahead with efforts to attract new industries.

“There’s a need right now to diversify our economy,” Burcham says. That’s why the new economic development drivers are banding together to make that happen. Securing the funding for the upcoming Carilion renovation project, slated to be completed in 2024, is “an example of a big win,” she says.

Beth Doughty, who retired in December 2020 after 22 years as executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, says the new generation of regional leaders come well equipped to continue achieving those types of successes. “When you have new people or they are new to the position, they’re generally younger and they bring a lot of energy to what they’re doing,” she says.

Certainly, a significant portion of the leadership changes in the last couple of years could be categorized as “generational turnover,” Doughty says. “I think that’s a good thing.” Younger leaders, she adds, bring fresh ideas and new ways to approach challenges.

During her tenure at the partnership, Doughty, who’s now a fellow at the Danville Regional Foundation, was recognized repeatedly for her economic development efforts in Roanoke. But “economic development has gotten broader,” she says. It used to be largely about business recruitment. While that’s still a big component, there are now many other parts to building regional economies, including entrepreneurship and innovation.

“What you’re going to see is that Roanoke and the New River Valley are keeping up with what the trends are and where the opportunities are,” Doughty says. In the big picture, the region’s economic development “talent is aligned with the opportunities.”

Next year, Jill Loope will retire after 23 years as Roanoke County’s economic development director. She says the exodus that she and many peers are embarking on is “a mixed bag … of people making life decisions.”

At 56, she’s not planning to retire completely but is ready to try something new. “I think it’s a natural evolution, a natural progression,” Loope says. “It’s driven by each individual’s circumstances.”

Nonetheless, several long-timers like Doughty and Loope are moving on. For instance, Jeremy Holmes took over the role of executive director of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission in summer 2021. He replaced Wayne Strickland, who retired after 42 years with the commission. At the end of this year, Eric Sichau will move from vice president of membership services to president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. He will replace Joyce Waugh, who is retiring after more than two decades leading the chamber.

Beth Simms was named director of economic development for Franklin County in April 2021. Before that, she served as cultural and economic development director for Rocky Mount, a town in Franklin County. Even though Franklin’s industries have traditionally been blue collar, she’s working closely with leaders in Roanoke and other nearby cities and counties to be part of the overall effort to diversify the regional economy.

Says Simms: “We’re really excited about the biotech opportunities and those kinds of initiatives.”

Salem apartment complex sells for $12M

A 132-unit apartment complex in Salem has sold for $12 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Wednesday.

Viewnorth Apartments LLC purchased the property from Northview Apartments LLC on April 29. The buyer plans to upgrade the community, according to a news release about the transaction.

The apartments are located at 411 to 515 Yorkshire St. in Salem.

Clay Taylor, of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group, in conjunction with Jorge Rosa and Anthony “TJ” Liberto, of Cushman & Wakefield’s Mid-Atlantic Multifamily Advisory Group, represented the buyer.

Roanoke College selects next president

Roanoke College’s next president will be Frank Shushok Jr., the college announced Tuesday.

Shushok, Virginia Tech’s vice president for student affairs, will succeed Michael C. Maxey, who served as president for 15 years and is retiring in July, to become the school’s 12th president.

“I am thrilled to welcome President-elect Frank Shushok to the Maroon family,” Maxey said in a statement. “Terri [Maxey’s wife] and I found Frank and his wife, Kelly, to be a dedicated couple who are excited about the Roanoke College community. What struck me about Frank is how engaging he is and how interested he is in getting to know others.”

At Virginia Tech, Shushok directs 25 departments and units and oversees a budget of more than $164 million. He leads maintenance and renovation for more than 30% of the campus and is a member of the president’s cabinet. Shushok joined Virginia Tech in 2009 and has worked in various roles; he’s also an associate professor of agricultural leadership and community education.

“Dr. Shushok inspired us with his spirit, energy and centered dedication to student learning,” Malon Courts, chairman of the Roanoke College Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “Dr. Shushok’s background aligns with the most important needs of the college, and he understands the value of who we are, our culture, people and traditions, including the importance of our rich Lutheran heritage.”

Before joining Virginia Tech, Shushok worked for Baylor University in several roles, including as dean for student learning and engagement, and as associate dean for campus living and learning.

From 2017 to 2018, he was a fellow of the American Council on Education and was a resident at Wake Forest University, where he focused on fundraising, alumni engagement and enrollment strategy.

Shushok earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Baylor, a master’s in higher education and student affairs administration from Ohio State University and a doctorate in higher education policy, planning and analysis from the University of Maryland.

The college’s Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote on Monday confirming Shushok ends a five-month search conducted by the school’s search committee and Washington, D.C.-based executive search firm Academic Search that produced a pool of more than 100 applicants. Located in Salem, Roanoke is a nonprofit liberal arts college with about 2,000 full-time students and offers more than 100 areas of study.

“Roanoke College is a beautiful community deeply committed to students and their holistic learning,” Shushok said in a statement. “Everywhere at Roanoke College, there are structures and individuals committed to a kind of deep learning that emboldens the human spirit, strengthens public discourse and becomes a true north for what matters most.”

Salem names new economic development director

Salem’s new economic development director, Tommy Miller, says he has “the entrepreneurial gene,” a trait that should come in handy with his new role.

Miller established Richmond Brewery Tours, a venture he ran from 2012 through 2020 to highlight the burgeoning craft beer industry.

“Any entrepreneurial venture should be both calculated and gut driven,” he said in a news release announcing his hire. “I certainly have an entrepreneurial gene in my DNA, and I am always interested in seeing what the next best venture is in the market.”

Miller, who begins April 18, comes to Salem from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, where he spent five years as a senior business investment manager.

“We are excited to attract a candidate of Tommy’s caliber to Salem,” said Salem City Manager Jay Taliaferro in a statement. “He has a great skill set and work-related experiences on many different levels. Plus, he has the enthusiasm needed to enhance Salem’s business and industry-friendly reputation.”

Before joining VEDP, Miller was economic development director in Orange County, where he managed 10 existing and new business development projects that resulted in nearly 600 jobs and more than $37 million in new capital investment in Orange County, according to the news release from Salem. He has worked as a marketing analyst and existing business manager in Hanover County and spent three years developing new businesses in the Franklin and Southampton County area.

“I’ve intentionally guided my career for new experiences related to all levels of economic development ranging from rural to suburban, local to state, existing business outreach to business attraction,” Miller said. “All of these experiences have helped open my network and expand my knowledge of how to provide the best resources and services.”

Miller earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied real estate and urban land development as an undergraduate. His master’s is in urban and regional planning.

“I have been given the opportunity to work with firms ranging from one-person startups to global Fortune 500 companies and industries ranging from life sciences to automotive,” he says. “Now, I really look forward to engaging with my new team members in Salem to see how we can work together to support the health and livelihood of the community.”

Würth Revcar to relocate corporate HQ to Roanoke County

A global company with ties to Roanoke going back decades is opening its new corporate headquarters and East Coast distribution center in Roanoke County.

Würth Revcar Fasteners Inc., a Würth Industry North America company and part of the worldwide Würth Group based in Germany, will make Roanoke County its headquarters and open its single largest facility in North America, Cushman & Wakefield |Thalhimer announced March 10.

The company will lease the 387,558-square-foot former Home Shopping Network building at 1 Avery Row and expects to open its new location in the third quarter. Würth Revcar’s industrial division is in the city of Roanoke, on Thirlane Road NW.

Würth Revcar Fasteners is a full line and full-service assembly component supplier and an approved level-one fastener distributor to many U.S. Navy and military accounts worldwide.

Revcar Fasteners was founded in Roanoke in 1969 and has been headquartered in the Roanoke Valley since then. The Würth Group, the world’s largest industrial distributor, acquired Revcar Fasteners in 1996.

“We are excited to relocate Würth Revcar to a new, larger headquarters in Roanoke,” Dan Hill, CEO of Würth Industry North America, said in a statement. “This move represents another significant milestone for our fast-growing organization. The new facility supports our customer-centric distribution strategy in North America while accommodating our growing team. The additional space will also help drive innovation and provide the opportunity for further expansion.”

The facility will not only be the new headquarters but will be its primary distribution center for the East Coast. It will ship to customers throughout North America and distribute inventory to eight regional ranches.

The company plans to initially invest $5 million in office renovations, sustainable energy solutions and warehouse infrastructure, and make subsequent investments in warehouse automation and equipment.

“We are excited about the opportunity for a world-class headquarters that will allow us to attract, retain and develop top talent in the same location as a highly efficient, large-scale distribution facility,” said Chapman Revercomb, managing director of Würth Revcar Fasteners.

The company expects to add 50 office and warehouse positions as it ramps up operations in the new facility.

“As a family-owned company with a 75-year history, we place the utmost importance on positively impacting the communities we operate in, and we are thrilled to play a role in the growth of the Roanoke area through our new building,” Hill said.

Norman K. Moon Jr. and Kent Roberts of Cushman Wakefield l Thalhimer represented Würth Revcar Fasteners in the lease negotiations, with the assistance of John M. Minervini in Cushman & Wakefield’s Los Angeles office.

Doug Faris and Derek Anderson, with Binswanger, represented the landlord, Blue Ridge Partners LLC.

Hyundai dealership to open in Roanoke County

A Hyundai sales and service facility is coming to Roanoke County, car dealership group Southern Team Automotive Group announced Tuesday.

The 30,000-square-foot facility will be located at 7300 Williamson Road in the Hollins area in northern Roanoke County. The two-story showroom and facility will have DC fast-charging stations for electric vehicles. Construction is set to begin in spring, with an expected completion by this winter.

This project is the 10th expansion of Roanoke County-based Southern Team Automotive Group in the last 33 years.

“Southern Team has been honored to provide the best in Hyundai sales and service to the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia now for 33 years,” David Dillon, Southern Team president and general manager, said in a statement. “We are excited to announce that we will bring the latest Hyundai facility design experience and the newest technology to our Hyundai owners with this new showroom.”

Southern Team Automotive Group opened a Hyundai franchise in Roanoke County in 1988 and now offers new cars from Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen.