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Hundreds pack into Caesars Virginia on opening day
Hundreds of people descended upon Danville’s Main Street Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the $800 million Caesars Virginia, the third permanent casino to open in the state. Caesars didn’t shortchange on spectacle for the first day. A faux Roman legionary struggled to climb out of a Rolls-Royce to join Vegas-style showgirls and others for […]
Energy storage projects slated for Greensville, Pittsylvania
Two energy storage projects proposed for Southern Virginia would help augment the area’s power capacity, diversify the region‘s tax base and boost the regional economy, industry representatives say. Dominion Energy Virginia wants to build a liquified natural gas storage facility on more than 20 acres that the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility owns next to its […]
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 […]
FOR THE RECORD May 2024
CENTRAL VIRGINIA Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bankshares completed its acquisition of Danville-based American National Bankshares, parent company of American National Bank and Trust, on April 1. Based on the $35.31 per share closing price of Atlantic Union common stock on March 28, the transaction value was approximately $507 million. The deal was announced in July 2023, […]
Southern Va. Year-in-Review: Hitting the jackpot
Southern Virginia is seeing years of preparation for economic development pay big dividends. Businesses ranging from a temporary casino to a biopharmaceutical company to a flat-glass manufacturer announced they were opening or planning expansions in the region in 2023. Local economic development officials say the major draws they’ve worked hard to put in place include […]
$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 nee[...]
Pittsylvania site is top contender for lithium-ion battery plant
The Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill in Pittsylvania County is the top contender for a lithium-ion battery manufacturing project that could top $1 billion in investments and about 1,500 jobs, according to its CEO. After a $100 million grant for the project was announced by the U.S. Department of Energy Nov. 27, 2023, Tennessee-based […]
New IALR lab to feature ‘automagic’ manufacturing tech
Butch Kendrick once worked in a factory making plywood suitcase components. Each time he ran a strip of plywood through a planer, he heard a loud, screeching whine. “I would hear that noise in my head until I went to sleep,” Kendrick says. “And I’ve never forgot that. Anyone who works in manufacturing, if I […]
Genedge names regional growth manager
Martinsville-based Genedge Alliance, a consultant to manufacturers statewide, has named Cheryl Valentine as its regional growth manager for the Southside region, the organization announced this week. Valentine will lead business development efforts to support manufacturers from Lynchburg throughout Southside Virginia, working with owners and senior executives of manufacturing, engineering and tech[...]
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 […]
Auto parts manufacturer to expand in Emporia
Heyco Werk USA Inc., a subsidiary of Germany-based automotive parts manufacturer Heyco Group, plans to invest $5.4 million to expand its operations in Greenville County, adding 21 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. The location produces precision plastic molder parts for the auto industry and other industrial markets. Heyco Werk USA produces products for all […]
Caesars Danville opens temporary casino
Virginia’s third casino opened its doors Monday in Danville to hundreds of guests lined up to take a look inside Caesars Virginia‘s 40,000-square-foot temporary casino. While the $650 million permanent resort, which is expected to open in late 2024, is being constructed next door, the temporary facility will offer guests eight sportsbook betting kiosks; 740 […]
