Space race
Leaders of a regional engineering firm figured finding office space in the Town Center of Virginia Beach would be a breeze. Newspapers were reporting that demand for offices was down nationally. But that isn’t the case in the Hampton Roads area, where the office vacancy rate was 8.1% for the first quarter of 2023, according […]
Under construction
Atlantic Park Virginia Beach Proposed in 2017 by music icon Pharrell Williams and Venture Realty Group, Atlantic Park finally got underway in March with a groundbreaking on the first phase of the $350 million surf park project. Phase one will involve 10.95 acres, including 309 multifamily units, 10,000 square feet of office space, a 70,000-square-foot […]
The Pharrell factor
Some celebrities seem to forget their roots. Fortunately for Hampton Roads, Pharrell Williams is not that kind of star. The Grammy-winning musician with a worldwide following has invested in the area repeatedly over the past several years and is poised to continue. Even as his career took a new path this year when he was […]
RVA757 Connects releases plan for global internet hub
RVA757 Connects, a nonprofit focused on regional cooperation for economic development in Richmond and Hampton Roads, released on Thursday its 10-point strategic plan for transforming the “megaregion” into the next global internet hub. Virginia is already home to the world’s largest internet hub in Loudoun County’s Ashburn area, which has the world’s greatest concentration of […]
Amazon to open fulfillment, delivery facilities in Va. Beach
Amazon.com will launch a fulfillment center and delivery station in Virginia Beach, creating an estimated 1,000 full-time jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. Groundbreaking began Monday, according to Ian Allen-Anderson, an Amazon spokesperson. The fulfillment center will be located at the intersection of Harpers and Dam Neck roads, and the delivery station will be “at […]
Sandpaper manufacturer to expand in Va. Beach
Hermes Abrasives USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Hamburg, Germany-based Hermes Abrasives, will invest $5.6 million in a Virginia Beach expansion that will add an estimated 30 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. Hermes Abrasives manufactures coated and bonded abrasives and grinding tools. The company will return its narrow belt production line to its Virginia Beach […]
Chartway Credit Union names chief legal officer
Melissa Stratton Moffa is Chartway Credit Union’s new chief legal officer, the Virginia Beach-based credit union announced Tuesday. Moffa was most recently Tysons-based Pentagon Federal Credit Union’s senior director, associate general counsel and privacy officer. “We are thrilled to have Melissa on board. Her experience in mergers and acquisitions and her background working at a [&helli[...]
Groundworks promotes two execs to C-suite
Virginia Beach-based Groundworks has promoted two employees, including one to chief sales officer and another as chief revenue officer, the foundation and water management solutions company announced Thursday. Ben Flowers has been promoted from vice president of Groundworks’ southern division to chief sales officer, a new role for the company. Flowers will lead its sales […]
Real Estate 2023: LOUIS S. ‘LOU’ HADDAD
Haddad joined Armada Hoffler as an on-site construction superintendent in 1985. After several promotions, he was named president of Armada Hoffler Construction Co. in 1987, at age 29. In 1996, he was promoted to president of the parent company, and nearly 15 years after joining Armada Hoffler, he became the company’s CEO in 1999. He […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: AKHIL JAIN
For more than a decade, Jain has run Landmark Hotel Group, a hospitality company that manages, owns and develops hotels in North Carolina and Virginia under the Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Radisson brands. In 2021, Landmark expanded into the housing market with the development of Ellipse Urban Apartments, a 287-unit luxury apartment complex in Hampton. […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: RYAN ANGOLD
Angold, a former Navy SEAL who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, wore one of ADS’ wetsuits when he was deployed on missions. In 2005, Angold left the Navy and joined Blackbird Technologies, a solutions provider for the intelligence community that became part of Raytheon Technologies (now RTX). He joined ADS in 2010 as Navy […]
Education 2023: GORDON P. ROBERTSON
In addition to succeeding his famous and controversial late father, the evangelical Christian leader Pat Robertson, as president and CEO of the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network and host of its flagship weekday news magazine show, “The 700 Club,” Robertson became Regent’s chancellor in July. Pat Robertson was still at the helm of the influential […]