Elizabeth Cooper Archives - Page 5 of 11

History in the making

Cliff Fleet took the helm of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in January 2020 with a mandate to curb declining attendance and revenue at the nation’s largest outdoor living museum while maintaining its relevance to diverse 21st-century audiences.

It was a tall order and one that became even more challenging two months later when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Colonial Williamsburg to shutter properties within its 301 acres for three months. Meanwhile, the nation became engulfed in social and political unrest, with debates erupting over how to present a more complete narrative of the events and people that shaped the nation, including those in Colonial Williamsburg.

“It’s been an interesting year,” reflects Fleet, a William & Mary alumnus and former president and CEO of Richmond-based tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris USA. “Obviously, we could not predict how the pandemic and social justice movement would unfold, but we made sure our focus was on the health of our employees, guests and the region as we thought about how to reopen safely and soundly.”

Colonial Williamsburg has a massive economic impact on Williamsburg. The private, nonprofit foundation oversees more than $1 billion in assets, including the living history attraction, museums, lodging and restaurants. It’s the city’s second-largest employer, next to William & Mary. The foundation owns approximately 300 properties within the city limits and about 25 more in James City and York counties.

Fleet was hired to replace Mitchell B. Reiss, who stepped down as the foundation’s eighth president and CEO in October 2019 at the end of his five-year contract. Reiss oversaw a series of dramatic cost-cutting measures at the foundation, which has had to contend with declining attendance and revenues in recent decades. Visitation at the nearly 100-year-old living history tourist attraction has dropped from 960,000 in 1999 to 534,000 in 2019. The 2010s saw the foundation making large draws from its endowment to balance its books.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina was elected chair of the foundation’s board of trustees in December 2020. Photo by Marvin Joseph

So, Fleet, who holds a law degree and graduate degrees in history and business administration from William & Mary, was already prepared to enter a challenging leadership role. But then came the coronavirus pandemic.

21st-century engagement

Although Colonial Williamsburg’s hospitality staff were furloughed during the pandemic, Fleet says, the foundation made sure their health insurance benefits were maintained, and food from closed Colonial Williamsburg restaurants was used to provide tens of thousands of meals to the community.

And activities at the historic site did not grind to a halt during the closure. The foundation used the down time to spruce up landscaping and buildings and accelerate work on projects that tell a more balanced, complete story of Colonial life.

Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg used the pandemic to expand its digital presence. The foundation launched a streaming channel on Amazon Fire TV and Roku in early April 2020. It also enhanced its online educational content, including blogs, video and virtual tours, allowing visitors from all corners of the globe to virtually travel to the historic site. Colonial Williamsburg’s online content received more than 13.5 million video views and nearly 110 million digital impressions last year.

“We’ve seen great growth over the past year in means that don’t involve physically having visitors here to deliver educational programs,” Fleet says. “It’s heartwarming to see how many people we have reached through our digital footprint.”

More than a year after the pandemic began, Colonial Williamsburg has reopened the larger buildings in the historic area and moved other programs outdoors. It’s also launched new and expanded historic interpretation programs, including relating more stories of women and Black people and American Indians who lived and worked there in the 18th century.

“Colonial Williamsburg is set to emerge from the pandemic stronger than when it began,” says foundation spokesman Joseph Straw. “As a harbinger of good things to come, visitation is building back up as we enter spring.”

Meanwhile, the foundation is coming off a successful fundraising year, including raising a record $19 million designated for its unrestricted Colonial Williamsburg Fund.

All of which puts Colonial Williamsburg Foundation on more solid footing as the organization prepares to celebrate its own centennial and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. “We’ve built a plan to help strengthen our financial profile as we approach 2026,” Fleet says. “We’ve made good progress and are excited about where we are.”

Not dry and dusty

Colonial Williamsburg strives to ensure its programs are both engaging and relevant, Fleet says, especially as it relates the intersection of current events with the past. “We’ve learned people are very interested in what we do, but we need to be very thoughtful about how we do it,” Fleet says. “We’re continuing to evolve and add experiences that tell a more full, inclusive story.”

Telling Colonial Williamsburg’s story in an accurate, complete, inclusive and compelling manner is one of Carly Fiorina’s goals as chair of the foundation’s board of trustees. Elected chair last December, the onetime GOP presidential hopeful and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. says she’s using her industry experience to support the foundation’s continued digital evolution and delivery of more inclusive programming.

“Sometimes the word ‘history’ is interpreted as dry, dusty, academic, but most people respond to the human story,” she says. “When you can connect to a human being telling a story about a real person, and the person is surrounded by objects and events, that’s very compelling.”

Fiorina adds that Colonial Williamsburg seeks to be world-class in its threefold mission of preservation, education and civic engagement as it reaches out to a more diverse audience. “We realize our true, complete history is much bigger than Jefferson, Madison and Washington, although they are an incredibly important part of our history,” she explains. “History also includes the unsung heroes.”

Heroes like the people who founded Williamsburg’s First Baptist Church in 1776. One of the oldest American continuous congregations established by Black people, First Baptist’s original building was demolished in the 1950s and the site was later paved over for a parking lot. Last year, Colonial Williamsburg, in partnership with the church, began excavating the original site, unearthing brick foundations and structural wooden postholes dating as far back as the 1700s. A second phase of the archaeological project began in January.

Colonial Williamsburg also is working with William & Mary to relocate the Bray-Digges House from the college’s campus to the Historic Area. The building once housed the Williamsburg Bray School, an 18th-century institution that educated enslaved and free Black children. The Bray-Digges House will be the 89th restored, original structure housed in the Historic Area.

“Both First Baptist Church and the Bray School are really important to our nation’s history,” says Fleet. “We always have more history to uncover and more history to go back and rethink and reanalyze.”

Those projects also will help Colonial Williamsburg reach a broader audience, Fiorina adds. “That work is intensively interesting to people who might have thought Colonial Williamsburg was about a bunch of guys walking around with pointed hats and fifes and drums and that was it.”

Inclusive history

Describing the historic site’s mission, Colonial Williamsburg benefactor John D. Rockefeller Jr. coined the foundation’s motto, “That the future may learn from the past.”

Colonial Williamsburg assisted with archaeological excavations of the original First Baptist Church site. Photo courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

“That continues to guide all our work,” Fleet says. “We constantly challenge ourselves to continue to build on that rich heritage.”

Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, which started offering historic reenactors in the 1930s, began interpreting Black characters in 1979 and has also included portrayals of American Indians. A recent virtual presentation, “Created Equal,” highlighted Black perspectives on the American Revolution.

Stories from the 1700s are relevant to 21st-century events, adds Beth Kelly, Colonial Williamsburg’s vice president for education, research and historical interpretation. “The past year gave us more insights into our audience and their capacity and desire to understand the depth and breadth of this 18th-century community,” she says. “The pandemic irretrievably changed our lives. The same thing happened to this 18th-century community with political impacts. Each member saw it differently. Those are the stories we want to tell.”

While interpreters previously relayed mostly rote information, such as dates and details about Colonial furniture and architecture, they now frequently step out of character to contextualize a scene, allowing visitors to ask questions and dig deeper. For example, Kelly explains, modern audiences can be uncomfortable watching a vignette between a Black enslaved woman and her white mistress. “It’s not easy to portray enslaved and enslavers,” she says. “When they come out of character, guests can understand the tension. That opens the conversation and allows us to understand the roots of what we experience as Americans.”

Colonial Williamsburg also has begun exploring the role of LGBTQ people in early America. “They certainly did not live within the accepted boundaries of the 18th century, but they were definitely there,” Kelly says. The initiative has received an overwhelmingly positive response from the LGBTQ community.

“We’re not trying to change any part of the story of the 18th century,” she adds. “We’re just trying to ensure the whole story is told. When we look at the whole picture and understand all the threads that make us up as a community, it makes it much more vibrant and interesting.”

Back to the future

Philanthropy has played a critical role in advancing Colonial Williamsburg’s mission, especially during the pandemic. The foundation’s 2020 annual fundraising netted $62 million. “We have a very loyal donor following that recognized that this was a challenging year for all museums,” says Colonial Williamsburg’s chief development officer, Earl Granger. “Our donor community answered the call in some really significant ways.”

The foundation’s $600 million Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg concluded in December 2019. It included $163.5 million for updated programming and research initiatives and a $42 million expansion of the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. “Philanthropy supports Colonial Williamsburg’s core education mission,” Granger notes. “It lends itself to our best ideas and allows us to invest in people, programs and services to bring world-class services.”

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation hopes to expand the Merchants Square retail village, adding a mix of residences, retail and office space. Photo courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Strengthening the foundation’s endowment, as well as reducing the amount and cost of debt, are among Fleet’s priorities as Colonial Williamsburg prepares for its 2026 centennial. Last year, the foundation sold its 200-room Governor’s Inn to Charlottesville real estate investment company Castle Development Partners LLC for $3.05 million. The property is slated to be developed into an apartment complex.

The foundation also hopes to expand the 18th-century-style retail village Merchants Square to the south, adding a mix of residences, retail and office space. Another project, about a half mile away, would transform the nine-hole Spotswood Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club into a walkable residential neighborhood.

“We want to increase the appeal and livability of downtown Williamsburg,” Fleet says. He adds that the foundation is working with local authorities to determine the best uses for its numerous properties throughout Williamsburg and the Upper Peninsula.

A walkable new neighborhood near Merchants Square would be advantageous to local businesses, adds Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons, who acknowledges opposition to the move from the Spotswood Senior Golf Association, golfers mostly age 70 and older. “Spotswood is iconic, but not everything should last forever, and Colonial Williamsburg still maintains two 18-hole golf courses.”

A regional government task force identified the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center’s 100-acre campus as a potential site to locate a proposed community sports complex. The visitor center would remain on the large site, most of which is now vacant and devoted to parking lots and 20th-century buildings that are no longer in use. Colonial Williamsburg supports the proposal.

A sports complex would invigorate both the town and Colonial Williamsburg, Pons adds. “Williamsburg is ripe for this kind of investment. It could be a financial draw for Colonial Williamsburg.”

In the interim, though, Fleet is focused on ensuring more people immerse themselves in 18th-century Virginia. “Colonial Williamsburg is an incredible place,” Fleet says. “It’s an incomparable platform used to understand our culture and history and help us discern the issues of today.”

Wind at their backs

Hampton Roads is on the cusp of becoming a supply chain hub for the thousands of components used to construct the massive turbines that will propel offshore wind farms being developed off the East Coast.

American offshore wind projects currently rely on a European supply chain for turbine components, but shipping the enormous turbines, blades and foundations overseas is expensive, time-consuming and even risky. So, Atlantic seaboard states are looking to cut out the middleman and develop a new U.S. industry, with Virginia and Hampton Roads leading the way.

Hampton Roads boasts a deep, wide harbor free of air-draft restrictions posed by bridges and other overhead structures, an abundance of terminal facilities and waterfront sites and a large, skilled maritime workforce supporting the nation’s largest shipbuilding industry. Plus, Virginia’s pro-business incentives include lower taxes and labor costs and fewer regulations than other East Coast states.

“It’s a generational opportunity to change the economics of Hampton Roads and maybe even Virginia,” says Matt Smith, director of offshore wind business development for the Hampton Roads Alliance. “We’re starting from scratch and trying to build an industry in the U.S. that doesn’t exist yet.”

Generating jobs

The components used in the massive turbines, including blades, generators and foundations, as well as the cables connecting the turbines and substations to shore, could be produced in Hampton Roads and shipped to projects up and down the East Coast. “Our goal is to have as many local businesses participate and be in a place where the industry can locate for the long term,” Smith says.

According to an economic impact analysis that Glen Allen-based Mangum Economics conducted for the alliance, the offshore wind industry will support approximately 5,200 jobs in Virginia — primarily in Hampton Roads — as businesses help develop one gigawatt of new offshore wind energy annually. Those jobs would equal $270 million in pay and benefits, with
$740 million in total economic impact.

Mangum also estimates that construction of Dominion Energy Inc.’s 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will support roughly 900 jobs, with about 60% in Hampton Roads, leading to more than $143 million in economic output. Once construction is completed in 2027, more than 1,100 workers in Hampton Roads would operate and maintain the wind farm. That could translate into $210 million in economic output for the region, generating nearly
$6 million in local tax revenue.

“This is a game-changer industry for the region,” says Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance. “If we get more and more of these wind farms permitted along the East Coast, opportunities for companies to come along and make significant investments in Virginia are enhanced.”

In March, the White House announced a $3 billion program to expand offshore wind energy and deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, speeding up approval of projects off the Atlantic Coast, such as Dominion Energy’s wind farm. Also in the plan are port upgrades and opening an area between Long Island and the New Jersey coast as a priority site for offshore wind development, although a Dominion spokesperson says that the utility does not see this as a disadvantage to Virginia.

With the installation of two test turbines in federal waters last summer, Dominion Energy has emerged as a leader in the offshore wind industry. Construction on its commercial offshore wind operation, the largest in the nation, is scheduled to start in 2024 and is expected to generate power for approximately 650,000 homes.

“This project is a good anchor to attract businesses to Virginia,” says Mark Mitchell, Dominion’s senior vice president of project construction. “Virginia has all the makings of becoming a support not only for our project but for other projects in the Northeast.”

Dominion has invested $500 million in a 472-foot-long, 184-foot-wide vessel to carry and install the turbines, foundations and other heavy components needed for the vast wind farm. It will be the nation’s first offshore wind vessel in compliance with the Jones Act, which requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried on American-built ships. Now under construction in Brownsville, Texas, the ship, named Charybdis after the sea monster from Greek mythology, will operate out of Hampton Roads when it goes into service in late 2023.

“There are a very limited number of these huge vessels in the world,” Mitchell adds. “No vessel in the U.S. can currently install wind turbines, so this vessel is a very critical piece for the entire offshore supply chain in the U.S.”

Supply chain sparks

Spain-based Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A., which is supplying the wind turbines for Dominion’s commercial project, has expressed interest in building a factory in Hampton Roads that would produce fiberglass blades for turbines. “We could see different components manufactured in different ports,” Mitchell says. “We could have a blade factory in Virginia, while the foundations could be manufactured in New Jersey.”

The Hampton Roads Alliance and Dominion have been hosting monthly online forums to educate local businesses about the nascent industry’s supply chain needs. More than 300 companies attended the first forum in December.

Scores of local maritime companies are already supporting offshore wind by performing surveying, geotechnical work, and vessel and terminal operations for Dominion’s venture, says Will Fediw, vice president of industry and government affairs for the Virginia Maritime Association.

However, specialized firms that manufacture turbines and blades will need to be established. “That supply chain needs to be built, but I think we’re close,” Fediw says. “We’re getting there and moving in concert with the projects’ permitting schedules.”

Jennifer Palestrant, chief deputy for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, says her phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from companies interested in contributing to the offshore wind supply chain.

“It’s a perfect marriage into the existing maritime industry,” says Palestrant, who oversees the development of offshore wind on the state level. “There are very similar skillsets, and a lot of the industry contained in shipbuilding and repair can play a role in offshore wind.”

Denmark-based Ørsted, one of the world’s largest wind-energy developers, is already leasing part of Portsmouth Marine Terminal from the Port of Virginia to stage materials and equipment for its offshore wind endeavors in six states. Ørsted ships equipment to PMT to be worked on and transported to the offshore sites for installation.

Palestrant notes one major challenge to Virginia’s maritime growth: replacing retiring workers.

The state recently launched the Mid-Atlantic Training Alliance at Virginia Beach’s Centura College, the Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy and Martinsville’s
New College Institute, and offers Global Wind Organisation-required certifications to operate and maintain wind projects.
(See related story, Page 28)

“Many roles are needed in this industry,” notes John Larson, Dominion’s director of public policy and economic development. For example, the turbines in the utility’s CVOW project will include 190 elevators. “Those elevators will need to be maintained and repaired over the life of the turbines, so we will need a company with employees trained to work offshore and at those heights.”

Double play

Hampton Roads will be home to two Las Vegas-style casino complexes after Norfolk and Portsmouth voters overwhelmingly approved November 2020 referendums greenlighting the projects in their cities. The referendums passed with 64.4% of the vote in Norfolk and 66.7% in Portsmouth.

The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is working with Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough to build the Norfolk Resort & Casino on about 14 acres of waterfront property adjacent to Harbor Park. Featuring a four-diamond, 300-room hotel, the $500 million casino complex will also have indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, multiple restaurants, an entertainment venue and a gaming room with sportsbook, slot machines and table games.

In Portsmouth, Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming plans to construct the $300 million Rivers Casino near the Tidewater Community College (TCC) campus on Victory Boulevard. The complex will include a four-star hotel, conference space, indoor and outdoor concert theaters, multiple restaurants, retail and a gaming floor with a variety of slots, table games, a poker room and a BetRivers Sportsbook.

Both developments are slated to start construction in 2021 and open in late 2022 or early 2023.

Local officials say the casinos will spur economic development, acting as a catalyst for other businesses and attractions. “It’s an extension of our downtown waterfront promenade area and is going to bring more people downtown,” says Jared Chalk, Norfolk’s director of economic development.

Projected to attract more than 6 million tourists a year, the casino could add about $44 million to the city’s coffers in annual tax and gambling revenues. Additionally, it is expected to create about 2,500 permanent jobs along with 2,000 construction jobs. Chalk said the city and Norfolk State University have discussed developing a hospitality program for workforce training.

As the anchor for Portsmouth’s new entertainment district, Rivers Casino is expected to transform the city while generating $16.3 million in annual tax revenues. “When you look at the city where the majority of land is nontaxable because of federal or local government ownership, this is certainly a huge project for us when it comes to what it can do” in the long run, says Portsmouth Economic Development Director Robert D. Moore.

With an estimated annual payroll of $62 million, Rivers Casino is projected to produce 1,300 permanent jobs and 1,400 construction jobs. City officials are joining forces with TCC to offer workforce development programs that train workers in hospitality and culinary arts.

In addition, developers of both casinos have indicated that they will hire 90% of their employees locally, including up to 50% minority workers.

“When you look at both of these developments, it’s 3,800 to 4,000 jobs in the next couple of years,” says Bryan K. Stephens, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. “That is huge in Hampton Roads.”

He adds that Virginia is playing catch-up to about 30 other states that have already approved gaming and casinos. “It’s definitely becoming a major industry. It’s a huge creator of jobs and a new tax base.”

Major benefits include new retail establishments and restaurants growing up around the resorts.

Although the casinos will be less than 10 miles apart, local leaders believe the region can support both venues. “I think people would love to experience both casinos,” says Stephens, who has encouraged Norfolk and Portsmouth to offer transportation between the resorts. “If someone is considering coming to Virginia Beach for a vacation and can take a short drive to go to the casinos, they may attract them to come here, as opposed to going to other places that don’t have casinos.”

Chalk adds that each complex offers visitors a different experience. “What we don’t want is a proliferation of gaming machines,” he says. “Norfolk and Portsmouth want resort-style casinos that will bring new people to the region. They can work in concert.”

Done properly, the casinos will be additional assets for the region, Stephens says. “It’s definitely going to change the complexion of our region and draw a lot of people into Hampton Roads who would not normally have come. It kind of makes Hampton Roads a little bit more exciting.”

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Bigger boxes

Online retailing giant Amazon.com Inc. continues to expand its footprint in Virginia, bringing 1,500 jobs total to Suffolk and Chesapeake with the construction of operations facilities in those cities. Located less than two miles apart, both facilities are slated to open this year.

In Suffolk, Amazon is building a $230 million, multistory robotics fulfillment center in Northgate Commerce Park. At 95 feet and five stories tall, the facility will be the state’s largest industrial building and second in overall size to the Pentagon. A thousand employees, working in conjunction with robots, will pick, pack and ship customer orders, including books, home goods and electronics.

Amazon also is investing $50 million to build a 650,000-square-foot import processing center in Chesapeake’s Western Branch section. The first of its kind in Virginia, the processing center will employ 500 workers. Amazon is eligible for up to $250,000 in state funding for the Chesapeake project and up to $500,000 for the Suffolk project.

Vinod Agarwal, an economics professor in Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business who produces economic forecasts for the region, believes Amazon’s decision to expand into Hampton Roads will pave the way for other large companies to look twice at the region. “Since Amazon has decided to come here, it gives the signal to other businesses to look at the area in a much more positive fashion.”

Agarwal adds that the deal exemplifies the benefits of working as a region to attract industries. “If Suffolk and Chesapeake had worked separately, they may not have gotten it,” he says. “This is a good sign for doing things on a regional basis.”

Chesapeake

Also in Chesapeake, railway equipment manufacturer Plasser American Corp. is investing $52.6 million to add a 45,000- square-foot, three-story office building and an 82,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to its operations. The company also will renovate its existing infrastructure and add manufacturing equipment. Founded in Chesapeake in 1970, Plasser American employs more than 300 people in the city.

Meanwhile, Oregon-based Total Fiber Recovery LLC is establishing its first pulp recycling facility in Chesapeake. The $49 million project is slated to begin operations this year and is expected to create 68 jobs. The plant will annually process 300,000 tons of mixed paper and recycled fiber from local materials recovery facilities, and the resulting pulp product will be repurposed into boxes at domestic and international paper plants.

Suffolk

Along with the Amazon fulfillment center, Suffolk will be home to the first U.S. production facility for international olive oil manufacturer Acesur USA LLC. The Spanish company purchased a former furniture manufacturing facility on 10 acres of land at 1010 Obici Industrial Blvd. for $5 million to handle the bulk of its oil imports from Argentina, Australia and Spain. In addition, Acesur plans to invest another $6 million in renovations and equipment.

The facility, which will be constructed in phases and include office space, warehousing and production areas, is set to bring 29 jobs to Suffolk. Acesur has been producing, packaging and marketing olive oil since 1840, bottling brands such as Coosur and La Española. It exports to more than 80 countries.

Newport News

In June 2020, ship repair company S23 Holdings LLC announced that it will locate its corporate and industrial campus in Newport News. The company, whose affiliates include East Coast Repair and Fabrication (ECR), is investing $64.4 million on the project, which is expected to create 332 jobs.

ECR purchased 84 acres for the new facility at the foot of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel for $17.1 million in 2019. With the new facility, S23 and its affiliates will be the only small ship-repair company with deep-water access in Virginia. The company won a major ship repair deal with the U.S. Navy in 2020, sharing a $217 million contract with seven other local contractors.

Hampton

Huntington Ingalls Industries is building its 20-acre Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence on the Hampton Roads Center North Campus for prototyping, production and testing of unmanned systems.

Totaling more than 155,000 square feet across two buildings, the $50 million center will feature a high-tech digital manufacturing infrastructure that can be reconfigured for various production and systems integration projects and will have precision machining capabilities, a surface finishing area and a dedicated welding space. The first building was completed in January and will be used to assemble hull structures for Boeing’s Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program for the U.S. Navy. The second building, to be used to prototype, produce and test unmanned systems, is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2021.

When fully operational, the center will employ more than 250 people, including machinists, engineers and testers. Duane Fotheringham, president of the Unmanned Systems business group of Huntington Ingalls’ Technical Solutions division, says the center will complement the company’s smaller facilities in Massachusetts, Florida and Washington that have been involved in fabricating and testing underwater vehicles for the Navy for nearly two decades. Hampton Roads was a logical choice for the new facility, he says.

“Huntington Ingalls already has a strong presence in Virginia,” Fotheringham adds, noting the company’s corporate headquarters and its Newport News Shipbuilding division in Newport News. “There is a skilled workforce here with a very capable skill set to do the work to be performed in this manufacturing facility.”

James City County

Navien Inc., a leader in condensing technology for water heaters and boilers, announced in February 2020 plans to invest $77.5 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing and assembly plant in the former Lumber Liquidators facility, expanding it to almost 900,000 square feet by 2026. The project is expected to bring 180 jobs to James City County, and operations started last year. One of the fastest growing companies in the home comfort sector in North America, Navien Inc. is a U.S. subsidiary of Seoul-based KD Navien.

Franklin

GMAX Industries Inc., a manufacturer and sourcing agent of medical disposable products for the health care industry, is investing $10.5 million to establish a manufacturing and distribution operation in Pretlow Industrial Park. The announcement came in January 2020 that the company would take over the former Money Mailer building. With its plans delayed by the pandemic, GMAX was set to start distribution in the warehouse in late January or early February this year, with the manufacturing side coming later in 2021, according to city officials.

The new facility will centralize GMAX Industries’ operations in-house and create 40 jobs in Franklin. Headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, the company creates products for Custom Procedure Kit manufacturers, medical disposable items for health care providers through distribution, and finished goods and components for other medical manufacturers.

Virginia Beach

Acoustical Sheetmetal Co. announced in July 2020 that it will invest $15.8 million to expand its Virginia Beach complex. The project is expected to create 200 jobs.

The company, which produces sound attenuating and weather protective enclosures for on-site power generation equipment, is adding a 100,000-square-foot facility to the three facilities it operates in Virginia Beach. Its 5.5 acres in Virginia Beach include 100,000 square feet for manufacturing, an 11,000-square-foot storage facility, 2,000 square feet of administration space and one acre for staging space.

Virginia Beach-based military-industrial contractor SJS Executives also is expanding, adding a fourth location to its office and industrial space in the city. The company is investing $4 million to purchase a 5-acre, 42,000-square-foot site and plans to add 49 jobs, with average salaries of $59,000.

SJS Executives has more than 200 employees who work on military bases and in shipyards and federal buildings. Its services include marine cargo handling, forklift operations, logistics, program management and engineering.

Meanwhile, Premium-PPE is investing $5.3 million to expand its Virginia Beach operation by purchasing additional equipment to increase personal protective equipment manufacturing capacity and meet growing demand. The manufacturer of AmeriShield-branded masks and PPE also is adding 180 jobs.

In March 2020 the company shifted its full production to disposable face and surgical masks in response to the pandemic, with the Virginia Beach facility able to manufacture more than 20 million masks each month.

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Charging ahead

Greener rides are on tap for schoolchildren and commuters as Dominion Energy Inc. accelerates efforts to increase the number of electric vehicles on Virginia roads.

Electric transportation is a key component of the Richmond-based utility’s 10-year Grid Transformation Plan, which sets targets for reducing carbon, adding renewable energy sources and transforming the electric grid for greater reliability. The utility announced the plan in 2018 in response to the General Assembly’s Grid Transformation & Security Act, which outlines Virginia’s energy future.

Additionally, as part of Virginia’s Clean Economy Act passed in 2020, Dominion is working to achieve net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions by 2050. The utility plans to add 24 gigawatts of renewable energy during the next 15 years, including 16.1 gigawatts of solar and onshore wind, 5.2 gigawatts of offshore wind and
2.7 gigawatts of battery storage by 2035.

With transportation producing most carbon emissions in Virginia and the nation, Dominion officials say electric vehicles can significantly enhance the environment. “Our electric transportation initiatives focus on lowering the carbon footprint of the company and helping our customers do the same,” says Kate Staples, Dominion’s manager of electrification. “We know electric transportation benefits our customers and the communities we serve.”

Dominion’s electric school bus program is subsidizing 15 Virginia school districts’ purchases of electric buses, which cost more than three times the price of a diesel-powered bus. — Dominion’s electric school bus program is
subsidizing 15 Virginia school districts’ purchases of electric buses, which cost more than three times the price of a diesel-powered bus. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.

Generating few to no emissions, electric vehicles improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions while costing less to operate and maintain than gas-powered vehicles. According to the Edison Electric Institute, electric vehicles discharge 54% fewer carbon dioxide emissions, and motorists spend 50% less on fuel. “If electric vehicles are integrated with the grid prudently, we can help minimize the impacts of their charging and maximize the benefits of electric vehicle transportation,” Staples adds.

Dominion is counting on its deployment of the nation’s largest electric school bus fleet to enhance its power grid while reducing emissions and improving air quality aboard buses. Although delayed by COVID-19 and the pandemic’s adjustments to school schedules, the first electric buses were delivered to Virginia school districts in fall 2020. Fifteen districts — Augusta, Charles City, Chesterfield, Fairfax, James City, Loudoun, Louisa, Middlesex, Pittsylvania and Prince William counties as well as Alexandria, Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach and Waynesboro — are participating in the Dominion Energy Electric School Bus Program. More than 30 districts, requesting some 200 electric buses, applied for the pilot program, which launched in October 2020.

“We picked an interesting year to launch the nation’s largest electric school bus program,” Staples says.

Merryman. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.

Fifty electric school buses were rolled out to local school systems by the end of 2020, with more buses slated for delivery early this year.

Power trips

An electric school bus costs about $325,000, compared with approximately $100,000 for a traditional diesel-powered bus. The higher price tag comes from the new technology built into electric buses, including the electric motor, the battery energy storage system, the ability to integrate with the grid and a braking system that can recharge the battery. The school districts in the Dominion program purchase electric buses at the same price as diesel models, with Dominion offsetting the difference. Dominion owns the battery and picks up the tab for charging stations and related equipment. The program does not result in additional costs to customers, with expenses for the first phase covered by Dominion’s base rate.

“With any new technology, change can be scary, but we were pleasantly surprised by the interest expressed,” Staples says. “We’d love to have all buses on the road in Virginia be electric, but we’re taking a staged approach and working with school districts based on their needs. We definitely have school districts that have asked how to get more electric buses.”

School districts were chosen based on “where the school is, the level of demand, number of customers, customer demands and if renewable energy is on the circuit,” Staples says. Districts also requested specific amenities for the buses, such as air conditioning, onboard cameras, an outside camera and Wi-Fi. Seatbelts will be on all buses, a Dominion requirement.

For phase one of the program, Dominion partnered with Lynchburg bus dealer Sonny Merryman Inc., North Carolina-based bus manufacturer Thomas Built Buses Inc. and California-based electric bus designer Protera.

“Looking at the bus from the outside, you can’t tell a difference,” says Sonny Merryman President and CEO Floyd Merryman. “You wouldn’t know it’s different until you open the hood. There’s no engine, and the battery is under the frame.”

The emission-free Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric school buses are 60% less expensive to operate than diesel-powered buses. Replacing one diesel bus with an electric version is the annual equivalent of removing 5.2 cars from the road and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 54,000 pounds, according to Dominion. There also is less maintenance since electric buses have fewer parts and do not require oil changes.

Each bus can travel approximately 135 miles on a single battery charge. “A 135-mile range is plenty for a school bus,” Staples says, noting that a typical bus route runs 30 to 40 miles twice a day. The buses can be fully charged in three to four hours.

Dominion’s autonomous electric EZ10 Relay shuttle debuted in Fairfax County in October 2020, ferrying passengers between the Dunn Loring Metro station and the Mosaic District. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.

Additionally, the buses can be used as portable batteries through vehicle-to-grid technology, storing and transferring energy to Dominion’s grid during high demand periods when the buses are not needed to transport students. Buses also could be used as mobile power stations during emergencies or power outages. Batteries last for the 15-year life of the bus. After that, Dominion plans to continue using the vehicles’ batteries to support the electric grid.

Pending General Assembly approval for phase two of the program, Dominion expects to replace 200 diesel buses with electric buses each year for the next five years. Batteries from 1,000 buses could provide enough energy to power more than 10,000 homes. In phase three of the program, 50% of all diesel school buses will be replaced with electric models by 2025 and 100% by 2030. Dominion is encouraging districts to get the usable life out of their diesel buses before replacing them with electric models.

“The Dominion program is one of a kind,” Merryman says. “Other utilities around the U.S. are looking at this very closely to see if Dominion will be successful getting legislative approval for the plan.”

Test drive

Meanwhile, Northern Virginia passengers can get a free ride between the Dunn Loring Metro station and the Mosaic District in Fairfax County aboard the autonomous electric EZ10 shuttle. The pilot project is a public-private partnership between Dominion, Fairfax County, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, George Mason University and Washington, D.C.-based developer Edens. The rail and public transportation department provided a $200,000 grant, while Fairfax County kicked in $50,000 to operate the program. The shuttle is operated by Transdev North America, which has run autonomous vehicles in California, Colorado and Florida.

“Fairfax County has had a longstanding interest in electric vehicles,” says Dan Storck, Mount Vernon district supervisor on the county’s Board of Supervisors. “It really accelerated over the

Storck. Photo courtesy Dominion Energy Inc.

last couple of years. We see the challenge we all face with global warming and the need to reduce carbon emissions and increase the numbers and types of carbon reduction initiatives.”

The 13-foot, zero-emission shuttle, nicknamed Relay, debuted in October 2020 in the county’s Mosaic District. Owned by Dominion, the connected autonomous vehicle travels a 1-mile route in regular traffic lanes at about 10 mph. “People have embraced it very thoroughly,” Storck says. “It enables people to go from the Metro station to the Mosaic District easily and is one way of making sure that community continues to thrive and is a modern place where young people want to go.”

Relay runs frequently during the daytime although it seats only four passengers, including a safety steward who can take control of the vehicle if necessary. The vehicle includes sensors and GPS that spot hazards, with Relay responding by slowing or stopping.

“Ultimately, we are looking for it to be viable long term,” Storck says. “The first hurdle is to prove it can run autonomously.”

While it isn’t going driverless, Hampton Roads Transit has also made a foray into renewable energy, rolling out six electric buses late last year. Acquired through a partnership with Dominion, the buses were deployed on one of Hampton Roads Transit’s busiest routes between the transit center in Norfolk and the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Drivers and mechanics were trained in operating the electric buses, each of which underwent a 500-mile test before passengers were allowed onboard.

“It’s a demonstration project to test the abilities and feasibilities of the buses to make sure all-electric buses meet our needs,” says Jim Price, Hampton Roads Transit’s chief operating officer. Testing will last at least two years, but the company anticipates using the buses for about a dozen years, along with additional electric models. “We would select another route or two that would be good candidates for all electric buses and expand in a controlled environment.”

The zero-emission, all-electric buses, the first for Virginia public transit, each cost approximately $1 million, about twice the amount of a diesel bus. The project is supported by state and federal grants, as well as the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust.

Sparking change

Hampton Roads Transit Chief Operating Officer Jim Price says the system is testing its six electric buses for the next couple years in a partnership with Dominion Energy. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Along with public forms of transportation, Dominion is encouraging its customers to switch to electric vehicles for personal use. With about 20,000 electric vehicles currently on the road, Virginia ranks 15th in the U.S. for electric vehicle use, but Dominion anticipates there will be 170,000 electric vehicles in the state by 2030. “All of those vehicles will need to charge,” Staples notes. “That requires more infrastructure. If we can encourage drivers to charge their vehicles when the infrastructure is not strained, we might not have to put in as much infrastructure. That benefits all of our customers.”

Those benefits include rebates that Dominion recently introduced for qualifying electric vehicle charging stations in multifamily communities, workplaces, transit bus depots and fast-charging locations through the utility’s Smart Charging Infrastructure Pilot Program. Approved by the State Corporation Commission, rebates for infrastructure, chargers and network fees range from $2,000 to more than $50,000 per project.

A rebate program to be launched this year will offer incentives for electric vehicle owners to charge their vehicles during off-peak times. “Charging electric vehicles uses energy from the grid,” Staples notes. “It’s more beneficial to use energy at certain times of the day, so we’re using smart technology incentives to encourage customers to charge their vehicles when the strain on the grid is not so high. If their car is parked, most folks don’t care when it’s charging as long as it is charged when they need it.”

Dominion also is installing four public, fast-charging stations in Northern Virginia as part of its rideshare electrification initiative. Currently, there are 701 public charging stations across Virginia, including 118 fast charging sites that can charge an electric vehicle battery to 80% in less than 30 minutes.

In addition, Dominion is transitioning one-quarter of its light duty fleet to electric vehicles and is installing charging stations at its offices and offering incentives to employees who purchase an electric vehicle.

“Once folks drive electric vehicles, they really love them,” Staples says. “They’re very quiet, very efficient and very fun to drive.”

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Virginia Beach revives resort office to bolster Oceanfront tourism

This summer, visitors to Virginia Beach’s resort area will be greeted by spruced-up properties, enhanced entertainment options and new tourism ambassadors.

These are just some of the city’s efforts to improve the 40-block commercial district through its restored Resort Management Office. City Council is allocating $1.1 million from its tourism tax fund to revive the office, which has been dormant for nearly three decades. The resurrected office will interact with visitors, promote safety, improve public events, address homelessness issues and encourage property owners to update awnings, signage and other infrastructure.

The previous resort management office was disbanded after refurbishment of the Atlantic Avenue corridor was completed in 1992. “Now it’s time for it to be restarted as we improve the quality of the product of the resort area for both visitors and residents,” says Brian Solis, assistant to the city manager for special projects.

Most of the funds will be used to launch a resort ambassador program of paid workers who will provide directions to tourists, reunite lost children with their parents, perform spot cleaning and graffiti abatement and enhance the city’s relationships with the business community.

“It will be almost like a concierge service in the outdoor space,” says Solis, who is setting up the Resort Management Office. “The ambassadors will help to create more orderly, tourist-friendly areas.”

Additionally, 15% of the funds will go toward upgrading the quality and quantity of entertainment options available in the resort area. The city also plans to tap into its general fund to hire two outreach coordinators to address homelessness. A new zoning inspector will make sure business façades are consistent and comply with city code.

Solis aims to have a permanent manager in place and the office operational by April 1.

The city also wants to ensure that the Atlantic Avenue corridor aligns with other planned improvements, including the $325 million Atlantic Park development, which is expected to come online in the next four to five years. Additionally, improvements to the 17th Street corridor are slated to begin in 2022. Expected to take four years to complete, the $26 million project will include widening the east end of Virginia Beach Boulevard from Cypress to Pacific avenues, upgrading utility infrastructure and installing new sidewalks and bicycle lanes. On Jan. 5, Virginia Beach City Council voted to ask the General Assembly to allow the city to create a tourism authority to further its efforts.

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Hope springs eternal

Williamsburg’s tourism-steeped economy was on track for a banner year when COVID-19 knocked it off course. Businesses, including tourist attractions Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Colonial Williamsburg shut down, William & Mary sent students home, and hotel and motel occupancy rates plummeted.

As of late October, with capacity restrictions gradually lifted, Williamsburg was striving to get back on its feet. Colonial Williamsburg began welcoming visitors back in June, with most of its interpretive programs moved outdoors. After being shuttered for most of the summer, Busch Gardens opened for limited capacity events in August. Other businesses, including those that rely on tourist dollars, also have reopened, and William & Mary students returned to campus in mid-August.

However, don’t expect a return to business as usual for Williamsburg, which in March was named the South’s best small town in a reader survey conducted by Southern Living magazine. Local leaders say the pandemic has underscored the area’s dependency on tourism and they’re pressing to diversify the region’s economy before the bottom drops out again.

“COVID-19 exposed our vulnerabilities and forced our community to hit the reset button,” says Voncile Gilbreath, executive director of the Greater Williamsburg Partnership (GWP). The 4-year-old economic development organization, which represents the Williamsburg area, including James City and York counties, had already been looking at economic diversification before the coronavirus hit. “We want to look at where we can lessen our dependency on tourism and move forward. This is the time to get it right.”

In 2016, GWP commissioned an analysis of greater Williamsburg’s economic and labor assets, which identified advanced materials and components, food and beverage, and professional and technical services as emerging sectors, along with tourism and defense as legacy industries. This fall, GWP received a $36,375 grant from the state’s GO Virginia economic development initiative to update the analysis.

“Time is of the essence,” Gilbreath says, noting that other economic sectors could be added to the list. “People in hospitality and tourism are out of work. We want to make sure we’re moving forward with solutions right away and direct those who have lost their jobs to new positions so we don’t lose those employees out of greater Williamsburg or Virginia.”

Expansion plans

Home to more than 156,000 residents, greater Williamsburg’s location between Hampton Roads and Richmond allows it to draw from both regions’ economic and workforce assets. In addition, the widening of Interstate 64 on the Peninsula, along with massive investments through the Port of Virginia, puts the area in a good position to attract new businesses, such as South Korean manufacturer Navien Inc. A manufacturer of tankless water heaters and coolers, Navien announced in March that it plans to invest $77.5 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing and assembly operation in James City County, with the plant expected to begin manufacturing in 2023.

Ron Kirkland, executive director of the Williamsburg Hotel & Motel Association

Other companies expanding into greater Williamsburg include Delaware-based T-Rex Ventures LLC, which in July unveiled plans to build a $60 million data center at York River Commerce Park in Yorktown. Under an agreement with the York County Economic Development Authority, T-Rex Ventures has until

Jan. 31, 2021, to purchase the property from Dominion Energy Inc. in order to receive economic development incentives, including a $1.48 million grant. The project is expected to be completed by summer 2022.

Meanwhile, Midtown Row is being promoted as Williamsburg’s new city center. Located near William & Mary, the mixed-use development from Bethesda, Maryland-based Broad Street Realty Inc. will have office and retail space and 240 apartments when it is completed in summer 2021.

“They’re doing things to think outside the box,” Gilbreath says. “There’s a lot of history here, and one of the things that makes the area such a great place to live is all of the amenities in greater Williamsburg.”

Pursuing new economic sectors will not eclipse the importance of tourism for the Williamsburg area, however, says Gilbreath. “It’s not going anywhere, and we don’t want it to go anywhere, but we want it to be robust and make it the best, high-quality experience people can have.”

Those efforts include pursuing new ventures to promote tourism, including a regional sports complex. “We already have hotels, restaurants and attractions. This would generate more room nights,” Gilbreath says. Such a facility also could help the area in its efforts to attract the USA Field Hockey Association, which is seeking to relocate its national headquarters from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Economic diversification is a lofty goal, counters Ron Kirkland, executive director of the Williamsburg Hotel & Motel Association. “You can do small things to diversify the economy, but is the next Facebook or Google going to locate in Williamsburg? It’s possible, but not likely.”

Although he agrees that an indoor sports facility would draw more people to the area and introduce them to its historic attractions, Kirkland questions Williamsburg’s commitment to bringing it to fruition. “If tourism performed like it did 20 years ago, we wouldn’t be talking about the need to diversify,” he says. “We have to invest in new products to get people to come here, but we don’t have the will to act.”

A ‘devastating’ lodging year

Busch Gardens is holding a scaled-down version of its annual Christmas event, with limited attendance and COVID-19 prevention measures.

The Williamsburg Tourism Council, the area’s marketing arm, has launched an aggressive advertising campaign, assuring potential visitors that Williamsburg is open and employing comprehensive safety measures. “Given the influx of new visitors to our website, I’m confident that maintaining the region’s promotions will result in an expedited recovery,” says Victoria Cimino, the council’s chief executive officer.

According to Smith Travel Research, the region’s hotel occupancy rate hit an historic low of 10.5% in April, climbing to 36.5% by August. “That’s certainly not where we had hoped or wanted to be at the beginning of 2020, but we’re slowly moving in the right direction,” Cimino says.

In terms of revenue and occupancy rates, COVID-19 and the resulting shutdowns of Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens have impacted Williamsburg more than any other Virginia destination, Kirkland says. Lodging revenues in Williamsburg were down by 49% for the first week of November, compared with the same period in 2019, according to STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group that provides market data on the hotel industry.

“It’s devastating,” Kirkland says. “No one is making a profit right now — not a single hotel in town.”

Many of Williamsburg’s more than 60 lodging establishments have taken on additional debt, he adds. “They’re doing everything they can to limit expenses and holding on long enough until we get past this health crisis.”

Easing capacity restrictions at attractions such as Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens is key to filling hotel rooms, Kirkland says. “We don’t want 30,000 people at Busch Gardens, but could we have 10,000? One thousand people [at a time] is just not enough.”

As of early November, Virginia remained under Phase Three of Gov. Ralph Northam’s Forward Virginia pandemic reopening plan. Phase Three limits amusement parks such as Busch Gardens and Hanover County’s Kings Dominion to a maximum of 1,000 patrons. With the nation seeing record numbers of daily COVID-19 cases, it was uncertain when the state government might increase restrictions at some point during the winter.

Busch Gardens reopened in August, September and October for a series of reservation-only events with strict attendance limits. Although only select villages, rides and eateries were available, park officials say the reopening was a success. “Demand was great, and our guests were overwhelmingly positive,” says Kevin Lembke, president of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. In November, the park launched a limited-attendance version of its annual Christmas season — albeit on a much smaller scale than in previous years — to finish out the year.

“We have to get creative and stay creative,” Lembke adds. “The 1,000-person limit certainly makes it difficult for a business this size to operate in a way that makes sense. What we’ve offered is a sampling of what we do.”

Only 10% to 15% of Busch Gardens’ 4,000 employees are working during the limited reopening. “That has certainly been one of the more difficult impacts,” Lembke acknowledges. “As business resumes, our goal is to grow the workforce.”

He adds that Busch Gardens hopes the park will be back to regular operations by the time it opens for its 2021 season in the spring. “It comes down to what restrictions we may or may not be operating under.”

But even if Busch Gardens and other attractions are in full swing next year, Kirkland says, Williamsburg hotels and motels will still feel a pinch. “It will take 18 to 24 months for lodging to recover. As we get into 2021, we can really market the heck out of the destination and have a great spring leading into a great summer, but we can’t do this again.”

Meanwhile, the Greater Williamsburg Partnership and the Williamsburg Community Foundation partnered with Williamsburg and James City and York counties’ economic development authorities to assist small businesses impacted by the pandemic. About 125 businesses have received $3,000 grants through the Greater Williamsburg Small Business Relief Fund, which worked with the nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund to administer the grants.

The grants don’t require repayment, explains Ginny Gasink, the foundation’s development and communications officer, but companies are encouraged to do so if they can. “We know this problem will be going on for a while. If at some point in the future, they want to pay it forward back to the community in some way, they can.”

Williamsburg-based Bicast Laser has already done that. The family-owned company, which makes customized souvenirs for tourist spots, moved into a larger facility just two months before the pandemic hit. “One hundred percent of our customers closed,” says owner Stacy Harris. To keep employees paid and assist front-line health care workers, Bicast Laser pivoted its operations to manufacturing protective face shields, producing more than 25,000 during April and May.

“It wasn’t super profitable, but it kept the doors open, and we were able to keep all of our employees on,” Harris says, adding that she used the relief grant to meet payroll. “Even if we made a zillion face shields, the material was very expensive. We have a lot of single moms working for us. Just keeping them on was very important to us.”

That’s the type of ingenuity, combined with flexibility, that economic development officials believe will jumpstart Williamsburg’s economy. “Everything is possible,” says Gilbreath. “We are all just learning to adapt and be flexible and receptive to change, but we have opportunities.”

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Change in the air

After almost a decade of planning, Dominion Energy Inc. will begin harnessing offshore wind power this fall as two massive test turbines go into operation off the coast of Virginia Beach.

Standing about 600 feet tall, the 12-megawatt turbines are the cornerstone of Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project. The company, the first U.S. electric utility company to own an offshore wind farm, began construction on the $300 million project in June, with the turbines installed and tested this summer. At peak wind speeds, they will provide electricity to 3,000 homes.

Located 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast, the turbines sit in 2,135 acres of federally owned waters leased to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME). It is the first offshore wind farm approved by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) and installed in federal waters, and the second to be built in the nation.

The turbines are expected to last 26 years and withstand severe storms, including hurricanes, says Mark Mitchell, Dominion’s vice president of generation construction. “We looked at every hurricane in the history of this area and calculated what could withstand the wind speed and waves consistent with a Category 5 hurricane.”

Dominion will use information gained from the development, installation and operation of the test turbines to build what is planned to be the largest wind farm in North America, erecting 180 to 190 turbines in 112,800 acres of federal waters adjacent to the test turbines. Scheduled to be built in three, 880-megawatt phases from 2024 to 2026, the $7.8 billion commercial project will be capable of generating 2,600 megawatts of zero-carbon electricity at peak wind speeds to power 650,000 homes.

While preparing the test turbines for service, the utility also is performing ocean surveys and geotechnical work to determine the pilot turbines’ impact on the ocean and sea life. Those surveys will help support development of construction and operations plans for the full-scale project, which will be submitted to BOEM later this year.

Offshore wind generation is a vital part of Dominion’s comprehensive clean energy strategy to meet standards outlined in the Virginia Clean Economy Act passed during the 2020 General Assembly session. The utility has also established an ambitious initiative to achieve net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions by 2050.

Dominion’s offshore wind energy plans dovetail with landmark legislation Gov. Ralph Northam signed this summer to position Virginia as a national leader in offshore wind development. The legislation establishes a target for Virginia to generate 5,200 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2034, ensuring projects demonstrate significant economic development for the state, while safeguarding healthy competition for the procurement of offshore wind projects that bring diverse companies to Virginia. Additionally, the bills create a pathway for project developers to recover expenses while minimizing costs to utility customers.

Northam also signed a bill creating Virginia’s first Office of Offshore Wind within the DMME. The new office will oversee state policies in support of offshore wind, work with stakeholders and coordinate economic development opportunities for the offshore wind industry.

Virginia has already made strides in promoting itself as a leader in offshore wind energy, says a representative for Ørsted Energy, the Denmark-based offshore wind development company partnering with Dominion on the pilot project. Earlier this year, Ørsted agreed to lease a portion of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal from the Virginia Port Authority to stage materials and equipment for Dominion’s project, as well as for its other East Coast offshore wind projects. Hayes Framme, Ørsted’s government relations and communications manager for the Southeast, praised the state’s legislative focus on offshore wind energy, noting that Virginia has shifted from “playing catchup to other states to having one of the most aggressive offshore wind policies in the entire country.”

Dominion also has selected Spanish company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A., a global market leader in offshore wind power, as its preferred supplier for the turbines. Siemens Gamesa is working with Dominion to evaluate supply chain development in Virginia for offshore wind as the state aims to become a national leader in the technology, management and deployment of offshore wind energy.

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The big dig

With construction beginning this fall to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT), relief is on the way for travelers weary of sitting in traffic jams along one of south-eastern Virginia’s most congested corridors.

The $3.8 billion expansion is the largest project in the history of the Virginia Department of Transportation and one of the largest infrastructure projects in the nation. It will also employ new tunnel-excavation technology that has just begun to be used for major roadway projects.

Twin two-lane tunnels, about 50 feet deeper than the current tunnels, will be constructed just west of the existing eastbound tunnel, while more than two dozen marine bridges will be replaced.

Additionally, the four-lane sections of the Interstate 64 corridor between Settlers Landing Road in Hampton and the Phoebus shoreline and the four-lane section of I-64 in Norfolk between the Willoughby shoreline and the I-564 interchange will be widened to six lanes, with the addition of a third lane and a drivable shoulder in each direction. When the project is completed in late 2025, there will be a total of eight lanes of capacity across the water.

The Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission is the main funding agent for the project, using local revenue from sales and gasoline taxes in the Hampton Transportation Fund. State and federal funds will also support the expansion.

Along with increasing capacity and safety and enhancing the region’s emergency evacuation readiness, the multifaceted project is expected to improve travel time reliability. On a daily basis, commuters face an average six-mile backup to cross the Hampton Roads harbor. “You just never know if it will be 15 minutes or 50 minutes to get through the HRBT,” says James S. Utterback, VDOT’s director for the HRBT expansion project. “The value of the new facility is that drivers will have a much more predictable time to get through this corridor.”

When it opened in November 1957, the original 3.5-mile bridge-tunnel joining the Peninsula and Southside Hampton Roads was the world’s longest immersed tube tunnel and the first crossing constructed between two manmade islands. As the region’s population and traffic grew, construction began on an eastbound tunnel in 1972. The parallel tunnel opened in November 1976.

Four decades later, capacity has long been maxed out. Approximately 32.5 million motorists traveled across the HRBT in 2019. During the summer alone, an average of 100,000 vehicles cross the span daily. Maintaining traffic flow during construction is a major concern, says Utterback. “That’s going to be a big challenge related to the construction of the trestle bridges and the number of switches that will be occurring over the water.” To reduce long-term travel disruption, construction work on the tunnel, bridges and interstate will occur simultaneously. All lanes will remain open as construction along I-64 starts this fall.

Right-of-way along the corridor represents another challenge.

The project's construction staging area is on Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation — The project’s construction staging area is on Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation

“There are so many historical properties that we can’t impact,” Utterback says. “That limits the corridor we can build on.” VDOT has committed to ensuring that the construction does not impact Naval Station Norfolk, the Willoughby Boat Ramp, Hampton University, Fort Monroe, the Hampton National Cemetery, Phoebus Historic District, Fort Monroe and Fort Wool.

Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP), a joint venture led by New York-based Dragados USA Inc. and including Vinci Construction, Flatiron Construction Corp. and Vinci subsidiary Dodin Campenon Bernard, was chosen as the design-build contractor for the project. The project’s designers are Arlington-based HDR Inc. and Mott MacDonald, a British firm with a global presence. During the spring and summer, workers relocated utilities on South Island and shifted lanes on the south-approach trestle, with North Island expansion slated to begin in October. Widening is scheduled to begin on the Willoughby Bridge in January 2021, followed by replacement of the north and south trestles in February and widening of the Oastes Creek Bridge. The Mason Creek Bridge is slated to be widened and the Mallory Street Bridge replaced in March and April 2021.

Innovative technology

The tunnel construction will mark only the fourth time that a tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be used on a tunnel roadway project in the United States. Other bored tunnels are in Seattle and Miami, as well as the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel currently under construction at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Measuring the length of a football field, the TBM will excavate the tunnels, creating an approximately 45-foot-wide opening, the second largest in North America. The machine’s front end consists of a 46-foot-diameter rotating cutterhead that bores through soil and rock strata. HRCP has contracted with German firm Herrenknecht AG to design and build the machine for $101 million.

“We have a team of professionals who are used to this technology,” says Jose Martin Alos, HRCP’s project executive for the tunnel expansion. “That was key to our decision to use a tunnel boring machine.”

In a June 1957 photo, workers construct the South Island tunnel entrance to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation

Technological advancements in the last decade have made the TBM a feasible option for cutting through the sandy soil found on the bottom of Hampton Roads Harbor. “It’s a hard-rock boring machine, but its ability to get through soft ground, like what’s found on the bottom of the sea, is a little more difficult,” Utterback explains.

The shaft at the tunnel’s entrance is deep enough to reduce the likelihood of encountering boulders on the way down, allowing the TBM to move under rock instead of through it, Alos adds. “The depth of where the tunnel starts is a little deeper on this project, and there are no expectations we will find any complications.”

Unlike the immersed tube method for tunnel construction, the TBM ensures less exposure to weather and wave action and is less disruptive to the environment. Additionally, since it works underwater, the machine will not encounter delays due to commercial and military use of the shipping lanes, the primary reason HRCP decided to bore the new HRBT tunnels. “You don’t have to worry about getting into the federal channel,” Utterback notes. “Basically, the tunnel boring machine will be going underneath it. It can work 24 hours a day under the bay, and you won’t see anything.”

In the mid-1950s, the South Trestle Bridge, seen here from the Norfolk side, was under construction. Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation

Following an approximately four-month overseas journey from Germany, the TBM is scheduled to arrive in Hampton Roads during fall 2021, along with workers who will reassemble it in a 75-foot-deep pit on South Island and train HRCP’s crew to use it. “It will take four to six months to assemble it,” Utterback says, adding that the TBM could be launched from South Island as early as February 2022. Once the machine gets underway, a hydraulic cylinder will move it about 50 feet per day down to the stratum of sand and clay known as the Yorktown layer while the cutterhead bores a two-lane tunnel to North Island.

Upon reemerging at North Island, the machine will be rotated on a specially built turntable for its return trip, boring the parallel twin two-lane tunnel to South Island. “We estimate that it will take 10 to 12 months for the tunnel boring machine to go from South Island to North Island and about four months to turn the machine around and almost one year to return to South Island,” Utterback says. “A lot of that depends on the geotechnical samples to understand soil properties. We really won’t know until we actually get into it.”

HRCP is hiring approximately 300 staff members to manage the project, as well as 1,200 skilled craft employees working as crane operators, carpenters and other labor positions. “There will be all kinds of opportunities for apprenticeships and on-the-job training as the project grows,” Alos adds.

The new tunnels will carry all eastbound traffic, with one tube earmarked for general purposes and the other having a full-time HOT (high-occupancy toll) lane and a part-time shoulder lane. Tolls will be set toward the end of construction. Meanwhile, the existing eastbound tunnel will be modified to carry westbound traffic. “We’ll have eight lanes over the water — four lanes in each direction,” Utterback says. “That will be a tremendous help to the traffic situation.”

Border collies from the North Carolina-based wildlife control company Flyaway Geese are patrolling an island where seabirds gather. Photo courtesy Flyaway Geese

Fairfax County-based engineering consulting firm Dewberry will provide quality assurance services for the project, working alongside VDOT and HRCP to ensure equipment is calibrated and tested and materials installed to meet project specifications. “Dewberry’s role is one element in a multilayered quality assurance program,” says Doug Frost, a senior vice president with the firm. “Everything that goes into this project will be checked and double checked to make sure the proper materials are used and installed correctly.”

A different type of quality assurance is already playing out on South Island, where 20 trained border collies have been redirecting thousands of migratory seabirds, including royal terns and gulls, away from their longtime nesting grounds, which HRCP is paving to use as a staging area for the tunnel boring machine and other equipment. Earlier in the year, VDOT brought in the dogs and their handlers from Charlotte, North Carolina-based wildlife control company Flyaway Geese to patrol the island and coax the birds to move to new, safe nesting grounds prepared for them on floating barges and at Fort Wool, a 200-year-old nationally registered historic site off South Island.

“The contractor has a bird management plan to protect the island and the birds,” Utterback says. “The border collies are a key component of that plan.”

The dogs arrived in February and will remain until early October. They are outfitted with reflective vests and goggles and boots to protect them against sun, sand, asphalt and weather. Because it takes up to three nonviable nesting seasons for birds to change their migratory habits, the dogs will return each season for the next several years. While the birds consider the dogs predators, the border collies have a no-kill instinct and do not pose a threat.

“They won’t touch the birds,” Utterback says. “Their presence will keep the birds at bay.”

TRANSPORTATION

Nonstop destinations from Norfolk International Airport (ORF)

Allegiant Air

Cincinnati (CVG), Cleveland (CLE), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers-Punta Gorda (PGD), Jacksonville (JAX), Orlando-Sanford (SFB), Tampa-St. Pete (PIE)

American Airlines

Charlotte (CLT), Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), New York-JFK (JFK), New York-LaGuardia (LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Washington-Reagan National (DCA)

Delta Air Lines

Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), New York-JFK (JFK), New York-LaGuardia (LGA)

Frontier Airlines

Denver (DEN), Orlando (MCO)

Southwest Airlines

Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Denver (DEN), Chicago-Midway (MDW), Nashville (BNA), Orlando (MCO), San Diego (SAN)

United Airlines

Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR), Washington-Dulles (IAD)

Nonstop destinations from Newport News-Williamsburg Airport (PHF)

American Airlines

Charlotte (CLT), Philadelphia (PHL)

Delta Air Lines

Flights suspended as of September 2020

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Sailing for the horizon

Tariff wars and the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a one-two punch to the Port of Virginia, but officials are focusing on the positive as expansions are completed at the port’s two largest terminals, and a dredging project to make Virginia the East Coast’s deepest port is running ahead of schedule.

The third-largest East Coast port behind New York/New Jersey and Savannah, Georgia, Virginia achieved record-setting cargo volumes for six consecutive years before seeing its numbers fall off in fiscal year 2020. The port handled 2.75 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in fiscal 2020, about 181,000 fewer than the previous year. The decrease was largely due to tariff battles with China during the first half of the year, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to trade slowdowns across the shipping industry.

“The pandemic knocked us flat down,” says John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “We’re seeing a little bit of flattening where some services have been reinstated, but with the resurgence of COVID-19 in the U.S. and schools possibly not reopening, there’s the question of what happens to the demand for goods. There are very unsettled waters in front of us.”

In the wake of the pandemic, trade patterns may be altered, and some overseas manufacturing processes may return to the U.S., but Reinhart says the port is ready to respond to those contingencies. “Our business model is robust. Volumes will stabilize at some point and in the next year we should see a little bit of demand back up.”

COVID-19 seemingly impacted the port before other businesses in the state, with February seeing a 9% decrease in cargo as compared with the previous year. Nonetheless, the port adapted quickly to the pandemic. It continued to operate at full capacity while reducing weekday gate hours and eliminating weekend gate hours in response to lower cargo volumes. There were no employee furloughs, but salaries were frozen and bonuses suspended.

The Virginia International Gateway terminal completed a $312 million upgrade in summer 2019, increasing its capacity to 1.2 million containers.

The port also implemented temperature scans for employees and social distancing, introduced new sanitization procedures and encouraged teleworking where possible. Isolated berths are available for emergencies, with the port staying in contact with vessels to identify problems and determine whether crew members have COVID-19-related symptoms. The port also established a critical cargo initiative, giving precedence to shipments containing COVID-19 test kits, medical equipment, hand sanitizer and other virus-related items. “We responded in a very mature and organized approach,” Reinhart says. “Everybody was committed to keeping the port open, the workforce safe and reducing the amount of exposure.”

Ready for recovery

COVID-19 impacted all East Coast ports, disrupting the supply chain and leading to volume declines through May, with Virginia recording the largest decrease at 9.2%. Data through May shows that the Port of Charleston saw the smallest drop at 5.2%, followed by Savannah at 6% and New York/New Jersey at 7.2%.

“Both New York/New Jersey and Virginia lost in market shares because of declines in total cargo,” says Vinod Agarwal, an economics professor and director of Old Dominion University’s Economic Forecasting Project. He notes that COVID-19 led to significant adverse effects on cargo handled at the port during April, May and June. “Our imports at the port were affected more severely than our exports,” Agarwal says. “Export loads had increased every month from January through March, whereas import loads had been falling since January.”

But even while dealing with lower volumes, blank sailings — scheduled vessel visits canceled due to low volume — and the pandemic, the port remains one of the commonwealth’s major economic engines. “Our port is available 24/7 for mega ships to come in easily,” Agarwal says. “The port has added more efficiencies over the past five or six years, so we should be able to export a whole lot more.”

Many of those efficiencies are the result of a nearly $800 million expansion project at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). Upgrades include modernized cargo handling, increased operational efficiencies and positioned Virginia to compete as the East Coast’s main container shipping port, with the capacity to process an additional 1 million containers annually.

The $312 million investment to increase VIG’s annual capacity to 1.2 million containers was completed in summer 2019. Upgrades include an 800-foot wharf extension, four new truck gate lanes, four 170-foot-tall ship-to-shore cranes (the largest in the Western Hemisphere), 26 additional rail-mounted gantry cranes, four new inbound truck gate lanes, three new container stacks and nearly 20,000 feet of new rail track.

At NIT, the port’s largest terminal, the $450 million investment includes 60 new rail-mounted gantry cranes, 35 new shuttle trucks, 30 semi-automated container stacks and two new Suez-class ship-to-shore cranes, 26 new inbound truck gate lanes and 60 additional truck queuing lanes. The project is slated to be completed by December when the ship-to-shore cranes — scheduled to be delivered in October — go into operation.

As a result of the modernizations, the terminals are operating more efficiently and safely while improving times for motor carriers. “These are positioning the port to be more competitive with additional capabilities and additional operations to attract more cargo as economies come back to life.” says David White, executive vice president of the Virginia Maritime Association.

Powering growth

The port also is contributing to Virginia’s efforts to develop a clean energy economy. In July, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that the state will use $14 million from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust settlement to replace all-diesel cargo handling equipment at the port with zero-emission all-electric equipment. Two all-electric ship-to-shore cranes will be installed at NIT, while the Richmond Marine Terminal will receive all-electric yard tractors and charging infrastructure. The project is expected to eliminate more than 3,000 tons of diesel pollution and more than 71,000 tons of greenhouse gases, as well as the use of more than 6 million gallons of diesel fuel.

The port has already been working to reduce emissions and promote clean energy. “We have been building an electric approach at our facilities and reducing the carbon footprint across the port substantially,” says Reinhart. The port has installed LED lighting, deployed hybrid shuttles and instituted a reservation system that gets trucks in and out in 30 minutes instead of 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, the port is repurposing Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) into a long-term multiuse facility. Reduced import volumes accelerated PMT’s planned shuttering, as the port eliminated ship calls to PMT in May and used the terminal to provide berthing during the summer for three cruise ships idled by the pandemic.

Earlier this year, Denmark-based renewable energy company Ørsted AS leased 1.7 acres at PMT to stage materials and equipment for Dominion Energy Inc.’s wind energy project off the coast of Virginia Beach, as well as other East Coast offshore wind energy developments.

This summer, Dominion finished construction on its first two offshore wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The $300 million pilot project is the first offshore wind farm installed in federal waters and is the first phase in Dominion’s $7.8 billion plan to build the largest wind farm in North America, with 200 turbines to be built by 2026.

The nascent offshore wind energy project is expected to create about 14,000 jobs in Virginia.

“We believe that offshore wind is an opportunity for the Hampton Roads region and the Port of Virginia to become an anchor in the supply chain for the East Coast,” Reinhart says. “What we are doing here is creating an infrastructure that supports not only Virginia but others up and down the East Coast.”

White adds that the advantages the port offers in both infrastructure and labor will attract offshore wind manufacturing operations and supply chains. “Those will all be economic development drivers for the region and the state resulting in thousands of good paying jobs.”

‘Catalyst for economic development’

The port’s $350 million project to deepen and widen the Norfolk harbor also will benefit manufacturers and suppliers of offshore wind components, while enabling ultra-large container ships to better navigate through shipping channels.

Construction began in December 2019 — two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule — to deepen the western side of Thimble Shoal Channel leading into the Norfolk Harbor to 56 feet and widen parts of the channel to 1,400 feet. When the dredging is completed in 2024, two ultra-large container vessels will be able to simultaneously move through the commercial channels serving the Norfolk Harbor.

“Widening is critical to two-way traffic with the ultra-large ships,” Reinhart says, adding that the project will make the Port of Virginia the most accessible on the U.S. East Coast. “Nobody will be as deep as the Port of Virginia.”

That’s a point that Reinhart and Hampton Roads and state economic development officials emphasize to businesses seeking to move to or expand in Virginia. “Companies are looking at Virginia because of the reliability of this port to serve their needs,” Reinhart says. “We’re a catalyst for economic development across the state.”

“Access to the port was a leading factor” behind Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA’s decision to expand in Suffolk, says Charlie Cortellini, the coffee company’s vice president for research and development. Photo by Mark Rhodes — “Access to the port was a leading factor” behind Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA’s decision to expand in Suffolk, says Charlie Cortellini, the coffee company’s
vice president for research and development. Photo by Mark Rhodes

The second-largest coffee port on the East Coast, the Port of Virginia played a role in Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA’s decision earlier this year to expand in Hampton Roads and build a new distribution center in Suffolk. “Access to the port was a leading factor,” says Charlie Cortellini, Massimo Zanetti’s vice president for research and development. He adds that the port was open to working with the company and its coffee vendors. “Their willingness and enthusiasm to form a successful, long-term strategic partnership helped drive our decision to build in Suffolk.”

Amazon also will be moving more packages through the port when it opens a robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk and a processing center in Chesapeake next year. “We are grateful for our strong relationship with the Port of Virginia and appreciate the port’s economic development team for their support of these projects,” says Amazon spokeswoman Courtney Norman.

Despite limitations imposed by the pandemic, port officials continue to pursue economic development opportunities, touting the expanded terminals and dredging project. “All of us have had to get really good at Zoom meetings,” says Reinhart. “The upshot is, because we’re not traveling as much, we are able to pack more meetings into a single day.”

Reinhart plans to pack more than meetings into the next six months as he prepares to retire in March 2021. “My big focus is to continue to operate safely, harvest the investments we’ve made, anchor our leadership team, continue with the dredging project and grab economic development opportunities. I’m going to work right up to my last day.”

A search committee comprised of members of the VPA’s board of commissioners has been working with an outside consultant to identify candidates to be his successor. The field had been narrowed to fewer than 15 applicants by early August, according to John Milliken, the board’s chair.

That person will have big shoes to fill, says White with the Virginia Maritime Association: “John’s done a great job. He was the right man at the right time for the port and leaves the port in a strong position for the future.”

White adds that the next CEO should capitalize on the upgrades made during Reinhart’s tenures to attract more cargo.

“We need to emphasize growing volumes and businesses involved in international trade,” he says. “It’s important we remain competitive with other ports on the East Coast.”

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Sailing for the horizon

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‘Catalyst for economic development’