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byline: Emily Dings

EO opens workforce development hub in Abingdon

A former Kmart in is now home to a and hub launched by , a nonprofit that spun off from the United Way of Southwest Virginia to oversee workforce development programs.

EO received the certificate of occupancy for the 87,000-square-foot Regional Workforce and Child Development Hub and began moving employees into the center at the end of August, a week earlier than anticipated, says Mary Anne Holbrook, EO’s vice president of development. By mid-September, all 44 EO employees had moved in. A grand opening celebration is set for the week of Oct. 21.

Construction on the hub began in July 2023. 

“We’re overwhelmed with the support of the business community,” EO President and CEO Travis Staton says. “Raising $26.5 million in a year shows at a local level how a public-private partnership can be built,” he explains, emphasizing the wide-reaching support of local employers as well as advocates in state government.

The name EO, which doubles as the Latin word for “go” and an abbreviation for “Endless Opportunities,” represents the organization’s mission to serve as a “cradle-to-career” support system to prepare Southwest Virginians for career success while retaining the local workforce. Holbrook notes that operations in the hub are expected to create 100 jobs.

To help close the regional gap in access to early child care that bars some parents from working, EO’s hub includes a roughly 25,000-square-foot child care facility owned and managed by Ballad Health that opened in early September.

The hub also supports workforce development, with classrooms for early childhood education and the Career Commons, an approximately 20,000-square-foot area with learning labs where regional employers created activities for K-12 students.

“When you look into Career Commons, it is a miniature city of employers,” including a hospital, a grocery store and a bank, Holbrook says. “So, students of all ages will be able to do appropriate career exploration activities on their field trips, and those begin in mid-October with the middle school students from across Southwest Virginia.”

The hub includes a classroom for high school students who participate in Washington County’s early childhood education career and technical education program to attend lectures. The students can then complete practical hours working in Ballad’s early childhood development center. EO will also offer professional development opportunities for early childhood educators already in the field at the hub.  

Danville whitewater channel plans float forward

Future Olympian kayakers may one day practice their playboating in the Dan River while tourists marvel from shore.

In the Virginia budget approved in May, lawmakers included $3 million for the City of to develop the Channel, which is being designed to lure both recreational paddlers and water rescue trainees.

The creation of the whitewater channel is part of a public-private effort to revitalize the area surrounding White Mill, a former textiles operation and a reminder of Danville’s legacy as a textiles powerhouse.

In addition to an $88 million effort by the city’s industrial development authority and Wisconsin’s The Alexandria Co. to redevelop the mill as a multiuse project, the city is also building a four-acre riverfront park slated to open in early 2025, according to Bill Sgrinia, director of Danville Parks and Recreation.

To get the state money, Danville must raise $6 million in funding. City officials will likely hold off identifying fund sources until a design for the project is completed, according to Sgrinia. He estimates the project will end up costing between $18 million and $20 million.

In 2022, Danville officials hired North Carolina’s Site Collaborative, a landscape architecture firm, which subcontracted with former Olympic canoeist and engineer Scott Shipley, president of Colorado’s S20 Design, to design the whitewater channel. The project was funded through a $979,690 grant from the Danville Regional Foundation.

About 60% of the design process for the whitewater channel has been completed, according to Sgrinia. He thinks another major chunk will be finished by the first quarter of 2025 and estimates work to build the whitewater channel could begin in two or three years.

Right now, the plan is for the channel to incorporate an industrial canal that runs in front of the historic White Mill. “It’s a unique opportunity,” Shipley says, noting that using the existing canal will allow the channel to be entirely gravity-fed.

Being able to rely on natural water flow to create rapids will distinguish the park from other whitewater channels that rely on artificial pumps, which also increases operational costs.

Whitewater channels can be a tremendous economic boon for cities, generating tourism and helping cities brand them-selves as outdoor recreation meccas, Shipley says.

The attraction won’t just draw paddlers either, according to Sgrinia.

“People will just come because it’s really cool to see what people are doing on it,” he says. 

Big deals

These announcements were some of the largest in Virginia for 2023 and the first half of 2024:

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

: In April, the offices of U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan announced that Danish electrolyzer manufacturer Topsoe plans to build a $400 million manufacturing facility with the assistance of $136 million in construction-related federal tax credits. The new plant, which will manufacture Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) stacks used in the production of renewable hydrogen, is expected to create 150 jobs.

Chesterfield County: Group, a Swiss humidification systems manufacturer, announced in June that it would invest $57.2 million in a new production plant. Initially, workers at the facility will focus on manufacturing products for the large-scale industrial cooling needs of the data center industry. The company plans to retrofit an existing 400,000-square-foot warehouse at 1410 Willis Road for its facility, which it anticipates will create 180 jobs.

Prince George County: Florida’s PGT Innovations, a manufacturer and supplier of windows and doors, announced plans in November 2023 to retrofit the former Rolls-Royce facility in the Crosspointe Logistics Center for use as a new plant for its wholly owned subsidiary Triple Diamond Glass. With an investment of $54.3 million, PGT Innovations, expects the venture to create 659 jobs.

EASTERN VIRGINIA

In Lynchburg, is expanding its U.S. headquarters, a project expected to create 515 jobs. Rendering courtesy Framatome

: A South Korean cable manufacturer’s U.S. subsidiary, , announced in July plans to build a $681 million subsea cable manufacturing plant in Chesapeake, producing an expected 338 jobs. The cables will be used for offshore wind farms, and this would be the first such plant in the United States.

Newport News: Liebherr Mining Equipment announced in June that it will invest $72.3 million to expand its plant at the border of Newport News and Hampton, creating an estimated 175 jobs. The manufacturer of industrial-scale mining trucks used to transport material at open-cast mining operations has more than 550 employees.

Norfolk: In November 2023, Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, began production on an eight-acre satellite campus at to support the shipyard’s growing nuclear-powered military aircraft carrier component manufacturing workforce. Anticipating an investment of $100 million over five years, NNS expects the expansion — its first satellite campus — to create 150 jobs.

Virginia Beach: With an investment of $350 million, e-tailer Amazon announced in September 2023 that it plans to build a 650,000-square-foot robotics fulfillment center and a delivery center in Virginia Beach, producing more than 1,000 jobs. The delivery station is expected to open for this year’s holiday season, and the fulfillment center is set to come online in late 2025.

Virginia Beach: Virginia Beach’s Doma Technologies announced in November 2023 that it plans to invest $3.7 million in an expansion that will include a new 69,000-square-foot facility. The cloud-based software company anticipates that the expanded operations will create 307 jobs over the next three years.

LYNCHBURG/ ROANOKE/

Lynchburg: French nuclear power company Framatome announced in December 2023 that it would invest $49.4 million to expand its U.S. headquarters in Lynchburg. Framatome, which has operated in Lynchburg since 1989, expects the expansion to create 515 jobs. Groundbreaking took place in April.

Roanoke County: In February, San Francisco-based banking giant announced plans for an expansion of its commercial offices that is expected to create 1,100 jobs. The $87 million expansion will make Wells Fargo the largest employer in Roanoke County.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Arlington County: In February, online real estate company announced plans to relocate its global corporate headquarters from Washington, D.C., to the Central Place Tower in Rosslyn, which it purchased for $339 million. Investing $20 million in the move, CoStar Group will bring around 500 current corporate employees to the new headquarters and anticipates adding 150 positions.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Rockbridge County: Wisconsin’s Modine Manufacturing said in March that it will invest $18.1 million in the expansion of its Rockbridge facility. The manufacturer of data center cooling equipment anticipates that the growth will create around 211 jobs.

Waynesboro: In February, aerospace and defense contractor Northrop Grumman began construction on a 315,000-square-foot electronics manufacturing and testing facility. Investing more than $200 million in the venture, the Fortune 500 company expects the facility to create roughly 300 manufacturing and engineering jobs over the next five years.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Halifax County: In June, Hitachi Energy announced plans to invest $26 million to expand its South Boston facility, where transformers are made. Expected to create about 100 jobs, the move comes as the company is increasing global transformer production worldwide, investing $1.5 billion toward the goal.

Henry County: In August 2023, Poland’s Press Glass said it plans to invest $155.2 million in the expansion of its plant in Ridgeway. Expected to create about 335 jobs by 2025, nearly doubling the facility’s workforce, the investment is the largest in Henry County’s history.

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

Russell County: Data center storage rack manufacturer Tate announced in November 2023 it was moving into a vacant 280,000-square-foot plant in St. Paul, near the Russell-Wise counties border. The $14.9 million renovation is expected to create 170 jobs over four years, and the plant opened in January.  

New River auto group divests two more dealerships

On July 15, automobile dealer Gary sold his and dealerships to New River Valley-Owned .

Duncan declined to provide financial details. Representatives from Shelor Motor Mile did not respond to requests for comment.

The deal follows Duncan’s 2022 sale of his Roanoke-based Acura, Audi and BMW franchises to the Parks Automotive Group of Kernersville, North Carolina.

In 1955, Gary Duncan’s father, Paul, launched the Duncan Automotive Network, which Gary Duncan and his siblings continue to run today. As the oldest child, Gary Duncan was first to work alongside his father and assumed ownership of the network’s early franchises after Paul Duncan’s death. 

Remaining in the network are Duncan Ford Mazda Lincoln (Blacksburg), Duncan Ford Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (Rocky Mount), Duncan Imports and Classic (Nashville, Tennessee, and Christiansburg), Duncan Suzuki (Pulaski), Byrider (Roanoke), and Duncan Service and Pre-owned (Roanoke).

On his motivation to sell, Duncan cites the greater economy of scale a larger buyer’s group like Shelor Motor Mile can offer, including better benefits for employees.

But “age was a factor,” Duncan adds, noting that at 72 years old, with 52 years in the business, he’s ready to relinquish some responsibility.

The trend of small businesses selling to larger buying groups isn’t unique to the automotive industry, says Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. 

“Like so many other industries, ours is undergoing massive consolidation,” he says, forcing owners such as Duncan to make difficult decisions. 

Car dealerships have to purchase the cars on their lots, Hall points out, so smaller operations with less buying power might struggle to keep ample inventory. Technology allowing buyers to check out a vehicle before ever entering a showroom can also be a significant expense, one that may be easier for bigger outfits with bigger pocketbooks to afford, Hall suggests.  

Despite such challenges, Hall contends there is still a place for small businesses in the automotive trade. “Local communities benefit by having smaller franchises around,” he says.

“It’s an exciting time to be a dealer,” Hall adds. “Whether you’re small or super large, if the customer isn’t a priority … you won’t enjoy the future of our business.”