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byline: Jason Roop

Hospitality association launches free online training

A workforce training program launched Monday to help restaurant and hotel workers, the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association announced.

The program offers free training for people who are employed, out of work or underemployed from the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute.

Training is available to residents of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond, and the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, Surry and Sussex, according to the announcement.

The association used a $255,500 grant from GO Virginia Region 4 and several Central Virginia localities, and said it’s in talks to expand the program to Northern Virginia and other areas of the state.

Individuals can register online for training, which includes a range of courses from entry-level to management, at https://training.vrlta.org.

With staffing a concern across the industry, the aim is to help people develop their skills and grow their careers, Jim Wilson, the association’s vice president of education and workforce development, said in a statement.

“Employers can also recommend their employees for training,” he said, “which helps to raise the knowledge and quality of service across the organization.”

The money also will help promote job openings in the hospitality industry, the association said, noting that there were 250 listings as of Monday at vrlta.mcjobboard.net/jobs.

Perspecta, now under Peraton, lands $473.8 million agreement

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a potential five-year transaction agreement valued at $473.8 million to Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC, now part of Herndon-based national security contractor Peraton Inc.

The work supports the development of a comprehensive IT system to manage background investigations and security clearances for federal employees and contractors, according to last week’s announcement.

It also follows an transaction agreement Perspecta won in May 2019 on a security enterprise architecture and data analytics prototype.

The agreement covers enterprise information technology application development services for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, the defense department said. Work will be performed within the National Capital Region surrounding Fort Meade, Maryland.

Peraton, whose parent company is New York-based private investment firm Veritas Capital, completed its $7.1 billion acquisition of Perspecta Inc. on May 7.

Virginia Beach office building sells for $1.9M

Commonwealth Park Executive Center in Virginia Beach has sold for $1.9 million, Colliers announced Thursday.

The Class B, two-story building located at 900 Commonwealth Place once housed the WCMS radio studios and currently is 100% occupied. It was built in 1975.

The building has 20,180 rentable square feet leased to five tenants, including Commonwealth Park Executive Suites.

Tri-City Properties LLC sold the building to CPPC9 LLC in a sale handled by Patrick Gill and Ned Brooks, senior vice presidents at Colliers.

Coming attractions: 8 Regal theaters reopening in Va. this Friday

Just in time for the premiere of “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” Friday will mark the opening of eight Regal movie theaters across Virginia, part of a nationwide partial reopening of the cinema chain.

Although some states have had multiple Regal multiplexes open since April, Virginia had only two open as of Thursday, in Springfield and Gainesville. By next Friday, May 21, Regal plans to reopen 18 more Virginia theaters, including several in the Hampton Roads area.

The marquee includes Lionsgate’s “Spiral,” with “A Quiet Place Part II” and the next offering from the Fast & Furious franchise, “F9,” opening in coming weeks, Regal said in its announcement Thursday.

There will be appropriate safety and health guidelines in place that follow CinemaSafe protocol, Regal said.

Theaters opening Friday include:

  • Regal Kingstowne ScreenX & RPX, Alexandria
  • Regal Dulles Town Center, Dulles
  • Regal Short Pump & IMAX, Richmond
  • Regal Commonwealth & IMAX, Midlothian
  • Regal Westchester Commons, Midlothian
  • Regal Southpark Mall, Colonial Heights
  • Regal River Ridge, Lynchburg
  • Regal Stonefield ScreenX & IMAX, Charlottesville

More information on theater reopenings is available here.

Offshore wind coworking space opens in Norfolk

The growing offshore wind industry in Hampton Roads caught another gust Wednesday with the opening of a coworking and networking space in Norfolk’s World Trade Center.

The hub, called the Virginia Offshore Wind Landing — or the Landing, for short — is a joint venture of Old Dominion University’s OpenSeas Technology Innovation Hub, the Hampton Roads Alliance and the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy, the groups announced this week.

The goal is to develop a cluster of offshore wind companies and foster the growth of Hampton Roads and Virginia as an innovation and supply chain hub for offshore wind industry, according to the announcement.

ODU has been increasing efforts as a catalyst for such growth. Nancy Grden, who serves as the university’s point person on the issue, was named executive director of the Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative for Growth & Innovation in September.

ODU’s OpenSeas hub works with people and businesses seeking innovative solutions to problems in the maritime and coastal arenas, it says.

The president and CEO of the Hampton Road Alliance, Doug Smith, cited Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project and Avangrid Renewables’ Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind projects as examples of growth.

“The commonwealth is also a natural fit to become a supply chain hub for the offshore wind industry with our best-in-class port infrastructure, a centrally located and capable workforce and a supportive business and regulatory climate,” Smith said in a statement.

Founding members of the Landing include Atlantic Wind Transfers, Avangrid Renewables, AZCO, Burns & McDonnell, Crowley, Dominion Energy Inc., Nexans and Seaway 7.

Workforce development center opening in downtown Portsmouth

Portsmouth Economic Development is opening a brick-and-mortar resource Friday, aiming to create a public and accessible hub for skills training, career fairs, job applications and Internet access.

The 2,000-square-foot office space, called Portsmouth@Work Center, is located in a suite at its downtown headquarters, 200 High St.

The idea has been brewing since the fall 2019, said Jessica Bedenbaugh, marketing and communications manager for Portsmouth Economic Development. Virtual programming started in January.

“It’s all well and good to bring jobs to the city,” Bedenbaugh said, “but we have to make sure that our citizens are ready for them.”

Portsmouth Economic Development hired Pamela Croom in October to help launch and run the hub. Croom, who worked for the city of Hampton for 19 years, also serves as president of the Virginia PTA.

The center will hold an open house Friday from noon-2 p.m. The center will be available to residents from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It consists of a small computer center and a testing area for processing job applications and taking online tests and certifications, Bedenbaugh said. There are some smaller private offices, and employers can reserve a room for small meetings or job fairs for 20 to 30 people. The Portsmouth@Work team can be reached at [email protected].

Strategic Alliance Solutions awarded potential $215M MDA contract

Fairfax-based Strategic Alliance Solutions LLC has won a three-year contract from the Missile Defense Agency for a potential $215.59 million, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

The contract, which has a three-year base value of $51.42 million, covers warfighter operational integration advisory and assistance services. In fiscal year 2021, the company will receive $5,675,000 for research and development.

Various options to extend services are available through January 2030, the estimated completion date.

Strategic Alliance Solutions is a joint venture of Chantilly-based contractor BCF Solutions Inc., founded in 2003, and Strategic Alliance Business Group LLC, which has offices in Fairfax and Huntsville, Alabama.

“This was a very large, complicated proposal, and its success reflects a great team effort,” SABG CEO Keri Mungo said in a statement. “We are proud of SABG’s commitment to the warfighter and look forward to expanding those services through this contract.”

Work will take place in several states, including at Dahlgren and Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

Kongsberg wins Army contract extension worth $499M

The U.S. Army has awarded a $499.17 million contract modification to weapon stations provider Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS, a Norwegian company with its U.S. headquarters based in Alexandria.

Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, the U.S. Department of Defense announced, estimating completion in September 2023.

The contract for production, system support and technical engineering support on the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) system was first announced in September 2018.

“This contract extension enables us to continue delivering systems that are advancing operational capabilities and effectiveness together with the team at Picatinny Arsenal,” Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Executive Vice President Pål Bratlie said in a statement.

Reston-based Bowman Consulting Group raises $51.7M in IPO

Reston-based civil engineering company Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. has raised $51.73 million in its initial public offering that closed Tuesday, selling 3.69 million shares at $14 a share since Friday.

Sold under the symbol BWMN on the Nasdaq Global Market, shares traded between $12.60 and $14.90 as of Tuesday afternoon.

After closing its sale of Class A Common Stock shares Tuesday, underwriters have a 30-day option to buy up to 553,500 additional shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, the company announced.

President, CEO and Chairman Gary Bowman founded the company in 1995. It employs more than 750 people in more than 32 offices across the United States.

In January, Bowman closed its acquisition of Herndon-based engineering firm KTA Group Inc., which it announced in December.

Smith-Midland Corp. hires VP of operations for Va. plant

Fauquier County-based precast concrete manufacturer Smith-Midland Corp. has named Kevin Corbett as its vice president of operations at the company’s Virginia plant, it announced May 7.

Corbett, a native of Syracuse, New York, will oversee production, delivery and installation at the plant, located in Fauquier’s Midland area. He brings five years of plant management experience with glass curtain wall fabricator Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope. While there, he implemented continuous improvement methodology Lean manufacturing, which he will also employ at Smith-Midland.

A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Corbett is a graduate of Norwich University and earned his MBA from Western Governors University.

During his five years with the Marines, Corbett served as Infantry Captain in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and then the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment at the Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown.

Founded in 1960, Smith-Midland reported annual revenue of $43.8 million in 2020. It plans to announce its 2021 first-quarter results results May 11.