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byline: Joan Tupponce

New hangars, terminal in Winchester airport’s sights

This month, the Winchester Regional Airport will open the first group of hangars for midsize private aircraft, a public-private project that could end with 32 new units, bringing the airport’s total number of hangars to 100.

The multiphase, potentially $20 million project is a partnership between the Winchester Regional Airport Authority and Purcellville-based TMG Construction Corp., a design-build firm. The first phase of the project involves the sale and construction of 11 hangars, six of which will open in November. Developers broke ground in December 2021.

“It’s all very exciting,” says Nick Sabo, executive director of the airport authority and the airport’s manager. “It’s cutting edge because there are not many models of this type to look at as far as a public airport like ours. The airport authority had to adopt a policy on how to handle the partnership, so we wrote the script.”

The authority feels comfortable working with private industry, Sabo adds. “This was the only way we saw to bring new hangars to the region that was cost-effective and would offer a quick timeline.”

The development investment of up to $20 million will be spread over a six-year period. “We have land available, but what we lack is deep reserves to invest,” Sabo notes. “This means new tax revenues for the airport and Frederick County and new revenues for TMG.”

Hangar space in the region is at a premium, Sabo says.

The additional hangars also will help increase the airport’s and the Frederick County Economic Development Authority’s outreach “to companies with large government portfolios and direct government [and] private users with activity connected to Winchester Regional Airport,” says Patrick Barker, the EDA’s executive director. “This clearly shows that Frederick County has the assets to be attractive to aviation businesses.”

State funding — a $4.1 million grant from the Virginia Department of Aviation — is helping the airport replace its 33-year-old, 9,245-square-foot terminal with a 16,000-square-foot building that will include a community room and leasable office space. The airport is also approved for a $3 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the building project.

Sabo hopes to start construction of the terminal in March 2023, with completion in summer 2024, noting that all of the changes “add up to a historic time of development at this airport.” 

White Mill project closer to getting off the ground

Danville’s highly anticipated $100 million White Mill redevelopment is starting to see positive movement.

In August, Danville City Council unanimously approved a resolution to apply for a $5 million state grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Industrial Revitalization Fund, a move to help with gap financing of the renovation.

Danville has already received a $500,000 state grant, and the city is applying for a $1.7 million Land Water Conservation Fund grant to acquire seven acres and an abandoned bridge. It’s all part of the plan to create a whitewater channel in the canal, plus connect the former textile mill to the planned Riverfront Park.

It’s a joint venture between the Industrial Development Authority of Danville and The Alexander Co. The IDA will oversee parking spaces, development of 110,000 square feet of commercial space and exterior improvements to the eastern third of the property.

“Our goal is to have market-rate commercial space available to lease on the first floor,” says Danville City Manager Ken Larking.

The Alexander Co.’s portion of the project will include 32 workforce-priced residential units and 118 market-rate units.

The IDA and Alexander were expected to close on financing by mid-October, and construction will take about two years, says Corrie Bobe, Danville’s director of economic development and tourism.

The prominent white building once represented one of the Southeast United States’ largest textile operations, Dan River Mills, which shut down in 2006 after being sold the previous year.

But since the White Mill has sat empty, “the building became an ode to the past instead of helping us promote the incredible growth and transformation that is being experienced, not only in the city of Danville, but throughout the entire Southern Virginia region,” Bobe says.

However, with the forthcoming Caesars Virginia casino in the Schoolfield area, where the resort replaces another empty mill building, there’s been more interest in developing downtown Danville. Its importance to the region goes beyond economics, Larking says.

“Renovation of the White Mill into a mixed-use development with unique public recreation elements will be a huge psychological boost for our community,” he says. “It will take a longtime vacant building that was once very important to the community and bring it back to life.”  

Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky contributed to this story.

Under construction

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

Hampton and Norfolk

Construction is underway along 10 miles of the Interstate 64 corridor from Hampton to Norfolk on the $3.9 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project. In June, crews on
the South Island began reassembling Mary, the 430-foot, $70 million tunnel boring machine (TBM) that was delivered to the Port of Virginia last November. As of late summer, crews were completing work on the TBM’s launch pit on the island, and Virginia Department of Transportation officials anticipate boring to begin in spring 2023, excavating about 50 feet a day and taking approximately a year to cross the harbor. In mid-July, workers poured 14.5 million pounds of concrete in a 24-hour period, one of the largest continuous concrete pours in VDOT’s history. Meanwhile, manufacturing of the tunnel segments is underway in Cape Charles, where roughly 500 rings (or 4,500 tunnel segments) of the 2,388 rings were completed as of August. Nearly half of the 1,200 piles for the new bridge trestles across have been placed above and below water in the Norfolk Harbor.

Rendering courtesy Pembroke Realty Group

Pembroke Square

Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach’s 1966-era Pembroke Mall is rebranding as Pembroke Square, as Pembroke Square Associates and its partners (including Landmark Hotel Group LLC and Castle Development Partners) conduct a $200 million redevelopment of the 54-acre property. The 14-story, 209-room Tempo/Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel is set to open in summer 2025, and groundbreaking is set in October for the 153-unit Aviva Pembroke Senior Living Community, a partnership with Beth Sholom Village. In early 2023, work is set to start on a 324-unit, five-story apartment building, with opening scheduled in fall 2025.

 

 

Photo courtesy Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center

Chesapeake

In August, Amazon.com Inc. opened its inbound cross-dock fulfillment center in Chesapeake on Portsmouth Boulevard, the first center of its kind in Virginia for the e-commerce giant. The 640,000-square-foot processing center created 1,000 full- and part-time jobs, and it expands Amazon’s operations and logistics network in the state. A similar facility is set to be completed later this year in Stafford County. Amazon’s presence in Hampton Roads has mushroomed, with its $230 million, 3.8 million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk expected to open in September and a 60,000-square-foot delivery station nearby that opened in February. Norfolk and Hampton also have delivery facilities, and Amazon has a career center in Chesapeake.

 

 

Photo by Mark Rhodes

Fairwinds Landing

Norfolk

The $100 million Fairwinds Landing project is underway, as an entity connected to The Miller Group signed a 30-year lease in August for the 122-acre Lambert’s Point Docks property owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. It has 20 miles of rail infrastructure, high-volume transload facilities and 1.1 million square feet of industrial warehouse space, and the plan is to turn the property into a maritime operations and logistics center to support offshore wind, defense and transportation industries. Construction is expected to begin later this year, and the center is expected to produce more than 500 jobs. Multiple phases of the project will be completed over the next five years.

 

Photo courtesy The Breeden Co.

Avant at Huntington Pointe

Newport News

In May, The Breeden Co. broke ground on the $33 million Avant at Huntington Pointe apartment project in Newport News, which is set to include 176 units between 672 and 1,517 square feet each. Breeden Construction is serving as general contractor, and the company’s property management arm will manage the apartments. The first units are slated to be completed by late summer 2023, with full completion by next fall or winter.

 

 

Siemens Gamesa offshore wind blade factory

Portsmouth

Announced in October 2021, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A. expects to start infrastructure work in 2023 on the nation’s first offshore wind turbine blade facility on leased property at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, with production scheduled to start in 2025. The Spanish company, which is partnering with Dominion Energy Inc. on the $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) farm, will produce blades for 176 turbines that will be erected 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Siemens intends to spend $80 million for new buildings on 80 acres that are part of the Port of Virginia, part of an overall $200 million investment. Construction on CVOW is expected to start in 2024, with completion set for 2026.

Valley views attract scenic train tours

The views Steve Powell and his employees at Buckingham Branch Railroad see daily while riding the rails inspired him to launch the Virginia Scenic Railway.

“There are a lot of people that love railroads, and we love sharing our railroad. It’s a unique way of seeing the Virginia scenery instead of riding on the interstate,” says Powell, the railroad’s president.

Virginia Scenic Railway is the commonwealth’s only regularly scheduled sightseeing tourist train. The railway began service on Aug. 4. “Our trips sold out in 10 days,” Powell says. “We are sold out through Thanksgiving.”

The new railway offers twice-daily three-hour excursions from Staunton through the Shenandoah Valley. Buckingham Branch has a permanent operating easement from the state government to use the tracks.

The Blue Ridge Flyer leaves from Staunton’s Amtrak station and travels to Afton Mountain and through the Blue Ridge Tunnel before turning around in Ivy.

The Alleghany Special starts in Staunton and goes through the Shenandoah Valley toward the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests before turning around in Goshen for the trip back. Both routes offer prime autumn leaf peeping.

Excursions occur every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each includes meals, which are made onboard.

“I like to call it a bistro on rails,” Powell says. “People can come get a good sandwich or salad and feel like they are in a restaurant.”

The new excursions are a big plus for Staunton’s tourism industry, says Sheryl Wagner, Staunton’s director of tourism. Her department gets four or five calls a day from interested rail riders.

“It is a tourism director’s dream to have an attraction in your destination that is unique but also appealing to a large audience,” she says, adding that the rail excursions will have a positive impact on Staunton’s tourism economy. “Since the train station is conveniently located in downtown Staunton, train guests can easily walk to shopping, restaurants or lodging.”

The railway also plans to offer Santa Claus trips through the holiday season. “We want to have kids and families on there to meet Santa all through December,” Powell says. “These will be shorter rides with no meals.”

Next year’s rides will start up in late winter or early spring.

“We are really excited about getting more cars so people can ride [with] different seating options,” Powell says, such as a coach car without dining tables. 

Counties collaborating on industrial park

In the coming months, the rubble of a demolished furniture factory on a roughly 70-acre property in Chilhowie will be hauled away to make room for an industrial park.

Smyth County is teaming up with Bland and Washington counties, forming the Pathway Regional Industrial Facilities Authority to create Pathway Park, which will feature rail service and access to Interstate 81.

“Successful economic development and job creation is not confined by borders,” Bland County Administrator Eric Workman says of the tri-county collaboration. “The effects have resounding positive impacts on all surrounding communities in terms of job creation and synergy of economic resurgence.”

Smyth County has owned the park property for several years. It received grants to help demolish the derelict American Furniture factory and plan for new development. The caveat: Grants available to single localities were drying up.

“At the same time, we are winding down a similar regional partnership with Washington County [the Smyth-Washington IFA to develop Highlands Business Park] and felt it was a successful venture,” says Smyth County Administrator Shawn M. Utt. “Add in Bland County’s willingness to partner in these types of projects [and] we felt we had the makings of a great partnership.”

Pathway RIFA has been awarded two $600,000 grants from GO Virginia and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to help replace the utility infrastructure.

“These two grants would not have been possible if it weren’t for the regional partnership,” Utt says. “These funds will be used to build new water lines, replace a collapsed sewer line that crosses the Middle Fork of the Holston River and help fund a new entrance from Route 11.”

Costs and revenue share from the park are still being worked out by the counties but, Utt says, “realistically, our three jurisdictions will share equally in the costs and equally in the future revenues.”

Once the RIFA is registered with the State Corporation Commission, design work for the sewer and water lines will begin.

“We also have to get with the Virginia Department of Transportation for the entrance road,” Utt says. “As far as breaking ground on the utility work, we hope to have the design work and bidding complete by late summer, with construction beginning later [in] 2022.”  

Reclaiming glory

Mark Spadoni took on the role of managing director at The Omni Homestead Resort to help restore the iconic hotel, which turns 256 years old this year.

“It’s a great responsibility,” he says. “We want to maintain the past but make it relevant to moving forward. The goal is to set it up for the next 100 years.”

Founded in 1766, The Omni Homestead Resort is one of the nation’s oldest continuously operated resort hotels. TRT Holdings Inc., the private equity firm that owns Omni Hotels & Resorts, purchased The Homestead in 2013, knowing the property needed renovation and restoration.

“We recognize the historical importance and future potential of such an outstanding property,” says Clint Gulick, senior development project manager for TRT Holdings Inc. “By repairing ancient and failing infrastructure and restoring the interior and exterior components of the building, we can give The Homestead a fresh start and restore her historic beauty.”

Work on the resort’s exterior began in November 2021 and is expected to be completed in early 2023. It includes the restoration of 978 original wood windows and hundreds of doors, as well as repairs to all stucco, terracotta, limestone and brick masonry. In addition, work will be completed on the terraces and balconies in the garden and west wings, the tower and presidential suites, restoring them to their original luster.

Plans also call for building a new 4,000-square-foot pavilion for weddings and special events. “With everything we are doing, we want to make sure we don’t do anything that takes away from the property,” Spadoni says. “All of the new buildings are designed to match the existing buildings.”

As for the renovation plans, it’s more than just making everything look nice. “You can take something old and modernize it, but we are taking something in need of repair and making it watertight and updating the structural integrity so we can bring it back to its previous grandeur,” says Leta Hardy, vice president of Complete Property Services, the Tampa, Florida-based company chosen to do the exterior work on the resort. “Every part of the exterior is being touched, even the hands on the clock.”

Restoration of the 978 original guest room windows includes sealing the windows and installing storm windows. “The windows will maintain the same look and feel,” Hardy says. “Guests won’t see the extra pane of glass.”

Guestrooms in the main building, as well as the tower, east, west and garden wings, will all be updated with a design in keeping with the vintage style. Martha’s Market, the property’s grab-and-go café, will be entirely remodeled and will open into the updated Washington Library. The Lobby Bar will expand into the Georgian Room with a new speakeasy-style lounge.

Interior work is scheduled to begin by the end of March. “The five different wings will all be done independently,” Spadoni says. “We will stay open during the renovation, but there will be minimal inconvenience to guests. Hopefully we will have all the guest rooms in service before summer season 2023.”

Another key component of the project is the construction of a new residential building for employees, some of whom are coming to Bath County on temporary work visas. Located in downtown Hot Springs, the building will include 50 two-person units and community facilities, as well as a basketball court and a picnic area. Construction of the building began earlier this year and is set to be completed in spring 2023.

Another project associated with The Homestead — the Warm Springs Pools, formerly named for Thomas Jefferson — are under renovation by Roanoke’s Lionberger Construction Co., which expects to finish the job late this year.

Working on the oldest section of the main hotel is exciting, Hardy says. “No one has modernized the building, so anything our workers touch was done by the original craftsperson.” 

The Homestead is a “community itself,” says Amy Steen-Humble, senior interior design manager for TRT Holdings. “By restoring this national treasure, we’re restoring the community and allowing new faces to come along. Virginia has more history than any other state in the U.S., and we’re proud to contribute to its preservation.

Return to form

In terms of business activity and economic development wins, 2021 turned out to be a stellar year for the Shenandoah Valley.

“We have exceeded what we anticipated from a business activity perspective,” says Jay Langston, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, which promotes economic development from Shenandoah County to Rockbridge County. “When government shut down in 2020, we thought, ‘What in the world are we going to do?’ That lasted about a month. We only saw a temporary blip in business activity, and it came back in a big way.”

Last year, the partnership collaborated with localities and businesses on more than $165 million in investments, expected to bring in 650 jobs. Those deals include a $30 million investment from the D.C.-based Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava to open a processing and packaging facility near Staunton, and bringing in Veronesi Holding S.p.A., an Italian manufacturer and producer of cured meats, which will establish its first U.S. production operation in Rockingham County.

The partnership is finding that some of the measures it adopted during the pandemic are ones it will continue to maintain.

“Doing business the same old way doesn’t work in the current dynamic environment,” Langston says. “The virtual environment allowed us to deliver our message in more efficient ways. Also, we are much more heavily engaged in outreach marketing with high return-on-investment programs, and we are paying much more attention to talent retention and attraction, as well as quality-of-life messaging.”

There is tremendous cohesion in the valley regarding the area’s economic prosperity, even though “sub-regions have different goals and means of achieving them,” Langston says. “We have been blessed by a region that collaborates and works to solve problems.”

Rockingham County and Harrisonburg

“Securing the deal with Veronesi was a substantial win for us,” says Casey Armstrong, assistant county administrator and director of economic development. “It will help to diversify our financial portfolio. We are dependent on the agricultural and food and beverage industry, and this facility will diversify us and makes us more resilient.”

Veronesi plans to invest more than $100 million and create more than 150 jobs during the next four years. The company’s new facility, located in Innovation Village, will be used to age, process and package products for distribution, increasing its cured meat and charcuterie customer base in the U.S. market.

“This is the company’s first facility in the U.S., and it will be their U.S. headquarters,” Armstrong says. “Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to open by the end of 2022 or the first [part] of 2023.”

Merck & Co. Inc.’s $1 billion expansion of its Rockingham County pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, announced in 2019, is underway and is providing revenue for local tradespeople, restaurants and hotels. “They have over 1,000 employees on the job alone,” Armstrong says. “That deal was a big win for us.”

Additionally, Virginia Industrial Plastics Inc. is investing more than $6.5 million to expand its manufacturing facility in the county, a deal announced in September 2021. The plastic thermoforming and fabrication company will add 92 jobs with the expansion, which will allow the company to increase capacity for its company-owned product lines, Cabinet Savers and VIP Golf Cars.

The city of Harrisonburg worked with more international companies last year than in previous years. For example, Sibo Group, a Slovenian manufacturer of closure solutions, will invest $2.6 million to establish its U.S. corporate headquarters and a new manufacturing operation. The project is set to create 24 jobs. 

“Sibo USA has been a great project for Harrisonburg,” says the city’s economic development director, Brian Shull. “The lead was generated by Montebello Packaging, a city manufacturer of plastic tubes for the pharmaceutical and health care industries. Sibo has been supplying caps and closure to Montebello for years, but they were being manufactured in Slovenia and shipped to the Harrisonburg facility. Montebello offered manufacturing space to Sibo within its city facility.”

The city also is assisting with Shenandoah Valley Organic’s construction project, a $65.5 million deal that was inked in 2020 and will create 110 jobs.

The rapidly growing organic chicken company, marketed as Farmer Focus, has reached substantial completion of its 76,000-square-foot retail packaging facility, where production was slated to start in the first quarter of this year.

Augusta County and Waynesboro

Augusta County’s efforts to target advanced manufacturing companies, particularly in the food and beverage industry, paid off in September when Cava, the Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain, announced its decision to open a 57,000-square-foot processing and packaging operation to produce its dips and spreads in Mill Place Commerce Park, the county’s publicly owned business park. Cava plans to invest more than $30 million and create 52 jobs.

“It’s a great fit for the county,” says Rebekah Castle, Augusta’s director of economic development and marketing. “The company is wonderful to work with, and we are looking forward to their opening in the next few years.”

Meanwhile, Waynesboro is in a renaissance phase, working with small local businesses, as well as courting expansions and new development, says Greg Hitchin, the city’s director of economic development and tourism. “We have weathered the storm of COVID-19 pretty well. Most of our manufacturing firms are in hiring mode now.”

Waynesboro, Augusta County and North Carolina-based private developer Mitchener Properties LLC worked together on the sale of the former Ladd Elementary School, which will become Waynesboro Marketplace, scheduled to open this spring or summer.

Another highlight of the year is the Waynesboro campus of Virginia Museum of Natural History. The Virginia General Assembly included funds in its 2022 budget for detailed planning drawings. If all goes as planned, the museum is expected to open in 2025, drawing an expected 65,000 visitors annually, Hitchin says.

Also, electronics manufacturer Virtex added a new product line to its Waynesboro location in 2021, creating about 50 jobs.

Warren, Shenandoah and Winchester

In December 2021, Minnesota-based TFC Poultry LLC said it was investing $31.5 million to establish its second U.S. production facility in Winchester. The project is expected to create 111 jobs. The company is hoping to open the facility this fall.

In December 2020, International Automotive Components Group, a global supplier of automotive components and systems, announced it would invest
$4.6 million to expand its manufacturing operation in the town of Strasburg, creating 47 jobs. The company met its capital investment goals in 2021 and is currently in the midst of hiring, which is expected to be complete by June 2023.

“We foresee a lot of additional growth in our county for 2022 based on current prospect activity,” says Jenna French, Shenandoah County’s director of tourism and economic development.

In Warren County, Montreal-based Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods LLC has broken ground on a $40.3 million expansion, creating an anticipated 67 jobs. The 126,000-square-foot building, which is being built by InterChange Group Inc., should be completed this fall, says Jeff Browne, chair of the Front Royal Warren County Economic Development Authority.

Rockbridge County

Rockbridge County is prioritizing economic growth and developing a strategic economic development plan.

During 2021, the county had two major economic development expansion announcements: White’s Travel Center is investing $8 million to expand its building by 27,250 square feet and reconfigure the parking lot for additional retail and service space. And Modine Manufacturing Co., a thermal system manufacturer, will expand its operations in Rockbridge County with an investment of $7.03 million, adding 60 jobs. The project includes reconfiguring and remodeling the company’s existing warehouse into a manufacturing space.

“This project included participation in the [Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s] Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, which is the first time one of our projects has utilized that program,” says Brandy Flint, the county’s director of economic development. 

Shenandoah Valley’s recent deals

Innovative Refrigeration Systems Inc.

Augusta County

177 jobs

Veronesi Holding S.p.A.

Rockingham County

161 jobs

TFC Poultry LLC

Winchester

111 jobs

Virginia Industrial Plastics Inc.

Rockingham County

92 jobs

Evolve Services Inc.

Frederick County

84 jobs

Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods LLC

Warren County

67 jobs

Modine Manufacturing Co.

Rockbridge County

60 jobs

Cava Group Inc.

Augusta County

52 jobs

Valley Guard Supply LLC

Harrisonburg

45 jobs

Ryzing Technologies LLC

Staunton

31 jobs

Source: Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Big bird

In August 2021, Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies, announced it will invest $300 million to establish a 325,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County, creating 376 full-time jobs.

Just two months later, Tyson broke ground on the project at Cane Creek Centre, an industrial park just outside Danville that’s jointly owned by the city and Pittsylvania.

“This project represents the largest investment made by a single manufacturer within our community in over 30 years,” says Corrie Bobe, Danville’s economic development director.

Construction crews began work on the plant in December 2021, with completion scheduled in early 2023.

“This project is exciting,” says Linda Green, executive director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance. “Tyson is a well-known name. It’s been in Virginia for decades.”

Tyson has had a footprint in Virginia for more than 50 years and employs more than 2,000 people across the state in its hatchery, grain and processing operations in Glen Allen and on the Eastern Shore.

The new facility will be one of the company’s “most automated facilities,” Green adds. “They have increased the use of robotics and automation because of our workforce.”

The process to bring Tyson in lasted up to nine months, which is not “very long in the economic development world,” says Matt Rowe, economic development director for Pittsylvania County. “We were competing against a pretty large geographic area.”

The key driver in Tyson’s decision to locate to Southern Virginia was the region’s investment in a robust workforce training program that includes training in skills such as mechatronics and robotics.

“In fact, the company adjusted its model for this facility, adding more robotics and automation, based on the technical skills developed within our training programs,” Bobe says.

The company also secured grants from the state, including $3 million from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund and $3 million more from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant for creating jobs. The state’s Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission also approved $1.5 million for the facility, plus other incentives from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program and the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit.

Danville Community College and Pittsylvania Career and Technology Center are partnering with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Talent Accelerator Program to provide workforce training, a real plus for the region, Rowe adds.

“Tyson viewed us as a community, but one where they could put their dream plant with all the automation and new technology they wanted. We are training people in that so they could implement new technology,” he says.

The facility will be used primarily for the production of fully cooked Tyson-branded foods, including chicken nuggets and items from its Any’tizer Snacks line.

The company plans to buy 60 million pounds of Virginia-grown chicken during the next three years, and it will complement other companies in the rapidly growing food products sector in Danville and Pittsylvania.

The Tyson facility will be directly across from the Aerofarms indoor vertical grow facility, which will produce leafy greens, and slightly more than a mile from Litehouse Inc., producer of salad dressings, herbs and cheeses, and Buitoni Foods, a maker of refrigerated pasta and sauces.

“For me, Tyson’s commitment to the communities they are in is important. Because of the company’s commitment to its employees, it felt like it was a good fit for the kind of company you want to bring into the community,” Green says. “Because they use Virginia products in their own products, it will be a wonderful tie between agriculture and manufacturing.”

“We’ve had operations in Glen Allen and Temperanceville for decades and look forward to growing our relationships with our newest investment in the commonwealth of Virginia,” David Bray, Tyson’s group president of poultry, said in a statement.

“We are building this state-of-the-art facility to help us meet growing demand for our fully-cooked products from customers and consumers. We started as a small family business selling chicken, and today we work hard to give the community a great place to come to work and provide for their own families.”

Making headway

Corporate investments are on the upswing in Southern Virginia, along with a desire to increase production, says Linda Green, executive director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance.

“People have a lot of pent-up demand, and companies are responding to that,” she says. “We have lots of interest and activity.”

Companies are choosing Southern Virginia for several reasons, including its proximity to North Carolina’s Research Triangle and surges in economic development produced by the upcoming Caesars Virginia casino.

Kegerreis Digital Marketing, which is relocating its headquarters from Pennsylvania, is investing $1.7 million to renovate a former 7,000-square-foot tobacco warehouse in the Danville River District, creating 62 jobs. Until renovations are completed in fall 2022, the company’s workforce will occupy space at the Dan River Business Development Center.

Many companies want to be closer to their supply chain needs. “The Port of Virginia has helped us with our recruitment, because you are not seeing delays at the port, where turn times are low,” Green says, referring to the amount of time it takes trucks to enter the Port of Virginia, load up, travel to Danville and go back to the port to unload goods.

Danville and Pittsylvania County

“Momentum continues to build within our community,” says Danville Economic Development Director Corrie Bobe, citing more than $480 million in new investment announced in the past year.

Although some development is related to the forthcoming Caesars Virginia casino, which increased its total investment from $400 million to $500 million, other developments include industrial ventures and expansions.

Caesars Entertainment began demolition and abatement work late last year at the former Dan River Mills industrial complex, starting to lay the groundwork for a resort casino that will include restaurants and bars, a 500-guestroom hotel, a 40,000-square-foot conference center and a 2,500-seat live entertainment venue. Caesars Virginia is set to open in late 2023.

New manufacturing facilities for Tyson Foods, Staunton River Plastics and vertical farm company AeroFarms broke ground in 2021, and the latter two projects are expected to be completed this summer.

“In addition, we have celebrated exciting milestones for companies and developers, including the completion of a 43,000-square-foot expansion for Litehouse, the opening of Sterling Lighting’s headquarters and manufacturing facility, and the addition of 54 new apartments downtown,” Bobe says. 

Work also started last year on redeveloping Danville’s White Mill, which has stood vacant for more than a decade. The 20-acre property is scheduled to reopen in summer 2023 with 110,000 square feet of commercial space and 150 housing units, with 100 more units to come later.

“We also launched the Schoolfield Master Planning process this past year, which will focus on historic, commercial and industrial areas associated with the Dan River Mills Schoolfield site,” Bobe says. “This historic district also incorporates a neighborhood plan for Mill Village of 840 residential structures, as well as a corridor study focusing on West Main Street from the border of North Carolina to the River District.”

Neighboring Pittsylvania County also saw plenty of industrial construction and site acquisitions in the past year, including at properties co-owned with Danville.

“We had a lot of building inventory before 2021, but that has been gobbled up,” says Matt Rowe, the county’s director of economic development. “We are now able to develop projects that are new buildings.”

Intertape Polymer Group is investing a total of $45 million to add 40,000 square feet to its existing building, a project that was set to be completed in the first quarter of this year. The expansion is expected to create 50 jobs over the next four years.

Also in the works are two major projects by Tyson Foods and AeroFarms, which both broke ground on large facilities last year in Cane Creek Centre, respectively investing $300 million and $53 million. Tyson is expected to bring 376 jobs to the county (See related story), and AeroFarms is creating
92 jobs, as well as the world’s largest aeroponic vertical farm.

Other economic gains include a $7.15 million investment from Netherlands-based global installation company Walraven Inc., which is relocating its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing operation from Michigan to a shell building in Cane Creek Centre, bringing 46 jobs.

United Kingdom-based plastic and metal component manufacturer MEP Ltd. is making a $6.5 million investment and hiring around 45 people over the next three to five years. The company will operate as Making Everything Possible LLC and will occupy approximately 5,500 square feet at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research while its new facility is constructed.

This year is looking equally fruitful for new economic development announcements, Rowe says. “We have secured four projects that have yet to be announced. They represent hundreds or more jobs.”

Halifax County and South Boston

Even though Halifax County didn’t have any significant economic development announcements in 2021, the year was busy, says the county’s industrial development authority director, Kristy Johnson, who adds, “I suspect that 2022 will be the same or busier.”

Johnson was promoted to lead the county IDA in September 2021, after the IDA went nearly a year without a permanent leader, but she has worked for the authority since 2009. She said last fall that her focus will be on recruiting companies that complement existing industries in Halifax.

The town of South Boston has had a “very good year,” says Town Manager Tom Raab, although its focus was more on infrastructure and housing than business projects.

Piedmont Access to Health Services, a nonprofit health care provider, is building a health center in Houghton Park. The town also added two restaurants and a brewery, and is also starting work on a new public park. Meanwhile, the town is performing lead abatement and other upgrades on the North Main Housing Project, Raab says.

Martinsville, Henry and Patrick

Although the city of Martinsville’s efforts to revert to town status progressed in fits and starts last year, 2021 was a banner year for the city and Henry County in terms of economic development investments, which totaled $247.7 million, with 624 jobs announced last year.

 New announcements included metal packaging company Crown Holdings Inc., which is investing $145 million to establish a manufacturing operation in Henry County. Currently in the process of building a 355,000-square-foot aluminum beverage can production facility, which will create 126 jobs, the company expects to finish construction in the third quarter of this year.

The county notched another economic development victory with German sink manufacturer Schock GmbH, which has agreed to invest $85 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing facility at the shell building in the Patriot Centre Industrial Park, adding 355 jobs. The company is finalizing engineering, with construction starting in the first quarter of 2023.

“Both Schock and Crown are special deals. Both companies are very forward-thinking,” says Mark Heath, president and CEO of the Martinsville Henry County Economic Development Corp.

Meanwhile, neighboring Patrick County is set to renovate a former 16,000-square-foot hardware store into the Patrick County Business Development Center, set to open in 2023. “It will be a multiuse building, providing an entrepreneurship program, business assistance, rentable recreation space, a coworking space and a community meeting space,” says the county’s economic development director, Sean Adkins.

Additionally, Prolam LLC, a Canadian manufacturer of hardwood floors for commercial trucks and trailers, invested $12.8 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing operation in the former Ten Oaks satellite facility in Patrick. The project is set to create 58 jobs and adds 50% to the company’s total manufacturing capacity. Prolam also committed to purchase more than $20.5 million in Virginia-grown hardwoods over the next three years. 

Southern Virginia’s recent deals

Tyson Foods Inc.

Pittsylvania County

376 jobs

Schock GmbH

Henry County

355 jobs

VF Corp.

Henry County

82 jobs

Kegerreis Digital Marketing

Danville

62 jobs

Prolam

Patrick County

59 jobs

Mohawk Industries Inc.

Danville

48 jobs

Walraven Inc.

Pittsylvania County

46 jobs

MEP Ltd.

Danville

45 jobs

Southern Virginia
Vegetable Packing LLC

Brunswick County

40 jobs

Source: Virginia Economic Development Partnership

Big deals

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Chesterfield County: Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, plans to invest $25 million to establish a 191,000-square-foot vehicle inspection and reconditioning facility in the county with the potential to create more than 400 jobs. The project, announced in 2019, was delayed by the pandemic but is back on track.

Henrico County: Last year, SimpliSafe, a producer of self-installed home security systems, established a $5.5 million customer support center in Henrico, employing more than 570 people. In July, it announced a $3 million expansion in Henrico, adding 250 jobs.

Petersburg: Utah-based pharmaceutical nonprofit Civica Inc. plans to invest $124.5 million to start an in-house manufacturing operation.

The project will create 186 jobs. Also, AMPAC Fine Chemicals LLC plans to invest $25 million and create 156 jobs at its plant adjacent to the Civica facility. It’s part of a larger federal effort to secure the domestic supply chain for essential pharmaceutical drugs and ingredients.

Richmond: Aditxt, a biotech innovation company focused on improving immune system health, will establish its first AditxtScore Center in Richmond in the second half of 2021. Aditxt plans to create more than 300 jobs and targets making a capital investment of $31.5 million over three years to scale up the immune health monitoring center.

HAMPTON ROADS

Newport News: indieDwell, a steel modular housing manufacturer, will invest more than $2 million to establish its first East Coast manufacturing facility in Newport News. The project will create 220 jobs when fully operational.

Norfolk: The Pamunkey Indian Tribe plans to break ground this year on its $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino, scheduled to open by late 2022 or early 2023. The Harbor Park-adjacent project is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs.

Portsmouth: Rivers Casino Portsmouth, a short drive from the Norfolk casino, is expected to open in late 2022. Operated by Rush Street Gaming, the $300 million resort is expected to create 1,400 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs. 

Virginia Beach: Acoustical Sheetmetal Co. announced in July 2020 that it will invest $15.8 million to expand its Virginia Beach complex by 20 acres. This June, the company opened the 100,000-square-foot facility, expecting to add 200 jobs.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Arlington County: Microsoft Corp. will expand its workforce and add 475 jobs at a newly leased office in Rosslyn, which the tech giant expects to open in mid-2022. The announcement comes a year after Microsoft said it would create 1,500 jobs at a new research and development hub in Reston.

Fairfax County: ID.me, a federally certified identity provider, expects to hire more than 1,000 new employees in Northern Virginia before the end of this year. It has opened two new offices in Tysons.

Fairfax County: Guidehouse, a management consulting company serving the public and commercial sectors, will invest $12.7 million to establish a global headquarters at Tysons. The new campus will house more than 1,550 employees at full capacity, creating 900 jobs.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Rockingham County: Dynamic Aviation Group Inc. announced in November a $48 million expansion that is expected to create more than 200 jobs, in addition to its workforce of 750.

Warren County: Silent Falcon UAS Technologies, an unmanned aircraft systems service provider and manufacturer, announced it would create 249 jobs by locating its East Coast headquarters at the Front Royal-Warren County Airport, a $6 million project.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Danville: The forthcoming $400 million Caesars Virginia casino is expected to create 1,300 permanent jobs and generate 900 construction jobs. It’s scheduled to open in 2023, city
officials say.

Pittsylvania: Staunton River Plastics Inc., a subsidiary of Rage Corp., will be the first tenant at the Southern Virginia Multimodal Park in Hurt. It is investing $34 million and expects to create 200 jobs over four years. Work was delayed during the height of the pandemic, but construction appears to be on track.

Pittsylvania County: North Carolina-based Ison Furniture Manufacturing Inc. announced last October it will invest $3.5 million to acquire and renovate the recently closed A.C. Furniture Co. Inc. facility. The project is set to create 150 jobs.

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

Bristol: The $400 million Hard Rock Bristol casino is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs once it is fully operational, as well as an additional 1,500 indirect jobs. The casino is expected to open at the Bristol Mall site in late 2022. 

Tazewell County: Pure Salmon (formerly Dominion Aquaculture) will build a vertically integrated indoor aquaculture facility on the boundary of Tazewell and Russell counties. The company plans to invest $228 million and create more than 200 jobs, with opening set for 2023.