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byline: Joan Tupponce

Tackling new terrain

RETAIL/WHOLESALE
Morooka USA 
Ashland

Morooka USA President Kenneth Byrd says the development of new markets has contributed to his company’s recent growth.

One of its newest target markets for Morooka rubber-track carriers is the utility industry. “That led to some growth in the sales company in 2015, and it’s an area we continue to develop today,” he says.

Morooka USA is the top retail/wholesale company in the Fantastic 50, with a growth rate of 227.3 percent from 2011 to 2014. The company has been a category winner many times in recent years.

Morooka USA is one of three construction-related firms held by Ashland-based Richmond Group LLC. The other two companies are Dominion Equipment Parts and Morooka USA – Rents, which currently has a 155-vehicle rental fleet. Byrd oversees Morooka sales and rentals.

Morooka USA, which has 42 employees, sells more of the rubber-track carriers than “any other company in the world,” Byrd says, noting that it rents and sells vehicles in the same markets.

Morooka carriers can tackle most any type of terrain. The largest markets for the vehicles include oil and gas, utilities, environmental and construction industries. The Northeast represents one of Morooka USA’s biggest market regions in the U.S. “New York and Pennsylvania are big areas for sales because of the oil and gas business there,” Byrd says. “We are starting to see market penetration for the machines move west because there are a lot of utility companies west of here.”

Morooka USA – Rents has expanded its rental fleet into Canada, opening a warehouse in Alberta. “Our machines are used in oil and gas exploration and development there,” Byrd says.

The recent drop in the price of crude oil has affected rentals in the U.S. and Canada. “When the price of oil went down, all of these oil development and drilling projects slowed down,” Byrd says. “As they slowed down our rental activity slowed down.”

Acknowledging that his industry is cyclical like the pipeline industry, Byrd remains an optimist about the future of oil and gas development. “The Keystone Pipeline was not approved by the federal government last year, and that was the poster child for the whole pipeline industry,” he says. “There were other projects going on, however, that are marching forward. I know prices are going back up, and the production cycle will go back in our favor. In the next one or two years, I see a definite resurgence of pipeline growth.”

Until that industry bounces back, the company is concentrating on other markets. “We still move dirt in construction jobs, and we work in environmental reclamation, such as river reclamation,” Byrd says. “Those guys love our machines. They don’t disturb the soil around them but to a minimum level.”

The company is putting more emphasis on the utility industry. The trucks now being used to install utility poles have trouble getting around in certain conditions. “When you get to a swampy or hilly area, you need an all-terrain vehicle,” Byrd says. “We can take the tool they use for creating holes and putting the poles in the holes and mount it on a Morooka. Think of it as any type of utility vehicle on rubber tracks.”

States such as Texas and Kansas are key hub areas for the utility industry. “That’s where some of the largest companies in the utility industry are,” Byrd says.

When the company started in 2005 with a distribution agreement with Japanese manufacturer Morooka Co. Ltd., its first territory was the eastern half of the U.S. Today it has distribution rights for the entire U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central and South America.

The company recruited its first dealer in Mexico in 2011 and now also has dealers in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. “The South American market seems to be accepting or adapting to the Morooka carrier,” Byrd says. “Sales in South America and Central America are slowly increasing as infrastructure development is on the rise in many South and Central American countries. We also are on the cusp of our first Central American dealer outside of Mexico.”

Byrd is proud of the people that work for the company, some of whom have been with the firm for 18 years. “Being able to attract good people and have them grow with you and stay with you is an important thing,” he says. “The folks that work for Morooka USA are some of the best, and we couldn’t do it without them.”

ADP center will create 1,800 jobs in Norfolk

ADP will invest $32.25 million to establish a regional customer-service center in downtown Norfolk, a project expected to create about 1,800 jobs.

“The new location will allow us to expand our talent pool,” says company spokesman Dick Wolfe. “Norfolk has a large veteran population and hiring vets is a key part of our talent acquisition strategy.”

A human resources and payroll company, New Jersey-based ADP has more than 630,000 customers in more than 100 countries. More than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies use at least one of the company’s services.

The company currently has two locations in Virginia, with about 70 employees in Richmond and another 20 in Virginia Beach. Before picking Norfolk, ADP had been looking for a customer-service center site for about 12 months, starting with a list of more than 30 locations before paring it down to fewer than five.

“We chose to locate a new facility in Norfolk because of the thriving business climate in the city and commonwealth,” Wolfe says. “We have the opportunity to attract a diverse, educated and motivated workforce that will make significant contributions to ADP and add value to the client experience.”

The company will be renovating 2 Commercial Place adjacent to the former Bank of America Tower in Norfolk. “We hope to be fully staffed by about mid-2017,” Wolfe says, noting that many of the new jobs will be related to client support and implementation, finance and IT support.

The state is providing $5 million from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund and an estimated $1.8 million from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program to assist with the project. An additional $5 million match is being provided by the city.  The performance-based grant would be funded with revenue resulting from the project. “The city is providing below-market-rate parking to the owner of 2 Commercial Place for ADP’s benefit,” Wolfe says.

Blades maker to expand Augusta County plant

AccuTec Blades’ 60-year history in Augusta County played into the company’s decision to stay and invest $5.37 million to expand its manufacturing operations.

The move, announced in February, will create 53 jobs and retain 138.

The company, which started as American Safety Razor in Brooklyn in 1875, moved to Augusta County in 1956 with two divisions: shaving razors — it was the largest private, wet-shaving manufacturer in the world — and a specialty division that made blades for medical and industrial use.

In 2010, Energizer acquired the company for $301 million and merged the shaving unit with its Schick business. That move left the specialty division in Verona. “It didn’t fit into Energizer’s personal-care line and batteries businesses,” says Rick Gagliano, AccuTec’s president and CEO.

The specialty business was bought by a New Jersey investment group last September, and it took the name AccuTec Blades Inc. “In 2015, we went through an unsettled period of closing and selling. We had customers clamoring for our product, and we were turning them away,” Gagliano says. “With the new ownership, we were able to open up the floodgates and hire people. We have been swamped with orders that we are rushing to fill.”

The uptick in business provided the impetus for the company to invest more in its building and equipment to produce specialized orders for customers. The company makes blades used in nearly 30 industries ranging from medical services to construction.

“We are the largest manufacturer of that range of products in the U.S.,” Gagliano says. “There are only about two manufacturers in Japan that are larger than us.”
Before a decision was made to stay in Augusta, “we did have some other states courting us,” Gagliano says, noting that another option was to move manufacturing to Mexico. “We already had some manufacturing in Mexico.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Augusta and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership to secure the project for Virginia.  “They came up with grant money — $125,000 from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund and a matching $125,000 from Augusta County — and money to assist us in setting up training programs,” Gagliano says. The company is also eligible to receive sales and use tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment.

The company expects to add jobs during the next two to three years. “We want to increase our size about 33 percent,” Gagliano says. “We have already started the hiring process.”

CarMax outlines changes for next two years

The next two years could mark a significant growth period for CarMax, including new stores, new employees and new leadership.

During that time the used-car retailer plans to open 13 to 16 new stores each year.

CarMax also plans to hire 1,600 new store employees. Mostly sales positions, the jobs will be based in the Los Angeles, Southern Florida, Northern Virginia and Baltimore areas. The stores’ expansion plan “creates a great opportunity to add new associates to our team,” says CarMax spokeswoman Beth Singer.

The company also is filling 50 technology positions at new offices in downtown Richmond and at its Goochland County headquarters about 10 miles away. The downtown office will be in a renovated historic building on the city’s Canal Walk. “This space is the best solution for our needs,” Singer says. “Richmond is a vibrant place to work and a popular destination.”

The technology positions will include a wide range of roles such as analysts, application architects, product managers, software developers, IT configuration specialists, and social and web content strategists.

Singer says the downtown location should help CarMax attract the type of talent it is seeking. “We are looking for people who are innovative and well educated in the field and know where technology is going so they can meet the needs of our customers by making the buying process seamless,” she says.

CarMax data shows that an online search already is a critical part of the car- buying experience. “Currently approximately 90 percent of CarMax purchasers start on carmax.com or the CarMax mobile app,” Singer says. “Of those, about 65 percent are looking at the website on a tablet or on their phone.”

On the management front, CarMax promoted Bill Nash to president in February as part of a multiyear management succession plan. Nash, 46, had been executive vice president for human resources and administrative services since 2012.

Nash is expected to succeed CEO Tom Folliard when he retires before the end of this year. Folliard, 51, has been with CarMax for 23 years and became CEO in 2006. During his tenure, the company’s revenues more than doubled and its net income quadrupled.

Cooperative relieves startups of overhead costs

Hawksbill Trading Co. wants to help entrepreneurs create small businesses for downtown Luray.

The cooperative functions as an incubator, providing opportunities for startups to get off the ground while reducing their overhead costs.

“We have 30 startup companies now, and more phone calls and applications are coming in every day,” says Jay North, the owner of JK Designs, who is president of the co-op’s board of directors.

Hawksbill was founded after another incubator operator, the nonprofit Center for Workforce Development, closed.

“The difference now is that the small business owners are more involved,” North says. “They have a hands-on role in the administration of the cooperative and in their personal businesses.”

The Center for Workforce Development program had about 20 to 30 retail vendors who were trying to start businesses and “experiment with their product line,” North says.

“When the nonprofit left, we got together with the vendors and formed a cooperative,” he adds. “It was so important for us to do that. We wanted to make sure everyone had a voice, a say and a vote going forward.”

The cooperative handles overhead costs, such as rent, utilities and insurance. Vendors rent booth spaces “that they can treat as a store,” North says.

Hawksbill, which had its grand opening Feb. 20, is applying for recognition as a nonprofit organization so it can accept donations.

“We have everything from painting and jewelry to crafting and antiques,” says North of the vendors. “We also have a functioning indoor farmers market that runs year round.”

Many vendors at Hawksbill are building upon the area’s craft heritage. “We have a history of crafting and surviving by making things with your hands,” North says. “We learned not to be wasteful, to reuse things and reinvent them.”

Hawksbill is named after the creek that runs next to its building. “We use our basement for storage. The upper two levels are used for retail and each has two office spaces for rent,” says North.

North’s company, JK Designs, includes two businesses. One repurposes furniture, housewares and home décor. The other, called The Art of Occasions, is a wedding business.

The co-op hopes to expand to become an incubator of all types of companies. It currently is developing an entrepreneur program while teaching middle and high school students how to run a business.

“This is a great example of how, when a community comes together, we can accomplish great things,” North says.

Xgility adds employees as its revenue soars

The IT services firm Xgility has been growing at blazing speed since CEO Chris Hornbecker founded it in 2011.

By 2014, its annual revenue totaled $3.9 million. Last year, that number had risen to $5 million.

Inc. magazine ranked the company No. 144 last year on its annual list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, with a three-year growth rate of 2,709 percent.

Because of its rapid development, the company recently moved its offices to Ashburn after outgrowing its former space in Dulles.

Kurt Greening, Xgility’s director of business productivity, says it will add 15 employees to its current staff of 32 this year. The company hopes to reach 100 employees by 2018.

One of Xgility’s primary services is helping customers use collaboration platforms such as Microsoft SharePoint effectively.

“SharePoint is typically the glue that glues workflow together,” Greening says. “We make people love SharePoint instead of just forcing them to use it.”

The company works with clients in moving their business applications to cloud platforms such as Microsoft Office 365 and using SharePoint to streamline business processes.

“Anything a business does takes people and processes,” Greening says. “We help folks automate that and become more productive.”

More and more businesses, he notes, are moving to cloud technology but struggle to keep up with all new features. “That’s how we help.”
Xgility’s customers include professional-service firms, nonprofits and government agencies.

Greening credits the company’s rapid growth to its culture. Its 11-point list of core values include: “Build for long-term success;” “Be an expert, not a know-it-all;” “Have fun and check your ego at the door;” and “Do what’s right.”

“We talk about those core values every week,” Greening says.

Every employee in the company is empowered to innovate and “to explore new solutions and even better ways to serve clients,” Greening says.

“An entrepreneurial spirit is embedded in our culture,” he adds. “If an employee has to make a decision and can’t talk with someone in management, he or she can refer to our core values and make a decision based on them. Our list of core values is the compass that guides our company.”

Swedish firm picks Henry for its first U.S. plant

Even though it’s a relatively small community, the Martinsville-Henry County area continues to diversify its economy, adding international companies to its mix of businesses.

Two recent economic development projects, for example, have involved companies based in Britain, Kilgour Industries Ltd. and Hardide plc.

The latest addition is Sweden-based Starsprings, a privately held spring and spring unit manufacturer.

“Advanced manufacturing is a good fit for us,” says Mark Heath, president and CEO of Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp.

The company, founded in 1918, is based in Herrljunga, Sweden. In addition to its home country, it has operations in Brazil and Poland.

Starsprings will invest $3.7 million in establishing its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Henry County. It will make mattress units used in the cabs of trucks making long-distance hauls. “The company does a lot of work for Volvo and Mack Trucks,” says Heath.

Starsprings found a 50,000-square-foot building in Henry County that suited its needs. “It was owned by Frith Construction, a local construction company, and it had been used by different manufacturing companies over the years. It was perfect for them,” Heath says.

Before committing to Virginia, the company considered locations in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

“They were serious about looking at other places. During the middle part of this, I would not have been surprised if they had gone to North Carolina,” Heath says. “North Carolina was still very much in the mix when they were looking at us, but I think we had an aggressive package.”

Virginia’s incentive package included a $100,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund and $220,000 from the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. Starsprings also will receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.

“The CEO of Starsprings was very honest when the announcement about coming to Virginia was made, saying the fact we had a good incentive package was helpful for them,” Heath says. “Also helpful was the amount of local support and help we were giving them.”

The company’s goal is to have the site operational by this fall. It will create 68 jobs. “They are projecting to hire 22 people this year and the balance in 2017,” says Heath.

The Battle at Bristol

Bristol Motor Speedway soon will make history in another sport, college football.

On Sept. 10, just 2½ weeks after it hosts a NASCAR race, the speedway will turn its half-mile track into a football field for a game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the University of Tennessee Volunteers.

The much-anticipated event (the local chamber of commerce has a clock ticking away the days, hours and minutes to kickoff) officially is known as the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol.

The most recent football game between the teams occurred at the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta in 2009. The Hokies won, 37-14.

“The last time the schools met in regular season was 1937,” says Pete Moris, associate athletics director of strategic communications for Virginia Tech’s athletics department.

The idea for the matchup between Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference and Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference first popped up in 1998. “But the stars didn’t align at that time,” says Jerry Caldwell, the speedway’s executive vice president and general manager. “There was some interest from the two schools. The idea was revisited a couple of times over the next few years.”

Serious conversations involving the speedway and the schools started in 2012. “Both schools responded enthusiastically, and we were able to put it together,” Caldwell says.

Each school has a tremendous fan base, giving the teams the opportunity to play “in front of the largest crowd ever to witness a college football game. That’s enticing,” says Moris. “This is something historic, and it appealed to both football programs.”

Once everything is in place, the speedway will have a seating capacity of 155,000 when it adds about 5,000 temporary seats on the track. The current single attendance record for a football game is 115,109 for a 2013 contest in Ann Arbor, Mich., between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan.

The temporary seating is just one of the transformations on tap. The speedway will haul in rock to build a base for the football field in the infield shortly after the August NASCAR race. Currently the infield slopes inward so water can flow toward drains, a necessary feature for racing.

“For football you need it running off the sides,” says Caldwell, noting that the middle of the infield will have to be raised three-and-a-half feet before AstroTurf can be laid on top. “It will take crews six to eight days to get all the material into the track and create the field.”

The speedway also will have to install temporary restrooms, mobile kitchens and concession stands as well as hospitality tents to accommodate fans in the extra 5,000-seat area. Other details that had to be ironed out included finding locations for coaching booths and the play clock.

The speedway will host a second football game on Sept. 17 between East Tennessee State University and Western Carolina. “Then we will go through the process of taking the field down,” says Caldwell. “We will release economic impact numbers and attendance numbers after the game.”

He believes the two games will not only have a strong impact on the community but will also introduce new people to the racetrack. “Anytime you can expose new fans to our facility it’s a good thing,” Caldwell says.

Crowdfunding app firm finds Blacksburg a good fit

The California-based technology firm Tilt had many reasons for opening an East Coast office in Blacksburg last September.

One was the proximity of Virginia Tech and other colleges. Students are the target market for Tilt’s crowdfunding app.

Another reason was more personal. Eight of the company’s 71 employees are Virginia Tech alums, including Khaled Hussein, Tilt’s co-founder and chief technology officer.

“We have huge connections to this area,” says Brian Hartsock, another Hokie who is Tilt’s director of engineering.

The company was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2012, but its headquarters now are in San Francisco. The Blacksburg office is located downtown at the Tech Pad co-working space.

The Tilt mobile app is used for crowdfunding.

Since the company’s founding, more than 500,000 groups have used Tilt’s free crowdfunding app. “The app is the easiest way to collect money as a group,” Hartsock says.

Students, for example, use the app to collect money for a tailgate party or a homecoming celebration. While aimed at college students, the app can be used by anyone who needs to round up payments for a variety of purposes.

Hartsock, who graduated from Virginia Tech 12 years ago, used it to collect money for a vacation house that several families had rented. “One person paid for the house and other people contributed,” he says. “It makes it easy to do.”

In addition to its sites in San Francisco and Blacksburg, Tilt has offices in Austin, Toronto, London and Sydney. Outside the U.S., its app is available in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Australia.

A good deal of Tilt’s marketing is based on its “ambassador program.”

“College students are our brand ambassadors,” Hartsock says. “We try to get people … in different universities to use our product and tell their friends about it. We have people who serve as country managers that manage our ambassadors.”

Tilt makes money through its Sell Something campaigns where “companies leverage our user base and sell products to students,” says Hartsock.

The company doesn’t have plans for more apps at the moment.  “We are really focusing on our current app and collecting money as a group,” says Hartsock. “We want to expand into new markets and new schools and grow the model we have.”

A year of transition

Norfolk is arming itself for a major win.

In early February, city council approved $5 million in incentives to attract Automatic Data Processing, a Fortune 500 company, which could bring 2,000 jobs to the city, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The New Jersey-based company would occupy a downtown building, 2 Commercial Place. The building is part of a $100 million City Walk project that also includes the Bank of America building.

The developer, Frank “Buddy” Gadams, founder of Norfolk-based Marathon Development Group, plans to create 300 luxury apartments as part of the project.

The 2016 announcement follows a transitional year for the Hampton Roads region, starting with the reset of its economic development organization. Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (HREDA,) which markets the region, now represents 11 localities. Former members Williamsburg, James City County and York County left the organization last year.

HREDA is “focused on improving cooperation and collaboration within the region and ways to better market our position and our region,” says Kevin Sweeney, HREDA’s interim president and CEO. Sweeney, a retired Navy rear admiral, joined the organization in March 2015 and will be leaving this year. “We are very bullish on the unique assets we have here in Hampton Roads. We are going to be very aggressive in 2016 and expect impressive results.”

Last year the alliance helped Virginia Beach recruit TAG America Inc. and Haulotte North America. TAG, a subsidiary of TAG Chemicals GmbH of Germany, will establish its first U.S. factory, producing water-based, nontoxic specialty chemicals. The company conducted a search in several East Coast states before selecting a 6,400-square-foot facility in Virginia Beach. It will initially hire six employees but plans to expand its workforce.

Haulotte moved its North American headquarters from Frederick, Md., to an 83,000-square-foot facility in Virginia Beach. It is expected to create 66 jobs within 36 months. The company is a subsidiary of France-based Haulotte Group, the third-largest manufacturer of aerial work platforms, such as industrial scaffolding and lift systems.

“Small and medium-sized European enterprises increasingly understand the importance of having a U.S. facility for long-term growth and success,” says Warren Harris, Virginia Beach’s director of economic development.

Last year, Virginia Beach saw a total capital investment of $350 million from projects that are expected to create about 1,300 jobs.

One of the city’s biggest developments last year was a deal with United States Management (USM), a part of The ESG Cos., to develop an arena seating more than 15,000 people. It would be used to attract shows, concerts and other events. (See related story on Page 18.)

Norfolk had a strong year in 2015 as well. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of activity, and we think that will be bearing a lot of success in 2016,” says Chuck Rigney, the city’s director of development.

The city’s economy got a boost from Colonna’s Shipyard Inc., which will invest more than $30 million to expand its operations, creating 51 jobs. In addition, Philadelphia-based engineering and information technology firm CDI relocated its Virginia Beach operations to Norfolk, adding 168 jobs.

The city also began the long-awaited $75 million, 350,000-square-foot Simon outlet mall project, which will house more than 90 stores. It is expected to create 300 construction jobs as well as 800 permanent jobs.

Other projects include Waterside District, a $40 million rebranding of Waterside Festival Marketplace by The Cordish Cos., and The Main, a $164 million public-private initiative. It includes a 300-room Hilton hotel and conference center scheduled to open in 2017. It will create 1,500 construction and permanent jobs.

Early last year, Newport News announced that Canon Virginia will spend $100 million to expand its operation in the city. “We started the year with a bang,” says Florence Kingston, director of the Newport News Department of Development.

The city has worked with Jefferson Lab on its bid to build a $1 billion electron-ion collider. The lab is one of two facilities being considered for the project. If it is chosen, the project is expected to have a $4 billion economic impact on the region.

The Façade Improvement Grant Program assisted 18 businesses that invested a total of $1.4 million last year. The city’s Economic Development Authority provided matching funding of $479,000 to leverage the private investment.

Retail projects in the city included new restaurants at the Marketplace at Tech Center, part of a 100-acre, mixed-use $450 million development.

Portsmouth saw more than $160 million of private investment last year. “One hundred million of that was in downtown in multifamily housing that has finished construction, was under construction or is under contract,” says Mallory Butler, the city’s director of economic development. The eight downtown projects represent 770 multifamily units.

In addition, the Port of Virginia has plans to expand Virginia International Gateway and ultimately develop the Craney Island expansion. Those plans have spurred growth around the port area, including an estimated $5 million investment by Harrisonburg-based InterChange, a third-party logistics firm and distribution facility.

The city’s maritime industry also will  benefit by the more than $3 million investment Virginia Beach-based PER Properties is making to develop a granary on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River.

Also underway is the continued development of Midtown Marketplace, a phased $30 million retail development, and an $18 million private investment in the Victory area of the city with two new 7-Eleven stores and the proposed expansion of Autumn Care, a nursing and rehabilitation center.

Suffolk saw more than $100 million of capital investment last year led by three strong projects in retail, medical and logistics. “They are three of our industry targets,” says Kevin Hughes, the city’s director of economic development.

Target Corp. will invest approximately $50 million to expand its distribution center in Suffolk. “They will be hiring close to 700 new personnel in 2016,” says Hughes.

Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System made a $20 million investment to build the 58,000-square-foot Bon Secours Harbour View Medical Plaza. The Plaza will house the Bon Secours Cancer Institute at Harbour View.

Suffolk’s Harbour View community is seeing a flurry of retail development. Hampton Roads Crossing, a mixed-use development, is expanding in that area, adding 98,000 square feet for high-end retail tenants.

Last year Hampton continued the momentum it gained in 2014. The city has $30 million in capital investments with 750 jobs announced. “We are still pushing the envelope to get more investment in the city,” says Leonard Sledge, the city’s director of economic development.

Wins for the city include a $9 million investment by TE Connectivity Ltd. to expand its sensor solutions operations at its Hampton-based subsidiary, Measurement Specialties Inc., which will add 66 new jobs. In addition, FedEx Ground opened its 200,000-square-foot facility for small package handling.

Faneuil Inc., a provider of customer-care services to government and commercial organizations, announced it will add nearly 200 new jobs to its operations in Hampton. Additionally, Cosentino, a company based in Spain that produces quartz and other stone surfaces, expanded its distribution center, adding more than 32,000 square feet.

The commonwealth designated a new Hampton Roads Center Enterprise Zone to support job creation and private investment in the city last year. “It is an important tool for Hampton to help existing companies grow and to attract new companies and jobs to the city,” Sledge says.