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byline: Kate Andrews

Inova receives $75M donation for heart, vascular programs

Northern Virginia philanthropists Dwight and Martha Schar have made a $75 million matching gift to support Inova Health System’s heart and vascular treatment programs, Inova announced Tuesday. The Schars have donated a total of $126 million to the Falls Church-based health system since 1993, including $50 million in 2015 to establish Fairfax County’s Inova Schar Cancer Institute.

The Schars’ gift will be used to focus on research, outreach, prevention and early diagnosis of cardiovascular ailments, including hiring more health care professionals and growing specialty services in what will be called Inova Schar Heart and Vascular, as well as promoting health equity in Northern Virginia, the health system said in its announcement. The Schars challenged the community to match their pledge, which is among the largest in the nation to benefit cardiovascular medical treatments.

“The investment Martha and I made to support Inova’s vision for a world-class cancer center was one of the best investments of my life,” said Dwight Schar, who founded Reston-based Fortune 500 homebuilding and mortgage banking business NVR Inc. and retired last year as its chair. “We truly believe Inova provides exceptional quality of care and an exceptional patient experience, and we want everyone in our community to have access to this world-class care in their own backyard. Having the very best cancer care here in Northern Virginia has provided thousands of families facing a cancer diagnosis the ability to receive life-saving care close to home, and now we’re hoping to do the same for heart health. Today we’re investing again in Inova’s vision, and we know that Inova will exceed our expectations. We are also calling on the people of Northern Virginia to match our gift over the next year. We all need to invest in our community’s health care.”

The Schars’ donation will benefit Inova services including advanced heart failure and lung disease care; minimally invasive cardiac surgery; vascular medicine and surgery; women’s heart health research; and wellness and prevention, including health education and access to care.

“Countless lives will be transformed by this remarkable gift as it allows Inova to push the boundaries of medical research, innovation and patient care,” said Inova President and CEO Dr. J. Stephen Jones. “We are grateful for this generous donation by Dwight and Martha Schar. It will have a lasting impact on heart health and will accelerate the trajectory of our mission to provide world-class health care to everyone, in every community we have the privilege to serve — one heartbeat at a time.”

Inova, which employs more than 20,000 people, has five hospitals in Northern Virginia, including the region’s only Level 1 trauma center, and plans for the new $1 billion Inova Alexandria Hospital at the former Landmark Mall were approved in March by the Alexandria City Council. The medical campus is expected to open in 2028.

VCU names new engineering dean

Azim Eskandarian, a Virginia Tech mechanical engineering professor and department head, has been named the next dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering, VCU announced Tuesday.

Eskandarian, whose appointment takes effect Aug. 1, will also serve as the William H. Goodwin Jr. Endowed Chair of the engineering college. He’s currently department head and Nicholas and Rebecca des Champs Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, a position he’s held since 2015. Before joining Virginia Tech, Eskandarian was a professor of engineering and applied science at George Washington University, as well as director and founder of the GW Transportation Program’s Center for Intelligent Systems Research and co-founder and director of the National Crash Analysis Center, also based at GW. His research focuses on robotics and autonomous systems, including autonomous and intelligent vehicles, collision avoidance and occupant injuries.

“Azim Eskandarian has established himself as a highly accomplished and world-renowned researcher, an innovative program designer, a transformational educator and someone who excels at tackling real-world challenges throughout his career of more than 40 years. I am excited for him to bring that leadership and experience to VCU as the dean of the College of Engineering,” Fotis Sotiropoulos, VCU’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said in a statement.

Eskandarian succeeds Gary C. Tepper, the engineering school’s interim dean, who was named in July 2022 after former dean Barbara D. Boyan became executive director of VCU’s Institute for Engineering and Medicine.

“As one of the premier research universities in Virginia and the nation, VCU has undergone transformative changes during the past decade with visionary leadership, becoming a national destination for students and faculty thriving for excellence and discoveries more rapidly than any other peer institution,” Eskandarian said. “VCU Engineering has made significant strides as a relatively young college. It has established first-class facilities, attracted world-renowned faculty and founded top-notch research centers and institutes, collaborating across disciplines. I am excited to join this outstanding team of scholars to achieve new heights in engineering for humanity, train the next generation of uniquely skilled world-ready engineers and leaders, and extend transdisciplinary research and discovery beyond the traditional boundaries to solve real societal problems.”

A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a senior member of the Institute for Electronics Engineers, Eskandarian earned his degrees in mechanical engineering from GWU and Virginia Tech.

Gray promoted from Navy Region Mid-Atlantic commander

After less than a year as the Norfolk-based commander of the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Christopher “Scotty” Gray is being promoted to lead the Navy Installations Command in Washington, D.C., pending U.S. Senate confirmation.

Gray, who will be promoted to vice admiral after approval by the Senate, was relieved by his successor, Rear Adm. Wesley McCall, during a ceremony in Norfolk on Friday, according to a Navy announcement. McCall previously commanded the Navy Region Southeast, which includes operations in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and much of the Southeastern United States. He was based in Jacksonville, Florida, at its Naval Air Station.

On June 30, 2022, Gray assumed command of the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, which stretches from Wisconsin to North Carolina and includes 14 installations and nearly two dozen reserve outposts. A Virginia Beach native, he was stationed at the world’s largest Navy base, Naval Station Norfolk, where as many as 72,000 military, civilians and contractors work. He replaced Rear Adm. Charles “Chip” Rock, who commanded the mid-Atlantic region from 2018 to 2022.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Wesley McCall

If confirmed as commander of the Navy Installations Command (CNIC), Gray will be headquartered at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and will be responsible for all shore installations in all 11 Navy regions — including the mid-Atlantic. He will report to the chief of naval operations, Adm. Michael M. Gilday.

Vice Adm. Yancy Lindsey currently serves as commander of the Navy Installations Command, having assumed the job in May 2020.

Gray will likely have to wait a while for his Senate confirmation, as there is a backlog of senior military promotions in the legislative body, which is in a standoff over the Pentagon’s policy of covering travel and leave for troops seeking abortions.

McCall is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate with a bachelor’s degree in oceanography and holds a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Rhode Island. He was designated a naval aviator in 1992, and his operational assignments include tours with helicopter squadrons and serving as helicopter operations officer with the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet. McCall, who also served as protocol officer for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commanding officer of Naval Station Mayport in Florida, became commander of Navy Region Southeast in April 2021.

Gray previously led the Navy’s Europe, Africa, Central region, based in Naples, Italy. He also was a naval flight officer and deployed on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Additionally, he commanded the Norfolk-based Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 124. In addition to being responsible for as many as 90,000 active-duty personnel and 52,000 civilian employees, Gray was involved with Future Base Design, a plan launched in 2021 under which the Navy would lease desirable, underused land to private developers.

In a 2022 interview with Virginia Business, Gray said that he was working to make connections with Norfolk officials and find ways to benefit both the city and the base: “What I am communicating to them is: Let’s find ways to find win-win solutions to the problems that are facing the city and the problems that are facing the military.”

Snyder, Harris reach agreement on Washington Commanders sale

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has reached an agreement for the reported $6 billion sale of the Ashburn-based NFL team to a group led by Bethesda, Maryland-based billionaire Josh Harris.

News of the sale was posted on the team’s website and on Twitter Friday afternoon.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners,” Dan and Tanya Snyder said in a statement. “We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”

Harris co-founded Apollo Global Management and owns the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He and a group including NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Danaher Corp. co-founder Mitchell Rales reached an agreement April 13 for a record-breaking $6 billion sale of the team. Actual terms of the sale were not immediately released Friday afternoon.

Shortly before the team posted the statement to its own account, Johnson tweeted about his own excitement regarding the deal.

“I could not be more excited to be a partner in the proposed new ownership group for the Washington Commanders,” Johnson said in his tweet. “Josh Harris has assembled an amazing group who share a commitment to not only doing great things on the field but to making a real impact in the DMV community. I’m so excited to get to work on executing our vision for the Commanders and our loyal fanbase!”

Snyder, the team’s owner since 1999, and the team’s head office have come under scrutiny by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. His wife, Tanya, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, after the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team for an “improper” and “highly unprofessional” workplace culture. At the time, there seemed to be little appetite among team owners to force the Snyders to sell. According to NFL bylaws, it would take the agreement of 24 team owners to oust another owner.

But in November 2022, Dan and Tanya Snyder hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential sales, the Ashburn-based NFL team announced. Any sale would require approval of three-fourths of the 31 team owners. According to The New York Times, the Harris group must submit its proposal for approval to the NFL’s finance committee, followed by the entire group of owners, who are next set to meet May 22-23 in Minneapolis.

Harris and Rales’s investment group made a failed bid to buy the Denver Broncos last year. That team went to Walmart heir Rob Walton for $4.65 billion, setting a sales record for an NFL sports team.

CoStar makes $18M pledge to VCU for arts building

CoStar Group, the Washington, D.C.-based real estate data analytics company with a large presence in Richmond, has committed to give $18 million to Virginia Commonwealth University to build an arts and innovation academic building in Richmond, the company announced Friday.

The building, which will tentatively be named the CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation, will house VCU’s School of the Arts and interdisciplinary programs involving business, sciences, medicine and engineering. Groundbreaking for the building, which will be at the intersection of Broad and Belvidere streets across from VCU’s Institute for Contemporary Art, is set this fall. The center is expected to open in early 2027, according to the news release. The building is expected to be 213,000 square feet and include performance spaces, makerspaces and classrooms.

“CoStar Group’s strategic partnership — the second largest corporate commitment in VCU history — will provide a launch pad for generations of VCU innovators, artists, makers and performers,” Michael Rao, president of VCU and VCU Health, said in a statement. “We’re excited about our plan to name the CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation, which will recognize the tremendous alliance that has grown between VCU and CoStar Group. This collaboration will enrich our students, CoStar Group’s workforce, and the city of Richmond alike.”

CoStar’s founder and CEO, Andy Florance, has been a member of VCU’s board of visitors since 2021, and the company previously gave the university $2.5 million to establish a chair of real estate analytics at the School of Business.

“VCU has proven to be a constant source of innovation and energy, and CoStar Group has drawn heavily from its graduates and creative talent in recent years. As we continue to expand our business, our interests align seamlessly with VCU’s commitment to educational excellence,” Florance said. “I am confident that Dr. Rao’s leadership will continue to make a positive lasting impact and that he will be a thoughtful steward of the center’s resources. This partnership will support VCU’s world-class educational programs as well as contribute culturally to the City of Richmond and the commonwealth of Virginia, which CoStar Group calls home.”

In November 2022, CoStar broke ground on its $460 million expansion in downtown Richmond, which will bring its total footprint in the city to 1 million square feet. Currently the company employs more than 1,500 people in Richmond, and it expects to more than double that number when the new CoStar campus opens in 2026.

 

Altria settles 6,000 Juul-related lawsuits for $235M

Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. has settled at least 6,000 state and federal lawsuits related to Juul Labs Inc. for $235 million, the Fortune 500 tobacco manufacturer announced Wednesday. The settlements will be paid in the second quarter of 2023.

Altria purchased a 35% stake in e-cigarette company Juul for $12.8 billion in 2018. Months after Altria’s investment, Juul’s value fell under an avalanche of civil lawsuits over accusations that its products were being marketed to minors, leading to widespread vaping addiction among teens; Juul settled many of the suits last year.

According to Altria’s announcement Wednesday, approximately 50 class-action lawsuits, 4,500 personal injury suits, 1,500 governmental entity actions and 1,400 school district cases, as well as 750 state lawsuits, have been consolidated and are included in the $235 million settlement, although the parties to the lawsuits must sign final settlement agreements. The settlement does not apply to three cases brought by state attorneys general, 35 cases brought by Native American tribes, 17 antitrust cases or three Canadian cases, Altria said.

In September 2022, Virginia was among 33 states and Puerto Rico that settled with Juul; Virginia is set to receive $16.61 million over the next six to 10 years, the attorney general’s office said at the time. The state’s lawsuit did not name Altria as a plaintiff, so Virginia is not included in Wednesday’s settlement.

“While we continue to believe the claims against us are meritless, we believe this settlement avoids the uncertainty and expense of a protracted legal process and is in the best interest of our shareholders,” Murray Garnick, Altria’s executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. “This settlement brings to a close the vast majority of our pending Juul-related litigation.”

The Wednesday statement noted that the settlement amount will be treated as a special item that will be excluded from adjusted diluted earnings per share.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys in the 6,000 consolidated lawsuits said in a statement Wednesday that the settlement brings to a close four years of extensive litigation.

“To call this global settlement with Altria momentous is an understatement,” Lieff Cabraser partner Sarah R. London, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said. “Unprecedented in speed of attainment, scope and impact, it will provide extraordinary and truly meaningful relief for youth, parents, and governmental organizations nationwide in a comprehensive resolution that avoids the delay of further trial and possible appeals, bringing closure to litigation brought on behalf of children, teens, young adults, parents, schools, health departments and, really, on behalf of everyone across the nation.”

In September 2022, Altria ended its noncompete deal with Juul, and in March, the corporation exchanged its investment in Juul — which fell from $12.8 billion in 2018 to $250 million in December 2022 — for some of its heated tobacco intellectual property. Altria had already moved on from the disastrous deal last fall, after signing a partnership with Japan Tobacco Group, in which Altria subsidiary Philip Morris USA purchased a 75% economic interest for $150 million in October 2022.

In March, Altria entered into a definitive agreement to acquire e-vapor maker NJOY Holdings Inc. for about $2.75 billion in cash, with a potential additional $500 million in payments. Part of the funding of the deal will come from an expected $1.7 billion payment plus interest from Philip Morris International Inc. by July, the company said in March.

On March 6, Altria’s attorneys asked the Federal Trade Commission to drop its 2020 antitrust challenge of Altria’s 35% stake in Juul Labs, since Altria had exited the investment, but the matter is still pending, according to FTC documentation. As of 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Altria’s stock was at $45.95 a share, down 1.03% from the start of trading.

Richmond City Council approves Diamond District

Richmond City Council members voted unanimously Monday to approve the $2.44 billion Diamond District mixed-use development, which aims to include a replacement for the 38-year-old stadium of the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball team by the end of 2025. Councilors also approved an ordinance to convey 61 acres of city-owned land to the Richmond Economic Development Authority, which will then sell it to the Diamond District development team.

“We’re about to see a major development that is going to radically transform not just one portion of the city, but it’s going to impact the entire city,” Council President Michael Jones said before the vote Monday night. “I’m excited about that. Who can’t get behind baseball? But it’s not that I’m just behind athletics. I’m behind jobs. I want to see men and women from around the city working. I want to see our young people — North Side, South Side, wherever — learning trades. … I’m excited about what the future holds for the city and where we are headed.”

Monday’s vote gives the RVA Diamond Partners LLC development team the city’s go-ahead to move forward on the project, which includes building a 9,000-capacity, $90 million-plus baseball stadium and a hotel with at least 180 rooms in Phase 1, which is expected to cost a total of $627.6 million.

However, one more significant stakeholder must weigh in: the Flying Squirrels and Major League Baseball, which set an April 2025 deadline for all Minor League Baseball facilities to meet certain standards. The Diamond, which opened in 1985, is considered too old to renovate and must be replaced. The Diamond District plan calls for the demolition of the smaller Sports Backers Stadium next to the Diamond, where the replacement Squirrels ballpark will be constructed. The city will pay an estimated $25 million for a new Sports Backers Stadium in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, which will include the new stadium in its Athletic Village project adjacent to the Diamond District.

Included in the development agreement is a set of deadlines for the design, demolition, groundbreaking and completion of the new stadium:

  • Schematic design: May-August 2023
  • Design development: August-December 2023
  • General contractor design budgeting, bidding and materials procurement: August 2023
  • Construction documents: November 2023-June 2024
  • Demolition of Sports Backers Stadium, mass grading, environmental remediation: February-April 2024
  • Groundbreaking for new stadium: April 2024
  • Ballpark construction: August 2024-December 2025

The stadium is expected to cost at least $90 million, and the city is anticipating $118 million in financing for the stadium’s construction.

The agreement sets $80 million as the minimum Community Development Authority (CDA) bond proceeds for the construction of the baseball stadium and public infrastructure, and the city will fund the first phase’s infrastructure with $23 million in Capital Improvement Plan General Obligation bonds, according to a PowerPoint presentation made available earlier this month.

The city also will add additional land parcels to the Incremental Financing Area, beyond the 67-acre Diamond District, to help fund the project, and $10 million in property sales will help reduce the stadium bond debt. The city agrees to pay incremental tax revenue for nine fiscal years, including a hotel use surcharge of 2% within the district and a 0.25% consumer purchase surcharge on all purchases within the CDA district.

The project also will include more than 3,000 rental and for-sale residential units, 935,000 square feet of office space, 195,000 square feet of retail and community space, and two hotels.

The city also must rezone the 67-acre Diamond District and create the Stadium Signage Overlay District, create a Community Development Authority and design standards, and reach lease agreements with the Flying Squirrels and Virginia Commonwealth University. The developer must also submit the subdivision of the land to Richmond City Council to create the new Diamond District.

RVA Diamond Partners includes Richmond-based Thalhimer Realty Partners, Washington, D.C.-based Republic Properties Corp., Chicago-based Loop Capital Holdings LLC and San Diego venue developer JMI Sports.

Rufus Williams, managing director of LoopWealth, a division of Loop Capital, said Monday that the team of developers is “excited about this project … and look forward to working with our partners and members of the city to make this happen. It has been quite a process getting to now.”

“Tonight, with the City Council’s approval of the Diamond District Partners agreement, we are one step closer to putting shovels in the ground and delivering a critical development project for the city and people of Richmond,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement Monday night. “This game-changer development will bring a high-quality baseball stadium, good-paying jobs, affordable housing, new small businesses, billions in investment, and green space.”

Several council members and others involved in the Diamond District process acknowledged Richmond’s long baseball stadium conversation. In 2008, the Richmond Braves Triple-A team left for the Atlanta area in part over the aging stadium, and the Squirrels, which moved to Richmond in 2009, expected to be at a new downtown stadium by 2012, but the plan failed. Most recently, the city was forced to move forward on a new stadium or lose the team, with MLB stadium standards set to be enforced in 2025.

In a statement Monday, Lou DiBella, president and managing partner of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, said, “City Council approval of the development agreement for the Diamond District is a big step in the continued revitalization of Richmond, one that the Squirrels are happy to be a part of. We look forward to continued momentum with respect to the design and construction of our long-awaited home.”

DiBella had expressed concern in April over the delay of firm plans for the stadium and surrounding development. “This is not about your Flying Squirrels wanting a new ballpark,” DiBella said in a statement April 11. “If there isn’t a stadium built that meets prescribed MLB guidelines, is suitable for professional baseball, and is worthy of the great City of Richmond, there will be no Opening Day 2026 in RVA.”

GMU biz school receives $50M bequest

George Mason University’s School of Business will be renamed for the late Donald G. Costello, a Loudoun County native and business owner who left the university $50 million in his will, GMU announced last week. The donation is the university’s largest individual gift in its 50-year history.

Costello, who died in 2017 at the age of 75, was born in Leesburg and in 1976 co-founded Haymarket-based Century Stair Co., which became the East Coast’s largest stair manufacturer. The gift will establish the Donald G. Costello School of Business, and establishes an endowment for undergraduate and graduate scholarships for business students. According to GMU, the school will officially adopt its new name later this year.

The Donald G. Costello Trust’s donation was announced April 27 at the launch of GMU’s $1 billion Mason Now fundraising campaign.

“It is fitting that we announce this transformational gift at the launch of the Mason Now campaign,” said GMU President Gregory Washington. “As the most innovative university in Virginia, Mason leads the way in creating new academic programs to meet the evolving needs of the 21st-century economy. Mr. Costello’s success is a testament to his hard work, tenacity, and steadfastness — the same qualities we seek to instill in our students.”

Costello, who graduated from Loudoun County High School, joined the Army before co-founding his business with Joseph Contrucci, who is serving as executor and trustee of Costello’s trust.

“Don and I have always seen George Mason University and its School of Business as a catalyst in fueling the Northern Virginia economy,” Contrucci said in a statement. “This gift will further that impact by creating career opportunities and new businesses for decades to come.”

Richmond baseball stadium deadlines made public

Updated May 1, 6 p.m.

According to a now-public development agreement, design work for Richmond’s new baseball stadium would begin this month and construction would start in August 2024 and finish by December 2025, if all goes to plan. The agreement also requires that the Richmond Flying Squirrels sign a stadium lease by July 1 in order for all “milestone completion dates” to remain on track.

As previously announced, the Squirrels Double-A baseball team would start the 2026 season in a new, 9,000-capacity stadium, a year past Major League Baseball’s April 2025 deadline, if MLB accepts the delay. The city of Richmond and development team RVA Diamond Partners LLC, which includes Richmond-based Thalhimer Realty Partners, are awaiting MLB’s response to their request, and so far, the Flying Squirrels have not publicly commented on the matter.

According to Richmond Economic Development Director Leonard Sledge, who spoke at a Richmond City Council subcommittee meeting Monday, city officials will meet with Minor League Baseball officials this week to discuss stadium design and the waiver request that would allow the one-year delay.

Richmond City Council member Cynthia Newbille asked Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders if the city would meet with MiLB officials on Tuesday, but Saunders didn’t commit to a specific time.

“Soon, ma’am,” he said.

In April, Lou DiBella, president and managing partner of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, expressed concern over the delay of firm plans for the stadium and surrounding development.

“This is not about your Flying Squirrels wanting a new ballpark,” DiBella said in a statement April 11. “If there isn’t a stadium built that meets prescribed MLB guidelines, is suitable for professional baseball, and is worthy of the great City of Richmond, there will be no Opening Day 2026 in RVA.”

The nearly 400-page development agreement document was posted online ahead of the Monday meeting of Richmond City Council’s Organizational Development Standing Committee, which voted 5-0 to forward the matter to the full council. City Council is set to take up the matter and vote on it May 8.

Included in the agreement is a set of deadlines for the design of the stadium, demolition of the Sports Backers Stadium to make way for the new Squirrels ballpark, groundbreaking and completion of the new stadium:

  • Schematic design: May-August 2023
  • Design development: August-December 2023
  • Construction documents: November 2023-June 2024
  • General contractor design budgeting, bidding and materials procurement: August 2023
  • Demolition of Sports Backers Stadium, mass grading, environmental remediation: February-April 2024
  • Groundbreaking for new stadium: April 2024
  • Ballpark construction: August 2024-December 2025

The stadium is expected to cost at least $90 million, and the city is anticipating $118 million in financing for the stadium’s construction, as well as $25 million more to build another stadium to replace the Sports Backers Stadium, in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, which will include the new stadium in its Athletic Village project adjacent to the Diamond District.

The first phase of the $2.44 billion project is anticipated to cost $627.6 million. In addition to the stadium, Phase 1 will include a hotel with at least 180 rooms from a higher-end brand, such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Kimpton, Le Meridien or Westin, according to the agreement.

The agreement sets $80 million as the minimum Community Development Authority (CDA) bond proceeds for the construction of the baseball stadium and public infrastructure, and the city will fund the first phase’s infrastructure with $23 million in Capital Improvement Plan General Obligation bonds, according to a PowerPoint presentation made available before the Monday committee meeting.

The city also will add additional land parcels to the Incremental Financing Area, beyond the 67-acre Diamond District, to help fund the project, and $10 million in property sales will help reduce the stadium bond debt. The city agrees to pay incremental tax revenue for nine fiscal years, including a hotel use surcharge of 2% within the district and a 0.25% consumer purchase surcharge on all purchases within the CDA district.

City Council also is expected to vote May 8 to convey nearly 61 acres of the 67-acre Diamond District footprint to the Richmond Economic Development Authority, and that land — which does not include the new stadium’s property, which will remain city-owned — will be sold to RVA Diamond Partners for $68.3 million, including $16 million for the first phase, according to a fiscal and economic impact study produced for the city by Davenport & Co. The city’s Planning Commission voted unanimously to send that ordinance to the full Richmond City Council earlier Monday.

RVA Diamond Partners is still expected to pay $20 million as part of the Phase 1 financing, as previously announced. The joint venture also includes Washington, D.C.-based Republic Properties Corp.; Chicago-based Loop Capital Holdings LLC; and San Diego venue developer JMI Sports.

The project will include 2,800 residential units, 935,000 square feet of office space, 195,000 square feet of retail and community space, and two hotels.

The city also must rezone the 67-acre Diamond District and create the Stadium Signage Overlay District, create a Community Development Authority and design standards, and reach lease agreements with the Flying Squirrels and Virginia Commonwealth University. The developer must also submit the subdivision of the land to Richmond City Council to create the new Diamond District.

 

Rain and wind delay Something in the Water’s start

Rain and high winds delayed the start of Pharrell Williams’ Virginia Beach music festival Something in the Water by about four hours Friday, leaving fans and businesses waiting for the weather to clear.

Scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. Friday, the festival was delayed until 5 p.m. Instead of being filled with throngs of music fans as expected, the Oceanfront area was quiet all day Friday, except for the presence of workers at the festival site between Second and 17th streets.

“You can tell there’s activity happening, but there’s no crowds of people yet,” Kate Pittman, executive director of the Vibe Creative District, said Friday afternoon.  “Everyone’s staying home.”

“The weather’s definitely dampened spirits,” Virginia Beach Restaurant Association Executive Director Martha Davenport said Friday afternoon during the delay. “You can’t predict Mother Nature.”

Nevertheless, there appeared to be a figurative rainbow at the end of the rainy day, with Virginia Beach Hotel Association President John Zirkle Jr. saying that “we’ve seen some last-minute pickup” in hotel business. Area hotels were at 85% occupancy on Friday and were expected to sell out on Saturday, said Zirkle, who is also corporate director of operations for Harmony Hospitality and general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Virginia Beach.

Norfolk International Airport Executive Director Mark Perryman said there was an uptick in activity at the airport this week ahead of the festival, with about 14,000 passengers coming and going on Thursday, up from regular travel patterns. He noticed a few more corporate jets than normal, as well. Perryman advised the businesses within the airport to be prepared with additional staff and stock, and he expects that Sunday and Monday will be busier than normal, too, as festival attendees head out of town.

For businesses on the ground, such as local restaurants, much of the three-day festival’s success will depend on “the weather and the enthusiasm of the people,” Davenport said Thursday. “If the weather’s good or decent enough, people are going to come.”

Andy McGinley, owner of Richmond-based Momma’s BBQ, which was set up in the festival grounds, said the rain delay didn’t bother him, and he still expected to make plenty of money. “People paid too much for these tickets to skip it for a little rain,” he said. “We’re here and ready to go. [The crowd] is gonna go from zero to 60.”

Next to Momma’s BBQ was Cups Up, a food truck based out of Virginia Beach’s Beach House 757 on 19th and Atlantic. “This is probably the biggest festival we’ve worked so far,” said Chef Breed Mathews, who predicted his truck’s revenue will “probably go through the roof.”

Andy McGinley, owner of Momma’s BBQ in Richmond, was ready for a crowd Friday at the Something in the Water festival.

A manager at Beach Bully BBQ, located a few blocks from the Oceanfront on 19th Street, was just happy the roads around the restaurant weren’t blocked for Something in the Water this year, as they were when the event debuted in Virginia Beach in 2019. Around lunchtime Friday, manager Cino Farrales wasn’t too worried about the inclement weather keeping away customers who might have come from the festival. “We are hoping for a big crowd, but [from] our past experience with Something in the Water, we had nothing,” Farrales said.

At Lost Planet, an interactive art museum on Atlantic Avenue between 19th and 20th streets, business was slow Friday because of the weather, but manager Shaniqua Lyons was hopeful that traffic would pick up over the weekend. “We think it’s pretty cool to see people come here,” she said, adding that SITW “brings a lot more people to Virginia Beach in a positive way.”

A few blocks down, at Lotus Fashion, manager Vicki Kowalczyk said the last time SITW was held in Virginia Beach, business was slow, but she hopes this year will go better. She noted however that festival attendees are more likely to spend their money on food and beverages than on retail shopping.

Pittman said that the festival was incorporating and collaborating with a lot more businesses this year, with events and presences all the way up to 31st Street.

The weather outlook for the rest of the festival appears better. Eswar Iyer, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Wakefield said that while Friday’s weather had seen wind gusts of 15 to 20 miles per hour — below a threshold that would present a danger to performers or audience members — Saturday’s forecast is expected to be sunny, with highs in the 70s. However, there is a possibility of showers in the afternoon Sunday, the festival’s final day.