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byline: Kate Andrews

Skip Barber Racing School relocating to Halifax County

Skip Barber Racing School will relocate from Connecticut to Halifax County, building an $8.9 million performance driving school at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) that’s expected to create 24 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. VIR will build a 25,000-square-foot facility to be leased to Skip Barber Racing School for the operation at VIR’s onsite Motorsport Technology Park.

According to the governor’s office, Virginia competed with California and Texas for the project. Based in Lakeville, Connecticut, Skip Barber Racing School was founded in 1975 in California by retired racer John “Skip” Barber III, a Harvard grad who won several Sports Car Club of America championships and two consecutive Formula Ford National Championships in 1969 and 1970. Barber, 86, no longer owns his namesake racing school, but more than 400,000 students have completed the program since 1975, some of whom have competed in NASCAR and Formula 1 racing. Today the corporation operates the Skip Barber Formula Race Series and fields teams in touring car (TC) races, along with teaching classes.

“Our relationship with Virginia started with Virginia International Raceway. The more our team worked with [VIR CEO] Connie Nyholm and VIR, the more apparent it was that Virginia and Halifax Country would be the ideal location for our new headquarters,” Skip Barber CEO Anthony DeMonte said in a statement. “The support the governor’s office and Halifax County provide to motorsports businesses and the automotive industry is second to none.”

Southern Virginia has a long history in motorsports, with the 75-year-old NASCAR track Martinsville Speedway and other racetracks in the region, including South Boston Speedway and VIR. Patrick & Henry Community College’s Virginia Racing College, which teaches hands-on motorsports skills, recently turned 20.

“We are proud to welcome Skip Barber Racing School to the commonwealth, adding another corporate headquarters operation to our growing roster,” Youngkin said. “Virginia International Raceway is an invaluable employer in Halifax County, a tourism and economic development driver in Southern Virginia, and a top road course in the nation. These assets helped attract Skip Barber, and we look forward to supporting the company as it boosts the commonwealth’s growing auto racing industry and creates new, high-paying jobs.”

Bacon named executive director of Jefferson Council

James A. Bacon Jr., the Richmond-based founder of conservative political blog Bacon’s Rebellion, has been named executive director of The Jefferson Council, a University of Virginia alumni association “devoted to upholding the Jeffersonian legacy,” Bacon announced Monday.

A U.Va. alum, Bacon was Virginia Business magazine’s founding editor for 16 years, beginning in 1986, when the publication was owned by Media General, and later became its publisher. Starting in November 2018, he worked briefly as an editorial writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and was previously vice president of publishing for the Boomer Project, as well as an op-ed contributor to The Washington Times. Bacon is also the author of “Boomergeddon: How Runaway Deficits and the Age Wave Will Bankrupt the Federal Government and Devastate Retirement for Baby Boomers Unless We Act Now.”

The Jefferson Council was founded two years ago “in response to the rise of ideological intolerance and suppression of free speech on college campuses,” according to the announcement.

“We want U.Va. to be open and welcoming to everyone, but we believe that demographic diversity should be accompanied by free speech, free expression and intellectual diversity,” Bacon, who was previously the council’s vice president of communications, said in a statement. “We share Thomas Jefferson’s vision of U.Va. as an institution based upon ‘the illimitable freedom of the human mind where we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.’”

The organization is one of five founding members of the Alumni Free Speech Alliance, a growing group of college alumni organizations that argue conservative students’ rights to free speech are being stifled. Bert Ellis, The Jefferson Council’s president and a private equity firm CEO, went viral in 2020 when he wrote on Facebook that he went to U.Va.’s Lawn to remove a student’s sign using profanity to criticize the university, although two university representatives asked him to leave. Earlier this year, Ellis was named to U.Va.’s board of visitors by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, drawing criticism from some students and faculty members.

“The hiring of a full-time director manager is a milestone in the evolution of The Jefferson Council from an all-volunteer group to a professionally staffed organization,” Ellis said in a statement Monday. “The appointment will position the council to ramp up its activities in support of the longstanding Jeffersonian traditions of civility, honor, free speech and the open exchange of ideas.”

SCC judge’s resignation will leave 2 of 3 seats empty

Virginia State Corporation Commission Judge Judith Williams Jagdmann has informed state legislators she plans to resign from the three-seat commission after 16 years on the bench. Her departure will leave two seats empty as of Dec. 31.

In a letter sent to the leadership of the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates on Nov. 16, Jagdmann says she will end her tenure on the SCC bench at the end of the year, while noting she will be available for recall in January 2023 to maintain a quorum and give the General Assembly an opportunity to elect her successor.

“I thank the General Assembly for four times electing me to serve the people of Virginia, as attorney general and member of the State Corporation Commission,” Jagdmann wrote. “It has been my honor and privilege.” Prior to serving on the SCC, she was appointed by the General Assembly to fill the vacancy as the state’s attorney general in 2005 and 2006 after Jerry Kilgore resigned to run as the Republican candidate for governor.

Jagdmann’s resignation leaves Judge Jehmal T. Hudson as the only sitting Virginia SCC commissioner. He is in his first six-year term on the commission, which governs utilities, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, insurance, retail franchising and the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange.

Angela Navarro, the state’s former deputy secretary of commerce and trade, was appointed as a judge in January 2021, replacing Mark Christie, the former SCC chairman, who was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2020. However, Navarro left office in March after Republican state legislators declined to elect her to a full term, and the split General Assembly was unable to come to an agreement on a replacement for Navarro earlier this year.

SCC judges are named by state legislators or, if they can’t agree on a candidate, the governor can name a commissioner on a temporary basis, although the state Senate and House of Delegates must elect a judge to a six-year term.

Jagdmann, who also served as Virginia’s deputy attorney general for civil litigation and is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond School of Law, is four years into her third term.

Martin Agency CEO named global head of MullenLowe Group

Kristen Cavallo, CEO of Richmond-based ad firm The Martin Agency, has been promoted to global CEO of MullenLowe Group and will serve in both positions, Interpublic Group (IPG) announced Thursday.

IPG is one of the “Big Four” advertising companies, having started in 1930 as McCann-Erickson. Today, it includes dozens of companies, including MullenLowe, Octagon and McCann, as well as controlling interest in several independent agencies, including The Martin Agency. Cavallo, who became Martin’s CEO in 2017 and previously served as MullenLowe U.S.’s president and chief strategy and growth officer, will now lead 20 offices worldwide in 13 countries in her new role. She will still be based in Richmond, a Martin spokesperson said, but she will travel abroad often.

During Cavallo’s tenure as Martin CEO, the agency — known for its ad campaigns for clients such as Geico, Old Navy, UPS and Walmart — won Adweek’s Agency of the Year award twice in 2020 and 2021. She was named Ad Age’s Executive of the Year in 2019.

“Mullen is where I fell in love with advertising,” Cavallo said in a statement. “And my career’s biggest risks and deepest rewards happened at Martin. I’m so excited about this opportunity to work with them both, because I get to do work I love with people I love.”

Alex Leikikh, chairman of MullenLowe Group and executive vice president of Interpublic Group, and Kristen Cavallo, CEO of The Martin Agency and global CEO of MullenLowe Group. Photo courtesy The Martin Agency

Her promotion comes as Alex Leikikh, chairman of MullenLowe Group, has been named executive vice president of IPG. Cavallo will continue to report to him in her new role as global CEO. Cavallo’s ad career started at Mullen in 1994, when it was a Massachusetts-based firm with one office, and in 1998, she moved to Martin, becoming its director of business development before returning to Mullen in 2011 as its chief strategy officer.

“Kristen is the ideal person to build on what our teams have achieved at MullenLowe,” IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky said. “The agency is consistently recognized for being among the top-performing networks for effectiveness and creative return on investment for our clients. Kristen’s experience, leading creative organizations to heightened levels of success and growth, will be a great asset for all of MullenLowe’s partners.

“She’s a leader that people want to follow, and she’s proven that she can attract and grow the industry’s best talent. That’s essential, given the speed at which marketing is evolving and the need all businesses have for leaders who can bring together diverse teams with a range of skills and expertise. Having known Kristen for many years, I’m confident that the more expansive the stage we provide for her, the greater her positive impact can be.”

D.C. AG’s office sues Snyder, Commanders, NFL

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon that his office is suing the Washington Commanders team, owner Dan Snyder, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the National Football League, accusing the defendants of “colluding to deceive District residents … about an investigation into toxic workplace culture,” referring to the NFL’s 2021 probe into reports of alleged sexual harassment of female employees by team executives, including Snyder.

In a series of tweets, Racine said, “After public reporting revealed that sexual misconduct, harassment and misogyny ran rampant for decades at the team, the defendants promised D.C. residents that the league was going to fix this toxic culture, including by fully cooperating with an independent investigation. That was all a lie.”

The lawsuit was filed in the D.C. Superior Court and seeks injunctive, equitable and declaratory relief; restitution and damages; civil penalties; and attorneys’ fees.

Preceding Thursday’s announcement, the Ashburn-based Commanders team made a statement in which a spokesperson said, “The Commanders have fully cooperated with the [D.C.] AG’s investigation for nearly a year. As recently as Monday, a lawyer for the team met with the AG, who did not suggest at that time that he intended to take any action and, in fact, revealed fundamental misunderstandings of the underlying facts. It is unfortunate that, in his final days in office, Mr. Racine appears more interested in making splashy headlines based on offbeat legal theories, rather than doing the hard work of making the streets safe for our citizens, including bringing to justice the people who shot one of our players.”

Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson was injured in a shooting Aug. 28 in northeast Washington. Two teen suspects have been arrested, according to The Washington Post, and police have said they are searching for a third suspect. After the Commanders’ statement Wednesday, Robinson’s agent, Ryan Williams of Athletes First, tweeted, “Up until an hour ago, the Commanders handled the Brian Robinson situation with so much care, sincerity and class. And I was so grateful for all of it. Although I know that there are some great humans in that building, whoever is hiding behind this statement is not one of them.”

In his statement, Racine, who did not seek reelection this year, said that he is not filing suit against the team or Snyder regarding workplace harassment or misconduct “because these actions largely took place outside the District.” The Commanders’ front office is in Ashburn and the team’s stadium is in Maryland, but Racine said in his statement that D.C. residents represent “the heart of the Commanders’ fanbase” and that the lawsuit is meant to “stand up for D.C. residents who were lied to and deceived.”

The D.C. lawsuit is part of a flurry of activity surrounding Snyder, who may sell the team and hired Bank of America Securities “to consider potential transactions” earlier this month. Among the potential buyers is Amazon.com Inc. Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos, who reportedly may team up with rapper and music mogul Jay-Z and actor Matthew McConaughey. Other people mentioned as having an interest in buying the Commanders are Entertainment Studios Inc. Chairman and CEO Byron Allen, who also tried to buy the Broncos; Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk, who took over Twitter recently for $44 billion;  Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, who also are bidding on the Washington Nationals baseball team; and former Broncos bidders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, according to the Post report.

Meanwhile, the NFL, the U.S. Congress and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares are also investigating the Commanders, as well as the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, which has opened a criminal probe into alleged financial improprieties by the team. In 2021, the NFL fined the team $10 million, and Snyder ceded day-to-day operations to his wife, Tanya Snyder, who took over as co-CEO.

 

2022 Political Roundtable: Red wave? Maybe a puddle

On balance, Democrats came out winners in the 2022 midterm elections, having staved off a widely forecast “red wave” of Republican victories, according to panelists at Virginia Business’ annual Political Roundtable, held Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Richmond.

The idea of a red wave or “red tsunami” was “perhaps … a bit of a myth … largely created by the media,” noted Amanda Wintersieck, associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Political scientists, she said, weren’t predicting overwhelming Republican victories — despite inflation being at a 40-year high and President Joe Biden’s approval ratings remaining low.

Ahead of the midterms, political prediction markets like Predictit.org, she added, indicated that control of the Senate was a toss-up, leaning toward Democrats, and that Republicans were slightly favored to regain control of the House.

Control of the two bodies has not yet been determined, though it appears likely that Republicans may gain control of the House. Meanwhile, the balance of power in the Senate could hinge on on an early December runoff race in Georgia between Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican NFL all-star Herschel Walker.

Panelists who took part in the 16th annual Virginia Business Political Roundtable at the Richmond Marriott included: James W. “Jim” Dyke Jr., senior state government relations advisor with McGuireWoods Consulting; University of Mary Washington Professor Stephen Farnsworth; Gentry Locke Attorneys partner and Republican former state Del. Gregory Habeeb; Regent University Assistant Professor Andrew J. “A.J.” Nolte; and Wintersieck.

The panelists noted that candidates ideologically aligned with or endorsed by former President Donald Trump lost their races or underperformed, notably including Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, who lost to Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

“Southeastern Pennsylvania, the very suburban area outside of Philadelphia, where there’s a lot of highly affluent, college-educated white voters who tend to be more socially liberal — Oz really needed those voters,” Nolte said. “He was not going to get Trump numbers out of the Trumpy areas of Pennsylvania.”

Habeeb added that “candidates really, really matter” in terms of appeal. “We live in a very 50-50 country. I think [2021] redistricting did have a role in lots of states at the House level, although it nets out because there’s pluses and minuses for each party.”

In any event, Habeeb said, the midterms “did not become a referendum on Biden.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade did motivate some voters, panelists said, as did feelings about Trump and the false “stolen election” narrative.

“The Democrats, looking at economic anxiety, high inflation, and the relatively middling evaluation of Biden, had a problem if the conversation was about the economy,” Farnsworth said, noting that Trump and abortion were “two different narratives [for Democrats] to choose from.”

In Virginia, political watchers had their eyes on three heavily contested House races in which incumbent Democrats Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton were defending their seats in redrawn districts. Spanberger and Wexton won their races by a few points, while Luria lost in Hampton Roads to Republican state Sen. Jen Kiggans.

Dyke said that Luria’s redrawn district, which skewed slightly more Republican, was a significant factor. A slightly bluer district helped Spanberger — but Dyke also cited a flawed campaign by Trump-backed GOP challenger Yesli Vega, a Prince William supervisor who took controversial, far-right stances.

Speaking about midterm trends, Dyke added, “With all these election deniers, from what I’ve been able to see is [that] most of those have gone down to defeat because, hopefully, people recognize that preserving our democracy is very, very important.”

Report: Bezos, Jay-Z could buy Washington Commanders

Could Beyoncé become a regular presence at Washington Commanders games? It’s within the realm of possibility. According to The Washington Post, Amazon.com Inc. founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos and billionaire rapper Jay-Z (Beyoncé’s husband) may team up to buy the Ashburn-based NFL team, currently owned by Dan and Tanya Snyder.

On Wednesday, the Commanders announced that the Snyders had hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential offers for the team’s sale, according to a news release. Dan Snyder has been under increasing pressure to sell the team in recent weeks, as both he personally and the team’s head office have been under investigation by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. Recent leaks from inside the group of NFL team owners indicated that some want Snyder to sell the team, which he’s owned since 1999. Tanya Snyder, his wife, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, following the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team, which was formerly known as the Washington Redskins and by the interim Washington Football Team moniker.

Also on Wednesday, ESPN reported that the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Commanders engaged in financial improprieties.

As owner of The Washington Post, Bezos already has considerable ties to the Washington, D.C., region, where he owns a $23 million mansion in the city’s tony Kalorama neighborhood. This fall, Amazon Prime started carrying the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” games. The Post reports that Bezos is interested in bidding for the team, and that Jay-Z, who was part owner of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team and was allegedly eyeing the Denver Broncos NFL team last year, would be part of the bid.

Other people mentioned as having an interest in buying the Commanders are Entertainment Studios Inc. Chairman and CEO Byron Allen, who also tried to buy the Broncos; Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk, who took over Twitter this week for $44 billion;  Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, who also are bidding on the Washington Nationals baseball team; and former Broncos bidders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, according to the Post report.

The Commanders — despite a mediocre record since 1999, when Snyder purchased the team, including no championship wins — are assessed as being worth $5.6 billion, although the price could climb higher, according to estimates.

The announcement that the Snyders are considering selling the team did not specify whether they would sell the entire team or  minority shares in the team. Last year, Snyder purchased his former partners’ shares of the team for $875 million, taking on $450 million in debt, making him the full owner of the Commanders. He had been feuding with co-owners Dwight Schar, Robert Rothman and Frederick Smith, who bought into the team in 2003 but tried to sell their stakes last year, The New York Times reported.

Earlier this year, as Snyder and the team’s front office were accused of sexual misconduct and were the subject of NFL and congressional investigations, Virginia lawmakers backed away from offering a generous incentive package for the Commanders to build a new stadium in Loudoun County or Prince William County, and Maryland and Washington officials have similarly declined to welcome a new stadium to replace FedEx Field in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Richmond seeks developers for Coliseum property

Two Richmond city authorities issued a request for interest Thursday to redevelop the area surrounding the Richmond Coliseum into a hotel-anchored mixed-use development, the City Center Innovation District. Owned by Richmond’s economic development authority, the 9.4-acre property includes the shuttered Coliseum and other structures that were part of the failed Navy Hill development proposal.

The Richmond Economic Development Authority and the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority invited development teams to submit applications by Dec. 20 to be considered for phase one of the project. In-person visits to the property will take place Nov. 29, according to the project website.

The $1.5 billion Navy Hill project was killed by Richmond City Council in February 2020 after city residents strongly objected to the public-private plan driven by former Dominion Energy Inc. President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II, who formed NH District Corp. with other Richmond business leaders to develop a 10-block area that included the Richmond Coliseum site. No other groups submitted plans after the 2017 call for proposals by Mayor Levar Stoney, a vocal proponent of the deal.

The new request, however, appears to be more in the mold of the city’s Diamond District redevelopment, which was part of the Richmond 300 master plan created with extensive citizen input. According to the city’s announcement, the City Center Innovation District Small Area Plan is also a “direct outcome” of the comprehensive plan. A 242-page RFI notes that the first phase of the project would include the following properties, which are occupied by currently unused buildings:

  • Richmond Coliseum, 601 E. Leigh St., 7.36 acres
  • Sixth Street Marketplace, 530-550 E. Marshall St., 0.624 acres
  • Blues Armory, 411 N. 6th St., 0.487 acres
  • Park space, 406-408 N. 7th St., 1 acre
The Richmond Coliseum, seen here, has been closed since 2019, when some city officials backed the Navy Hill plan to build a new arena, a project quashed in 2020. Photo taken by Kate Andrews for Virginia Business in August 2019.

The plan must include demolition of the Coliseum, which has been closed since 2019, and development of a hotel with at least 500 rooms and meeting space, according to the planning document. The City Center Innovation Small Area Plan suggests adding public green spaces on part of the Coliseum footprint, with a main plaza at the intersection of North 6th and East Clay streets that could “serve as a citywide convening space” for concerts, festivals and ice skating when weather permits. Smaller spaces could be used for outdoor dining, playgrounds or other uses, according to the small area plan, which was released in November 2021.

The Coliseum site presents an opportunity for a grocery store with “sit-down, fast-casual dining and … space for entertainment and local vendors,” according to a market analysis prepared by AECOM that was included in the RFI.

The Blues Armory building, a 1910-built brick castle-like structure that once housed the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, must be renovated in a “creative adaptive reuse,” and proposals also must include “a significant number” of residences at multiple price levels; retail space; parking areas; and Class-A office space for biotech and life sciences businesses, many of which are already located nearby in the Virginia Bio+Tech Park. Public transit, pedestrian walkways, bike paths and open spaces also are priorities, according to the RFI.

In another change from the Navy Hill project, which was also criticized for its early funding plan to create a special tax district, the developers of City Center’s first phase must instead use “financing approaches that minimize public investment and risk and maximize private investment,” the document says, although it doesn’t offer further specifics. The project must also generate new revenue sources for the EDA, GRCCA and the city, as well as creating a fund to support technical assistance and training for minority-owned businesses and funding postsecondary scholarships for financially disadvantaged Richmond Public Schools students.

“Now is the time for Richmond to reinvigorate this part of our downtown to be a more vibrant destination for innovation, residential life and tourism,” said Richmond City Council Vice President Ellen F. Robertson, who represents District 6, where the property is located, in a statement. “The collaboration between the Richmond EDA and GRCCA is the right approach to getting this redevelopment project done.” Robertson was among the council members who rejected Navy Hill in 2020.

“We are thrilled to start the redevelopment of our City Center and to align it with the vision of the City Center Innovation District Small Area Plan,” said Leonard Sledge, executive director of the Richmond EDA. “All of the pieces are in place to position the redevelopment of the Coliseum site into a mixed-use, hotel-anchored development. We look forward to seeing this initial phase of the City Center redevelopment become a lively innovation district that attracts both established and startup companies, adds mixed-income housing, creates green space, expands tourism and so much more, while also creating opportunities for as many Richmonders as possible.”

After the Dec. 20 deadline for RFI submissions, an evaluation panel made up of representatives from the city and the two authorities are set to release a shortlist of development teams in winter 2023. Those groups will be invited to respond to a request for offers that will be evaluated by the same panel. In spring or summer 2023, the panelists expect to select one or more development teams for the project, pending approval by the EDA and GRCCA boards and other public bodies as needed.

Thalhimer buys Diamond District properties for $4.6M

TRP Hermitage LLC, an entity connected to Richmond-based Thalhimer Realty Partners Inc., has purchased two industrial properties near The Diamond baseball stadium in Richmond for $4.6 million, S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. announced Thursday. It was an off-market deal, according to Thalhimer.

The plots — 0.735 acres at 1701 Rhoadmiller St. and 0.978 acres at 2508 Hermitage Road — are part of the Diamond District, a 67-acre area that is set to be redeveloped in a project centered around a new baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels AA team. Thalhimer is part of the winning team of developers, designers and builders known as RVA Diamond Partners LLC. A panel of elected and other officials with the city of Richmond tapped the joint venture in September.

The entire project is expected to cost $2.44 billion, with the first phase costing $627.6 million, according to the city.

Other partners in the RVA Diamond Partners joint venture include Washington, D.C.-based Republic Properties Corp., Chicago-based Loop Capital Holdings LLC and San Diego venue developer JMI Sports. According to the city’s announcement, the group committed to purchase the first $20 million in bonds needed to finance the stadium, which is required to be completed and open for the 2025 Minor League Baseball season.

According to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, parent company of Thalhimer Realty Partners, the ballpark will have a capacity of 10,000 patrons, and the rest of the project will include 935,000 square feet of office space, 195,000 square feet of retail and community space, and two hotels with a total of 330 rooms.

Nusbaum’s news release Thursday said the new owner of the two properties on Rhoadmiller and Hermitage, which currently are occupied by industrial buildings, plans to retain the land for future development. The two warehouses have been occupied by Wurth Wood Group for decades, and the company will continue to be tenants in the near term, according to Thalhimer, which bought two other properties at 1715 Rhoadmiller St. and 2501 Hermitage Road last year. Golf Acres Investments LLC was the properties’ previous owner, and Reid Cardon of Nusbaum represented the seller in the transaction.

“While we don’t have any immediate plans, we view this has a good, long-term investment,” Thalhimer Realty Partners Principal Matt Raggi said in a statement Thursday. “Combining the four parcels will give us almost 3 acres in a location which we believe is in the path of growth. In addition to the Diamond District redevelopment, the Hermitage Road corridor is seeing a lot of great momentum both from the private sector as well as with VCU’s publicly announced plans for their new athletics village.”

In addition to the new stadium, the Diamond District is expected to include an 11-acre park and 2,800 residential units — both rental and 157 condos for sale — available at different price points, with 20% of rental units priced for households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, and 100 apartments under project-based vouchers for public housing residents. The Diamond District development will connect with the Scott’s Addition neighborhood and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Athletics Village, set to be built on 41.7 acres on Hermitage Road.

Dan Snyder may sell Washington Commanders

Daniel and Tanya Snyder are considering selling the Washington Commanders, the Ashburn-based NFL team announced Wednesday. They have hired Bank of America Securities “to consider potential transactions,” according to a news release.

Dan Snyder has been under increasing pressure to sell the team in recent weeks, as both he personally and the team’s head office have been under investigation by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. Recent leaks from inside the group of NFL team owners indicated that some want Snyder to sell the team, which he’s owned since 1999. Tanya Snyder, his wife, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, following the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team, which was formerly known as the Washington Redskins and by the interim Washington Football Team moniker.

Wednesday’s announcement from the team stated, “The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of its employees and its countless fans to putting the best product on the field and continuing the work to set the gold standard for workplaces in the NFL.”

Following the NFL’s fining of the Commanders in July 2021, in which the team was found to have created a “toxic workplace culture” in which sexual harassment and bullying of employees occurred, Tanya Snyder assumed day-to-day responsibilities for the team while her husband was supposed to step back. At the time, there seemed to be little appetite among the NFL’s 32 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.

However, controversy surrounding Dan Snyder has continued to linger, and after avoiding a subpoena for several weeks, in July he testified in front of a congressional committee investigating allegations of workplace misconduct at his team. Snyder testified privately under oath via video from Israel, and former team staffers had previously made accusations that Snyder himself had sexually harassed them. A Washington Post report in December 2020 said that a former team employee accused Snyder of harassing and assaulting her, and she was paid $1.6 million in a confidential settlement.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform also is investigating alleged financial improprieties at the team, The Washington Post reported in April. The NFL also launched a second probe of the team in February, led by Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Washington, D.C., attorney general is investigating the Commanders and Snyder as well, the Post reported.

Although most information regarding NFL owners changing their minds about Snyder’s ability to continue owning the team were taken from reports of private conversations, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said at an October news conference that “there is merit to removing [Snyder] as owner,” the first public acknowledgement that the tide may have been turning against Snyder. ESPN reported in October that Snyder had hired private investigators to find “dirt” on other NFL team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to leverage the information against them, although Snyder denied this, writing in a letter to the owners that this report was “patently false.”

The crowd at a Commanders game in October made their feelings known, chanting “Sell the team!” during a video appearance by Tanya Snyder, who was promoting the team’s breast cancer awareness initiative.

In March 2021, Snyder purchased his former partners’ shares of the team for $875 million, taking on $450 million in debt, making him the full owner of the Commanders. He had been feuding with co-owners Dwight Schar, Robert Rothman and Frederick Smith, who bought into the team in 2003 but tried to sell their stakes last year, The New York Times reported. In February, Snyder purchased Virginia’s most expensive house, the $48 million River View, which was once part of George Washington’s Alexandria estate, Mount Vernon.