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byline: Kate Andrews

Richmond tech company to add 30+ jobs

Shockoe, a Richmond-based technology company that builds apps and other tech products for client companies, will expand to create more than 30 jobs, Richmond’s mayor announced Thursday.

Headquartered in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood, Shockoe was founded in 2010 by Edwin Huertas and has been featured in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies, as well as named one of the city’s best places to work in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The company also has presences in Mexico and Ecuador. Alex Otañez is its CEO, and Huertas is chief technology officer.

“Richmond’s business-friendly climate, talent pool and high quality of life make it a great place to grow a business,” Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement. “We congratulate Shockoe on its success in the competitive tech solutions industry and look forward to its future expansion in this growing business sector of our city.”

Otañez says the expansion of his 70-person workforce is due to growth in the use of applications by companies during the pandemic, when many workers started working from home. “I think Shockoe was in the right place in the right time,” he said. “We also focus on a lot of Web3 projects and a lot of metaverse projects,” up-and-coming platforms. Web3, or “web 3.0,” relies on decentralized blockchains — like those used in cryptocurrency — to build sites, and metaverse refers to online spaces that are immersive virtual worlds.

Shockoe hopes to hire its new employees as soon as this summer, Otañez said, but the company’s highest priority is to make sure any new hires are a good fit culturally. “We believe that our culture is second to none,” he said. “Our retention is higher because [employees] are able to experience lots of different projects,” keeping them engaged and learning.

U.Va. Athletics receives $40M anonymous gift

The University of Virginia’s athletics department has received a $40 million anonymous bequest from a former student-athlete, the university announced Tuesday. The donation is the largest in the Virginia Athletics Foundation’s history.

Part of U.Va.’s $5 billion capital campaign, the donation will be used to broadly support the university’s athletic programs, student-athletes and coaches, according to the statement, and the gift brings the VAF’s campaign total to $443 million, $57 million from its $500 million capital campaign goal.

“This extraordinarily generous gift reflects a deep passion for the university and our athletics program,” U.Va. President James E. Ryan said in a statement. “We are grateful to have philanthropic leaders among our former student-athletes, and we applaud their desire to make the U.Va. experience even better for future generations. This commitment will do just that and strengthen the student-athlete experience for years to come.”

U.Va. has 750 student-athletes, and the athletics foundation has launched its annual fund effort with a goal of raising $20 million to support scholarships, academic affairs and the athletic department’s operational projects. Phase 1 of U.Va.’s three-phase athletics master plan is now complete, including the construction of two football practice fields, and fundraising is nearly complete for the second phase, which will fund construction of a football operations center. The university plans to build an Olympic sports complex in the third phase.

“This type of philanthropic giving helps to ensure U.Va. Athletics will remain a leader in college athletics and positively impact generations of student-athletes,” Director of Athletics Carla Williams said. “The commitment of this very special family is inspirational to everyone who loves the University of Virginia.”

Woods Rogers, Vandeventer Black law firms to merge July 1

Woods Rogers PLC and Vandeventer Black LLP announced Wednesday that the two law firms have agreed to merge as Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black, creating the state’s fifth-largest firm, with more than 130 attorneys and a total workforce of 250 people. The merger will go into effect July 1.

Daniel Summerlin, president of Roanoke-based Woods Rogers, will remain president of the combined firm, which will continue to be headquartered in Roanoke. Woods Rogers Chair Victor Cardwell, who is also president of the Virginia Bar Association, will serve as chair of the new firm’s board. Vandeventer Black Managing Partner Michael L. Sterling plans to step back from managerial duties at the time of the merger.

“This is something that we’re very excited about,” Summerlin said Wednesday afternoon. “We think it’s a historic merger that is going to create a powerhouse Virginia law firm. Woods Rogers and Vandeventer Black … have been around for 120-some years. When we got together and started talking to each other, we found we shared a lot of commonality in terms of practice of law, client services [and] the commitment to the bar, as well as a commitment to our communities in which we’ve been for such a long time.”

Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black will have offices in Roanoke, Norfolk, Richmond, Lynchburg and Charlottesville, as well as locations in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and Hamburg, Germany. Attorneys are admitted to practice in 20 states and federal courts, and the new firm will serve local, national and international clients.

“This is not online dating,” Cardwell said, speaking of how well the two firms’ attorneys and leaders knew each other.

Deborah Casey, a member of Norfolk-based Vandeventer Black’s executive board, will be the new board’s vice chair. Woods Rogers Chief Financial Officer Autumn Visser and Vandeventer Black Executive Director Paul Julius will retain their roles at the combined firm.

The rest of the combined firm’s board will be elected soon and will include a managing member of Vandeventer Black’s Norfolk office.

Merger discussions started more than two years ago, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sterling said, although he noted that Vandeventer Black has been eyeing expanding its presence to the western part of the state, where the Norfolk firm has had clients for some time. “I gave Dan a call — and this is a few years ago — and I said, ‘We need to start talking to each other and just see if there’s a potential opportunity to come together,'” Sterling recalled. Gradually, the discussion became more formal and included the two firms’ boards, practice leaders and attorneys.

“I think we both have a common philosophy, which was ‘people first,’ then … clients and then … finances,” Sterling said. “Because we knew if the people couldn’t fit together … [then] it doesn’t matter if the finances look good or not.”

By combining forces, the firm will be able to strengthen practice areas such as commercial real estate — already a specialty for both firms — and cybersecurity, offering a deeper bench of expert attorneys, Summerlin said. He noted that Vandeventer Black’s government contracting practice is stronger than that of Woods Rogers, while the Roanoke firm has more strength in labor law, particularly relevant as more businesses are seeing employees moving to organize.

By having offices in more areas of Virginia, ranging from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Norfolk harbor, the new firm also hopes to offer an array of lifestyle options to attract young new attorneys, who are in high demand in today’s tight hiring market. “We are now the place that people need to look at — from Richmond to Charlottesville, to Lynchburg to Roanoke,” Cardwell said.

As of Jan. 1, Woods Rogers was the state’s seventh-largest firm, with 77 attorneys in Virginia, and Vandeventer Black was tied for 12th largest, with 51 attorneys practicing in the state. The merger will place the new firm in the state’s upper echelons, just below McGuireWoods, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Williams Mullen and Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders.

The two firms combined have had 10 lawyers who served as VBA president, including Cardwell, who took the baton earlier this year from Richard Ottinger of Vandeventer Black. Cardwell noted that the merger has resulted in the Virginia Bar Association having two presidents in a row from the same law firm for what may be the first time in its 134-year history.

The two firms also are among the state’s oldest: Vandeventer Black was founded in 1883 and Woods Rogers was established in 1893.

Roanoke Times union, Lee settle on new contract

The Roanoke Times newsroom union said Tuesday it has agreed on a new two-year contract with owner Lee Enterprises, following a brief picket line last week.

Members of the Timesland News Guild, which represents 30 employees of The Roanoke Times and Laker Weekly, will receive 2% annual raises, and minimum full-time pay will rise about 12% to $40,000 per year between now and 2023, according to a statement by the union. Equity adjustment raises also will take place, meaning that nearly half of the guild will receive raises of more than 2% this year.

Negotiations started in mid-February, with sticking points on wages and mileage rates. Layoff policies, more parental leave and paid time off also are included in the contract.

Lee had offered wage increases between 1% and 1.5%, while the guild sought an increase of 4%. The Iowa-based media company, which owns 31 newspapers in Virginia, also wanted to lower the mileage rate from 34 cents per mile to 32 cents per mile, while the union sought the 58.5 cents-per-mile rate set by the IRS. Lee announced it would voluntarily increase its rate by several cents beginning in April, the union said.

“We fought incredibly hard for additional pay raises and a higher minimum so The Roanoke Times can stay competitive with other papers,” Roanoke Times staff writer Alison Graham, the union’s vice chair and bargaining committee member, said in a statement. “Wages and other benefits ensure that our newspaper can continue to punch above its weight and drive important news coverage in Southwest Virginia.”

Focused Ultrasound Foundation names 2 managing directors

The Charlottesville-based Focused Ultrasound Foundation has added two new managing directors.

Eliza Vellines Phillips was named last week by the foundation as its new managing director of development, and Rick Hamilton, an inventor who holds more than 1,000 patents, joined as its managing director and chief technology officer.

Phillips will lead fundraising and manage development for the organization, which advocates for noninvasive medical technology to treat serious disorders. It funds research and builds awareness among health care providers and patients.

Phillips established Phillips Philanthropy Advisors, a firm connecting philanthropists with institutions, and she previously served as director of leadership gifts at the University of Virginia and as acting director of development for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello.

Eliza Vellines Phillips

“I am thrilled to be joining the foundation at such an important time, and I look forward to building on the incredible momentum created by former director Nora Seilheimer and her team,” Phillips said in a statement. “Rapid advances in research and clinical trials, combined with innovative technical developments in the field have created a unique opportunity to expand awareness and accelerate the timeline for making focused ultrasound the standard of care for millions of patients globally.”

Having served in various executive roles at IBM, Hamilton is an expert in cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and intellectual property. Most recently he was vice president and senior distinguished engineer at Optum Inc., a health care provider and pharmacy benefits manager owned by UnitedHealth Group.

Hamilton started his new position March 25 after serving as an adviser, consultant and a council member for the foundation.

“After successfully launching, nurturing and growing a multi-year program at my previous employer, I have been contemplating my next ‘grand challenge,'” Hamilton said in a statement. “The opportunity to be surrounded by brilliant clinicians, researchers, technologists and business leaders is highly appealing and promises to be an atmosphere where I can not only contribute but grow.”

Roanoke-based TMEIC Corp. Americas buys Spanish division

The Roanoke-based subsidiary of crane automator Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp. has completed the acquisition of Spanish maritime terminal business Orbita Ingeniería S.L.’s ports and terminals division, as of April 1.

The companies did not divulge financial details. The acquisition was completed through TMEIC Port Technologies S.L.

TMEIC Corp. Americas, with presences in Roanoke and Katy, Texas, designs and develops advanced automation systems, large AC and DC motors, and photovoltaic inverters. Orbita, based in Valencia, Spain, offers automation services and engineering for ports and terminals customers.  

“It is my pleasure to announce that Orbita’s expertise is now available to TMEIC,” President and CEO Manmeet S. Bhatia said in a statement. “Orbita has an international reputation for on-time, on-budget delivery of sophisticated port control projects. This acquisition will allow the new business to leverage the TMEIC Group’s global footprint.”

Operations in Roanoke and Spain will remain the same, according to a spokesperson from TMEIC, and the acquisition will not immediately create any jobs. Orbita’s Ports and Terminals Division will become employees of TMEIC Port Technologies in Spain.

Norfolk cement company to invest $37M in new dome

Norfolk-based Titan America LLC, a producer of heavy building materials, announced last week it will construct a 70,000-ton dome in Chesapeake, a project estimated to cost $37 million.

Titan will build the dome to hold bulk storage, adding to its current 35,000-ton capacity at its Roanoke Cement import terminal. According to the company, the expansion will allow it to grow its truck and rail capabilities, distribute and import raw materials like fly ash, slag and aggregates that are in demand in the mid-Atlantic region, and expand its low-carbon cement offerings. The company also has a 70,000-ton dome under construction in Tampa, Florida.

“The major expansion and modernization of these two marine terminals is another important step toward meeting fast-growing demand for our products and services in critical infrastructure, commercial, and residential projects in our communities,” President and CEO Bill Zarkalis said in a statement. “These projects, along with our continued investments in low-carbon cement production capacity expansion and end-to-end digitalization of our plants, signify our commitment to meet evolving societal and consumer expectations in a world that is shaped by the need for climate change mitigation in a digitalized economy.”

The Chesapeake dome is expected to be finished in 2023. Titan America is part of the international Titan Cement Group, which employs about 5,500 people in more than 15 countries.

Metro releases 10-year strategic plan for development

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs Metrorail and Metrobus, released its first-ever strategic plan for joint development on Thursday, announcing an ambitious initiative to bring in 26,000 new housing units in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

The document says that 40 Metro stations — including six in Northern Virginia — have more than 500 available acres that could lead to 31 million square feet of new multiuse development and yield $340 million in new annual tax revenue.

Northern Virginia stations with available space include: Braddock Road, Huntington and Van Dorn Street in Alexandria; East Falls Church and West Falls Church; and the Vienna/Fairfax station. West Falls Church has an existing joint development agreement with EYA LLC, Hoffman & Associates and Falls Church-based Rushmark Properties, which formed a partnership known as FGCP-Metro LLC, while Braddock Road and Huntington are expected to be under contract in the next 10 years.

The three remaining Virginia stations require additional planning for a variety of reasons, including property ownership divided between multiple parties, platform replacement costs and pending Virginia Department of Transportation plans.

At West Falls Church, plans include construction of townhouses between 2024 and 2026, pending the property sale and ground leases for the development’s first phase. In August 2021, WMATA signed an agreement with FGCP-Metro to build a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development.

Metro notes that completed joint developments in Arlington County, Alexandria and Fairfax County are expected to bring in $49.3 million total in tax revenue this year, and it anticipates the localities will receive $1.089 billion in taxes over the next 30 years. The Metro system has partnered with private real estate developers since 1975, and as of this year, there are 55 projects either finished or under construction at 30 out of the 91 total stations.

Last year, Amazon.com Inc. announced a $2 billion Housing Equity Fund to preserve and create more than 20,000 affordable housing units in metro regions where it has a heavy presence, including Arlington. That fund will provide $125 million in below-market loans to developers working with WMATA to build more than 1,000 residences near transit in the D.C. area. So far, the e-tail giant has pledged to assist in developing apartments in Maryland.

Roanoke Times union pickets over wages, mileage

The Roanoke Times’ newsroom union staged its first-ever picket line briefly Monday as a message to the newspaper’s owners, Lee Enterprises, which the union says won’t budge on requested salary and mileage reimbursement increases.

Alison Graham, vice chair of the Timesland News Guild and a staff writer at The Roanoke Times, said earlier Monday that the guild, which also represents the Laker Weekly covering Smith Mountain Lake, has been negotiating a new contract for newsroom employees since Feb. 16. The picket line was scheduled to last only a half hour; unlike lengthy strikes, the event is meant to increase public awareness of the union’s negotiations.

“This is not something that’s going to be covered in our own paper, we assume,” Graham said.

The guild is seeking a wage increase of below 4%, which would total less than $60,000 a year, she said, but Lee’s offer has remained in the 1% to 1.5% range. Also, the cost of health insurance is potentially set to rise 13% for employees, according to the guild.

Lee Enterprises did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Also under negotiation are mileage rates, which are currently set at 34 cents per mile for Lee employees. Lee negotiators proposed lowering the rate to 32 cents, despite gas costs rising dramatically due in part to Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the subsequent U.S. ban on Russian fuel imports. The guild first requested the current IRS reimbursement rate of 58.5 cents and lowered its ask to 50 cents, but Graham said Lee has not raised its offer.

“We just live in a really big region,” she said, noting that reporters and photographers are often driving distances of more than 30 minutes each way. The Roanoke Times’ coverage area includes the Roanoke Valley, New River Valley, Rockbridge County, Lexington, Pulaski and Franklin County, as well as occasional stories outside the immediate region, such as Danville or Southwest Virginia.

The decision to picket came a week after the guild purchased a one-page ad in the newspaper, asking readers to sign a petition in support of its requests to Lee, which owns 31 publications in Virginia, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Free Lance-Star, The Daily Progress, Danville Register & Bee, The News & Advance, the Bristol Herald Courier and others.

Last year, the Timesland Guild and other Lee newsroom unions joined in support of the Iowa-based company, which purchased BH Media’s newspaper holdings in 2020, as it rejected a $144 million buyout offer by Alden Global Capital and fought off a slate of the hedge fund’s board nominations in February.

Graham said that members of her guild and other Lee newspaper unions are unhappy that Lee executives don’t appear to recognize the unions’ support in the matter. “We came to your aid when you were trying to stave off this purchase,” she said. “It’s not like we think [Lee is] a great steward of our newspapers, but they’re better than Alden.”

Remembering John T. ‘Til’ Hazel Jr.: 1930-2022

John T. “Til” Hazel Jr., a major force behind the development of Tysons Corner and several Fairfax County planned communities, died March 16 at age 91.

An Arlington native, Hazel also was an attorney who graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School. In the 1950s, Hazel began promoting commercial and residential growth in then-rural Fairfax County, specializing in real estate and property law. One of his early projects involved acquiring land for the future Capital Beltway.

In 1962, working with developer Gerald Halpin, Hazel got county supervisors to allow rezoning on more than 100 acres in Tysons. He also was instrumental in bringing in Tysons Corner Center and the Tysons II mixed-use development.

In the 1970s, Hazel formed the Hazel/Peterson Cos. with Fairfax developer Milton V. Peterson, who died last year at age 85. The two developed several planned communities, including Burke Centre, Franklin Farm, Fairfax Station, Fair Lakes and Centre Ridge. Hazel also worked closely with his late brother, William A. Hazel, who owned a Chantilly construction firm.

“Fairfax County and Northern Virginia lost a visionary,” says Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. “Til Hazel was as important as anyone in seeing Fairfax County’s potential to become one of the preeminent locations in the nation for corporate headquarters — and in reminding those who followed about continuing to invest in the assets that business needs in order to be successful here.”

Hazel also was a strong supporter of George Mason University. He was involved in purchasing land for its main campus in Fairfax and was on GMU’s Board of Visitors from 1972 to 1983, also serving as rector. 

A longer version of this story is available here.