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byline: Kate Andrews

Charlottesville apartment complex goes for $44.9M

Barracks West, a 324-unit townhouse and apartment complex in Charlottesville, has been sold for $44.9 million, Edge Multifamily Capital Markets Group announced this week. Located at 255 Saponi Lane, the community was sold off-market to Reston-based Willow Creek Partners by The Goldstar Group.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Goldstar purchased the property in 2012 and improved the residences. It was approximately 96% leased at the time of sale, in which the seller was represented by Edge partners Rawles Wilcox, Jared Emery and Ryan Ogden. The community is less than five minutes from the University of Virginia.

Willow Creek is a real estate and investment management firm that focuses on acquisition and management of multifamily properties in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast areas, particularly Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

 

 

Valley Wealth Group buys former Truist office in Roanoke

A Truist Bank office in Roanoke was sold for $1.9 million in late June, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced.

VWG/RNK Properties LLC purchased the 6,715-square-foot office building at 3119 Chaparral Drive from Truist.  The property will be the future location of Valley Wealth Group, a Roanoke-based financial management firm.

Barry Ward and Price Gutshall of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the purchaser.

Va. Beach KFC building sold for $2.4M

A KFC restaurant in Virginia Beach will become a Cook Out following its $2.44 million purchase by Cook Out – Virginia Beach Inc., Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.

The 2,745-square-foot building at 1010 Independence Blvd. was sold by Cabrillo Mobile Lodge LLC, represented by Dean G. Martin of Thalhimer. The buyer plans to open a new location of Cook Out there.

Hampton corporate campus sells for $1.95 million

Watson’s Petroleum Equipment Service Real Estate LLC, an entity connected with the petroleum service based in Hampton, purchased a 26,214-square-foot office, manufacturing and warehouse campus on 4.45 acres for $1.95 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced this week.

The property at 3130-3301 NASA Drive in Hampton was acquired from Hampton Commerce Center LP as an investment to support Watson’s Petroleum.

Robert L. Phillips, Jr., SIOR of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

 

Retail property sold for $1.29M in Chesterfield

A 10,000-square-foot retail building in Chesterfield County was sold for $1.29 million as an investment, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.

YIASOU III LLC purchased the building at 10747 Midlothian Turnpike, which is leased by RVA Athletes and Sofa Design, from RDKMT LLC. Graham Stoneburner and R. Scott Douglas of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller; Michael A. Shaia, also with Thalhimer, represented the purchaser.

Virginia Pediatric Eye Center office sells for $1.3M

Virginia Pediatric Eye Center’s Chesapeake office has been sold for $1.3 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced this week.

The 6,586-square-foot building at 1564 Crossways Blvd. was sold by HPR LLC to VPEC Ches Medical LLC, an entity connected to the medical practice. Rob Wright of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the buyer.

Va. unemployment claims down slightly last week

Virginia saw a small decrease in initial claims for the filing week ending July 3, with 6,825 people making new jobless claims, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday. Continued claims also went down, totaling 37,790 last week, down by 2,435 from the previous week.

Initial claims declined by 1,371 last week compared to the previous week, and the total was down 80% compared to the same week in 2020, VEC said. Continued claims on the same week last year were at 378,607, 90% higher than last week’s continued claims. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

According to a state official leading a review of the backlog of claims at VEC, which is under a Labor Day deadline set by a federal judge to resolve more than 90,000 outstanding cases, the agency is still responding to only a “small portion” of calls by claimants who haven’t received their benefits. Lauren Axselle is part of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission team conducting a study about the VEC, with an interim report due to state lawmakers in September and a final report in November.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in these industries: accommodations/food service; administrative and waste services; retail; and health care and social assistance.

The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 373,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,391,178 initial claims during the same week last year.

Federal approval process starts for Va. Beach wind farm

Friday will mark an important milestone for Dominion Energy Inc.’s wind energy plans, as the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management begins its two-year permitting and environmental review of the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. That’s the next step before construction begins in 2024, Dominion said in a news release.

Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine joined U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in Norfolk on Thursday to announce the BOEM’s plan to publish the Notice of Intent in Friday’s federal record, which opens a 30-day public comment period and the bureau’s environmental review of the CVOW project 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, which will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm.

At completion, the $7.8 billion project will have 180 to 190 wind turbines and power up to 660,000 homes during peak winds. Construction is scheduled to be finished by 2026, and Thursday’s announcement keeps the timeline in place.

“The Notice of Intent marks an important regulatory milestone and ensures CVOW remains on schedule to complete construction in 2026, so we can deliver clean, renewable offshore wind energy to Dominion Energy Virginia customers,” Dominion Energy Chair, President and CEO Robert M. Blue said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work with our federal regulators and the public as we move forward with the environmental review process.”

Two 600-foot turbines, which generate 12 megawatts of energy, were completed in June 2020 as a pilot project on 112,800 acres leased from the BOEM, which Dominion acquired rights to in 2013.

“The demand for offshore wind energy has never been greater. Meanwhile, recent technological advances, falling costs, and tremendous economic potential make offshore wind a promising avenue for diversifying our national energy portfolio, creating good-paying union jobs and tackling climate change,” Haaland said in a statement after a tour of the Port of Virginia. “Today’s tour and meetings were a great chance to learn about the commonwealth’s continued leadership role in developing the offshore wind industry and attracting and supporting the domestic supply chain.”
Northam has set a goal for Virginia to generate 5.2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2034, and the industry is expected to create nearly 80,000 jobs nationwide by 2030 — a piece of the energy pie Virginia and other states are striving for.
Earlier this year, the newly created Mid-Atlantic Wind Training Alliance in Virginia began training students to become technicians, inspectors and hold other positions in the burgeoning industry. Dominion anticipates the CVOW commercial project will generate about $5 million per year in local and state tax revenue during construction, an amount expected to rise to nearly $11 million annually once the project is in operation. Additional focus is on turning the Hampton Roads region and other areas of Virginia into part of a U.S. supply chain for the industry, which is currently reliant on European companies that have been global leaders in wind energy.
“Virginia is all in on offshore wind. We are developing the infrastructure, workforce, supply chain, and manufacturing capabilities needed to capture the many benefits of this emerging industry,” Northam said in a statement. “This announcement puts our commonwealth on a path to harnessing the power of wind to produce affordable and reliable renewable energy, create thousands of new jobs, and meet our ambitious climate goals. We are grateful for the federal government’s partnership as we work to advance our clean energy future with this large-scale commercial wind project along Virginia’s coast.”

Leidos sees leadership changes, effective Monday

The Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos announced a leadership shuffle Thursday, with the following changes effective July 5.

  • Paul Engola, the company’s chief human resources officer, will be promoted to be executive vice president of the company’s national security space department. He previously served as deputy group president for Leidos’ former defense and intelligence group, as well as in various roles within Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
  • George Reither, senior vice president of human resources, will be the acting chief human resources officer while a search for a replacement is conducted.
  • Jim Cantor, the head of performance excellence and strategic partnerships, plans to retire later in the year and will become a consulting employee. Leidos is creating a corporate operations executive vice president role to oversee Cantor’s departments as well as corporate real estate and facilities, security operations, marketing and communications, and corporate strategy and special projects.
  • Vicki Schmanske, current intelligence group president, will assume the executive vice president role. She previously was chief administrative officer, as well as deputy president and COO for Leidos’ health group.
  • Roy Stevens, the current head of business development and strategy, will succeed Schmanske as president of the intelligence group. He previously spent 20 years at Lockheed Martin in several executive positions.
  • Bill Bender, senior vice president and strategic account executive, will be acting head of business development while a search is conducted.

“These leaders have demonstrated their commitment to the Leidos team and expertise in multiple fields,” Leidos Chairman and CEO Roger Krone said in a statement. “As we continue to grow as an enterprise, we must adjust to the changes we will see in our addressable markets. Our ability to remain flexible and agile in addressing customer needs is vital to our success.”

Leidos, which employs 38,000 people, reported $12.3 billion in 2020 revenue.

JMU entrepreneurship center hires new director

James Madison University announced Thursday that Suzanne Bergmeister has been named the next executive director of its Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship. She comes from the University of Louisville’s Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship in Kentucky, where she has been the full-time entrepreneur in residence for the past 15 years and assistant director for four.

Bergmeister, who served 25 years in the U.S. Air Force and founded a venture capital and small business consulting firm, Sunflower Business Ventures Inc., holds degrees in finance, electrical engineering and business from Cornell University, Rutgers University and California State University-Fresno. At Louisville, she taught graduate and undergraduate classes and mentored MBA teams that won more than $1 million in competition prizes. Bergmeister also won Louisville’s graduate teaching award twice and the Enterprise Corp. Entrepreneurial Leadership Award.

“We are thrilled that Suzanne was tapped to lead the Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship at JMU,” said College of Business Dean Mike Busing. “Her prior experience with University of Louisville’s Forcht Center, especially with securing grant funding and mentoring students, veterans and lower income entrepreneurs, will serve JMU and support economic growth in the region. Her deep understanding of both the entrepreneur and venture capitalist is critical as the center evolves and achieves national recognition for excellence.”

The Gilliam Center’s previous executive director was Bobby Smith, who was hired last May and left in February.