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byline: Kate Andrews

Va. sports bettors lay down $1B since Jan. legalization

Virginians have bet more than $1 billion on sports since it became legal in January, Virginia Lottery announced Thursday. The state was the fastest in the nation to reach that milestone, noted PlayVirginia, which tracks the gaming market.

In May, the state reaped $226.9 million in sports-betting gross revenue, and bettors won a total of $203.7 million during the month, Virginia Lottery reported. That’s a 4% decline in betting compared to April’s $236.4 million total, which is in line with the rest of the country. April and May are traditionally slower months than March, which has the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship.

“The state’s best month came in March, exacerbating the slowdown, but Virginia is managing the offseason about as well as a young market could hope,” Dann Stupp, a PlayVirginia analyst, said in a statement. “The playoff appearances by the Washington Wizards and Capitals in May were a help. But without a significant local draw over the next few months, sportsbooks will have to be innovative to keep bettors engaged.”

The seven licensed operators included in May’s reporting were Betfair Interactive US LLC (FanDuel) in partnership with the Washington Football Team; Crown Virginia Gaming LLC (Draft Kings); BetMGM LLC; Rivers Portsmouth Gaming LLC (Rivers Casino Portsmouth); Caesars Virginia LLC (William Hill); WSI US, LLC (Wynn); and Unibet Interactive, Inc.

The state placed a 15% tax on sports betting activity based on each permit holder’s adjusted gross revenue. With four operators reporting positive adjusted gross revenue, the total take for the state government was $2.32 million in May.

 

Va. new jobless claims up, while continued claims decline

Virginia’s new unemployment claims rose to 8,196 in the filing week ending June 26, but continued claims decreased, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

Last week saw an increase of 1,291 initial jobless claims from the previous week, while continued claims totaled 40,225, a decrease of 2,653 claims from a week ago.

This time a year ago, 31,955 people filed new unemployment claims, 74.3% more than last week, while 366,714 people filed continued claims, 89% more than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

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 364,000, a decrease of 51,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,426,894 initial claims during the same week last year. Virginia saw the fifth-largest one-week increase in initial claims in the country last week, as many states reported decreases in claims.

Va. Museum of Fine Arts plans $190M expansion

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has hired the Detroit-based firm SmithGroup to design a new wing of the Richmond museum in a $190 million expansion and renovation project announced Tuesday.

The new wing will provide space for African art, photography and 21st-century works, according to the museum. Construction is expected to begin in 2023, with completion scheduled for 2025. This is the museum’s fifth expansion since its 1936 opening and the first since its largest expansion, which ended in 2010 following five years of construction, resulting in the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing, named for the Southwest Virginia coal magnate and his wife.

According to the VMFA, the new wing will add 100,000 square feet to the current 650,000-square-foot facility, in addition to a new, 40,000-square-foot Collections Center building that will house the museum’s conservation program and art storage. The project also will include renovations to about 45,000 square feet of the current building, including changes to the former library, which will become a photography, prints and drawing study center known as the Frank Raysor Center. There also will be a special events space with dining facilities and room for up to 500 guests, and the existing museum will have updates to its theater and the original entrance facing Arthur Ashe Boulevard.

“We are thrilled to have SmithGroup on board and excited to collaborate with their visionary team on this exciting building project,” VMFA Director and CEO Alex Nyerges said in a statement. “The firm has demonstrated expertise in planning and designing dynamic, engaging museum environments. SmithGroup’s spirit of collaboration; their profound commitment to the same values that guide VMFA — diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility; their firsthand knowledge of Richmond and Virginia; and their drive for innovation make them an exceptional choice for VMFA’s ambitious expansion and renovation project.”

SmithGroup has 15 offices in the U.S. and China, and it has designed numerous museums, including the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The firm also designed the concept for the city of Richmond’s National Slavery Museum at the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail site, a project announced last summer.

Three Blacksburg housing complexes sold for $146M

Three off-campus housing complexes in Blacksburg geared toward Virginia Tech students have been sold for $146 million in a deal closed May 5, Berkadia announced Friday. The buyer, California-based Reliant Group, added the portfolio to its earlier purchase of a student housing property near Virginia Tech.

According to Montgomery County property records, Reliant Group-connected CAP IX Collegiate Suites LLC purchased Hunters Ridge, a 72-unit property at 1401 and 1441 Seneca Drive, from University Housing Group; the entity also purchased Collegiate Suites at Blacksburg, a 210-unit property at 1314 Henry Lane, from CSB LLC III, at a total of $74 million.

CAP IX Maple Ridge LLC acquired Maple Ridge Townhomes, a 314-unit property at 344 Red Maple Drive, for $72 million from Maple Ridge Clubhouse LLC.

Berkadia Richmond Managing Director John Richards secured $100.2 million in financing for the buyer, including a five-year Pacific Life Insurance loan, and Senior Director David Hudgins of Berkadia Newport News completed the sale on behalf of the seller and the buyer, which has a regional office in Blacksburg and purchased the 756-unit Terrace View apartment complex there in 2017.

This article has been corrected since publishing.

Hampton apartments purchased for $2.89M

A 42-unit residential property in Hampton was sold for $2,890,000, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.

Pembroke Pines, at 1625 W. Pembroke Ave., was sold to Pembroke HR 757 LLC from 1625 Pembroke Property LLC as an investment.

Clark Simpson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

Southern Fairfax retail property sells for $14.2M

A private buyer has purchased a 7.1-acre retail property in southern Fairfax County for $14.2 million, Avison Young Capital Markets Group announced last week.

The property at 6001 Kingstowne Village Parkway in the Alexandria area, off Telegraph Road, was sold by The Halle Cos. and is fully leased to an Aldi supermarket, a La-Z-Boy store and an Ashley Furniture HomeStore.

An Avison Young Capital Markets team including Jonathan Hipp, principal and head of the U.S. net lease group; Richard Murphy, senior vice president; Chip Ryan, principal, and Matt Weber, senior vice president, represented the seller. Michael Patz of KLNB represented the buyer.

The Halle Cos. is planning a redevelopment nearby, with more than 600 new apartments set to be completed in Kingstowne Towne Center, according to Avison Young.

Va. Beach retail building sold for $2.2M

A Virginia Beach retail building has been sold for $2.2 million, and the buyer plans to develop a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers restaurant in the 6,000-square-foot building, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.

Mosley Real Estate Advisors Inc. purchased the 796 Lynnhaven Parkway building from United Restaurant Group LP and also plans to build a 7,000-square-foot multi-tenant building.

Eric Stanley of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the purchaser and will handle the leasing of the new  multi-tenant building.

Va. new jobless claims dropped below 7,000 last week

Virginia’s new unemployment claims fell last week, as did continued claims, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

For the filing week ending June 19, 6,905 people filed initial jobless claims, a decrease of 944 from the previous week. Continued unemployment claims totaled 42,878 last week, down 1,915 claims from the previous week.

This time a year ago, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 25,293 people filed new unemployment claims, 72.69% more than last week, while 375,579 people filed continued claims, 89% more than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

On Wednesday, the VEC reported that May’s unemployment rate was at 4.5% statewide, a .2% decrease from April’s rate and below the national jobless rate of 5.8%

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 trade; 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 411,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 1,447,127 initial claims during the same week last year.

State unemployment rate slid to 4.5% in May

Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 4.5% in May, dropping 0.2 percentage points below April’s jobless rate.

May’s statewide unemployment rate was 4 percentage points below May 2020’s rate of 8.5% in the first months of the pandemic shutdowns. Virginia continued to trend lower than the nation; the U.S. unemployment rate for May was 5.8%.

“More people are working in Virginia and our recovery is outpacing the rest of the country,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “This week, we reached the 70% vaccination benchmark, and we did it two weeks ahead of the nationwide July 4 target. In the weeks and months ahead, we will remain focused on helping the communities that COVID-19 hit hardest and making sure all Virginians have the resources they need to thrive.”

The labor force increased by 4,042 to 4.22 million in May, with the number of unemployed Virginians decreasing by 8,061, according to data released Wednesday by the Virginia Employment Commission. The number of employed Virginians increased by 12,103 to 4.04 million.

The largest year-over-year job gains occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, which gained 104,600 jobs or 45.7%, and the next largest gain was in trade, transportation and utilities, which increased by 59,800 jobs, or 10%. Education and health services saw a gain of 31,500 jobs, or a 6.3% increase. Government jobs fell by 3,600 in May, the state’s largest job loss last month, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

 

Va. General Assembly to convene special session on Aug. 2

The Virginia General Assembly will convene in Richmond on Aug. 2 for a special session to allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday in a proclamation.

In May, Northam and Democratic leaders from the Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates outlined their priorities for the special session, including fully funding the Rebuild Virginia small business recovery program and allocating money for the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund, which ran out of money last October due to record-breaking unemployment claims and relied on loans from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The $4.3 billion windfall comes from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan enacted by Congress earlier this year.

The Virginia Employment Commission, which is under court order to resolve 92,000 unsettled claims by Labor Day, also would receive more funding to build up staffing and upgrade its computer system. Another priority is universal broadband access — this funding would see the state accelerate its broadband expansion goals for the next decade to a window over the next 18 months. Northam also plans to allocate more funding for school buildings, public health services and affordable housing.

The August special session also will mark the General Assembly’s return to its Virginia State Capitol chambers for the first time since March 2020. Under COVID-19 mitigation measures, delegates and state senators met under tents, in larger buildings that allowed physical distancing and virtually.

It’s unclear how long the 2021 summer session will last, but last year’s special session focusing on pandemic relief and social justice measures lasted a record-breaking 86 days, extending from August to October.