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byline: Kate Andrews

Va. Democratic primary concludes Tuesday

Tuesday is the final day for Virginians to vote in the Democratic primary races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Based on a recent poll by Roanoke College, two familiar faces — former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney Gen. Mark Herring — are likely to win handily, but the lieutenant governor nomination is still up for grabs.

Early voting for the primary started in late April, but according to state elections officials, turnout has been relatively low. They expect larger crowds on Tuesday than last year’s in-person elections turnout during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since McAuliffe announced his bid for a second gubernatorial term, he has raised more money than his competitors and held significant leads in polls this spring. In the June 4 Roanoke College survey of likely primary voters, McAuliffe had 49% support, outpacing former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, who was in second with 11% and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan with 9%, followed by Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax with 5% and Del. Lee Carter at 1%.

Herring, who is running for his third term as the state’s top prosecutor, also had 49% support in the Roanoke College poll, followed by challenger Del. Jay Jones, with 20% of polled voters’ support.

“To the surprise of few, McAuliffe and Herring appear headed for victory on Tuesday,” Harry Wilson, senior political analyst of the Roanoke College Poll, said in a statement. “The race for lieutenant governor is there for the taking, with a large percentage of the electorate undecided on their decision. It is also clear that the Democratic primary electorate in Virginia is well-educated, upper-income and very liberal, but McAuliffe, arguably not the most far-left candidate, appears set to win the election.”

As for the lieutenant governor seat, Del. Hala Ayala, who has received Gov. Ralph Northam’s endorsement, led the poll with 16%, followed by Del. Sam Rasoul’s 11% support, with five more candidates trailing. However, a whopping 45% of people polled were still undecided on this race in late May.

Ayala, who pledged not to take campaign funding from Dominion Energy Inc. and then accepted $100,000 from the powerful Fortune 500 utility, has been subject to criticism from progressives in recent days, including Clean Virginia PAC runner Michael Bills, who funds candidates who agree not to take money from Dominion.

The Democratic nominees will face Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, lieutenant governor nominee Winsome Sears and attorney general nominee Del. Jason Miyares.

In some localities, Virginians also will have the opportunity to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for delegate seats Tuesday (although they must vote in only one party’s primary). One hotly contested seat is in Prince William County, where state Del. Elizabeth Guzman dropped out of the lieutenant governor race in April to defend her seat against three other Democrats.

In Richmond’s 68th District, incumbent Del. Dawn Adams is being challenged by Richmond attorney Kyle R. Elliott on the Democratic side. On the Republican side, attorney Mark Earley Jr. is running against far-right candidate Mike Dickinson, although both have received negative press in recent weeks — Earley for a campaign finance disclosure complaint by Dickinson, whose recent criminal misdemeanor convictions were brought to light last week.

For more information on the primaries and what to expect on your ballot, visit the Virginia Department of Elections.

 

Charlottesville property sold for $1.35 million

A Charlottesville warehouse and office building sold for $1.35 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.

Lobban Place LLC purchased two acres of industrial-zoned land at 3325 Lobban Place, which includes a 7,080-square-foot building, from Sea Grove LLC. The purchaser plans to occupy the property, but other details were not disclosed.

Reilly Marchant of Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the purchaser.

Petersburg sues to demolish old Ramada

The city of Petersburg filed a lawsuit Friday against the company owned by developer and former NFL player Chris Harrison, who promised in 2015 to replace the city’s shuttered and dilapidated Ramada Inn with a brand-new hotel, 100 apartment units and retail space. Six years later, redevelopment has not taken place.

In Friday’s filing, Petersburg City Attorney Anthony C. Williams seeks a declaratory judgment from the Petersburg Circuit Court that would force Chris Harrison’s company to either “abate the unsafe conditions” on the property at 380 E. Washington St., or allow the city to demolish the building or take other steps to make the property safer. Petersburg City Council adopted an ordinance in April that declared the property blighted and a “public nuisance,” and directed the city attorney and manager to compel the owner to “abate, raze or remove the public nuisance,” according to a news release Friday from the city attorney’s office.

If the city receives a judgment in its favor, Williams will seek to hire local waste contractor Meridian Waste Acquisitions LLC to demolish the hotel — allowing the company to offset civil penalties it incurred from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for its operation of the Tri-Cities Landfill. The state has filed suit against Meridian’s parent company, CFS Group Disposal and Recycling Services LLC, but is in settlement negotiations that could include the demolition and waste disposal of the Ramada Inn at no cost to the city.

“We remain hopeful that the proposal to DEQ and Meridian will come to fruition, but regardless, the city will continue to press forward and do all it can to ensure that this property is rendered in a safe condition for our citizens,” Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham said in a statement Friday.

C.A. Harrison Cos. took ownership of the hotel and adjacent land in March 2018, pledging that it would be part of a large redevelopment of the city’s entrance off Interstate 95, including retail and apartments and a hospitality training program in connection with Virginia State University.

Thee project was troubled from the start, however, taking more than two years to finalize the $750,000 sale following Harrison’s 10% deposit in August 2015. At the city’s December 2015 announcement of the project’s details, Harrison said he planned to have the new hotel built and in business by June 2017.

But by October 2019, the city issued Harrison’s company a violation notice for “loose materials that could endanger life or damage property,” followed by other violations and six criminal misdemeanor summonses issued last year against Harrison.

In an interview with The Progress-Index in January 2020, Harrison said that he has had trouble financing the $20 million project, particularly after losing a $5 million tourism grant from the city of Petersburg, which closed its tourism department in 2016. Harrison did not immediately respond to an email from Virginia Business seeking comment on Friday.

Meanwhile, the University of Virginia alumnus and former NFL offensive guard and tackle started work last year redeveloping Richmond’s Model Tobacco building, in which his company is investing $59 million to build 203 high-end apartments. That project is set to be completed by 2022.

Shamin Hotels purchases Va. Beach Hampton Inn

Chesterfield County-based Shamin Hotels has purchased the 120-room Hampton Inn property on Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront, Grand Bay Advisors, which represented the seller in the transaction, announced Friday. The sale amount was not disclosed, but the land and building are assessed at $20.6 million, according to city records.

Norfolk-based Grand Bay said in a news release that the property at 3107 Atlantic Ave. is set for renovation and will retain the Hampton Inn by Hilton brand.

“Our transaction with Shamin Hotels represents our third Virginia Beach Oceanfront property sale over the past six years,” Matthew Winston, principal of Grand Bay Advisors, said in a statement. “The Virginia Beach resort-area market outperformed the rest of the U.S. in year-over-year revenue through much of the pandemic. This company was the most logical purchaser, given they own the neighboring Hilton Oceanfront and Hilton Garden Inn two blocks to the south.”

Shamin Hotels, one of the largest independent hoteliers in the United States, owns more than 60 properties, including several hotels in the Hampton Roads area. Although the hotel industry has been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia hotel revenues bounced back by 296% in April compared to April 2020, at the height of the shutdown. Virginia Beach saw a 446% increase in year-over-year hotel revenue in April, and work has continued on major Oceanfront developments, including Virginia Beach-based Gold Key | PHR’s projects near its renovated Cavalier Resort.

Gold Key sold the Hilton Garden Inn and the Hilton Oceanfront to Shamin in 2018, after major renovations to the two hotels.

This article has been corrected since publishing.

 

Medical office in Chesapeake sells for $3.05M

Battlefield Medical Center in Chesapeake has sold for $3.05 million, Colliers announced Friday. The 12,253-square-foot building at 905 N. Battlefield Blvd. is across the street from Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.

Michael D. Sifen Inc., represented by Colliers’ Ricky Anderson and Don Crigger, sold the building to Roil Battlefield Blvd LLC as an investment property.

Dickenson IDA gets $1.1M loan to purchase former mill site

The Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority received a loan of up to $1.175 million from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority to purchase the former Mountain Forest Products mill site, a 433-acre property in Dickenson and Wise counties, for future economic development.

The site, which is adjacent to the IDA’s Red Onion industrial site, also includes three steel-frame buildings that total 30,063 square feet, according to a news release last week from VCEDA.

“The IDA saw a noticeable and worrisome need for high-quality industrial sites that could be made ready for immediate development,” Dickenson County IDA Chairman Larry Yates said in a statement. “Recently steps have been taken to ensure the needed infrastructure, electrical, water, sewer and broadband would be extended to those areas.”

The chairman of Dickenson’s Board of Supervisors, Josh Evans, said in a statement that the county plans to use the property to “aggressively recruit high-paying employers to locate here. We are committed to bringing jobs to Dickenson County.”

Norfolk industrial building sells for $1.6M

An industrial building that houses Hampton Roads Church’s Norfolk location has been sold to an investor for $1.62 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.

Stenke’s Homebase LLC, represented by Samuel W. Scott of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, purchased the 13,500-square-foot building at 1132 Pickett Road from Hampton Roads Church, represented by Thalhimer’s William C. Throne.

BDO USA names Hampton Roads market leader

Accounting firm BDO USA LLP announced Thursday that Edward Amorosso has been named market leader for the company’s Hampton Roads market, a promotion from his previous position as the Norfolk office’s managing partner and national co-industry leader in government contracting.

Before joining BDO, Amorosso served as CEO of McPhillips, Roberts & Deans, which was acquired by BDO in 2016. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Old Dominion University and serves as chair of the dean’s executive advisory council for ODU’s Strome College of Business. He also has been involved in the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants and several local charity organizations, including the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival.

W.Va.-based United Bankshares to acquire Essex Bank for $303M

Henrico County-based Community Bankers Trust Corp., the parent company of Essex Bank, has entered into a $303.3 million deal to be acquired by Charleston, West Virginia-based United Bankshares Inc., United Bank’s parent.

After the companies announced the agreement Thursday, Community Bankers Trust’s stock rose 29.78% as of mid-afternoon to $11.94 per share and United Bankshares’ stock price fell about 5.6% to $38.84 per share Thursday afternoon.

If approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the deal would create the nation’s 38th largest banking company based on market capitalization, worth about $29 billion in assets, according to a news release. Community Bankers Trust had assets of about $1.7 billion as of March 31 and has 18 branch offices in Virginia and six in Maryland. United, which is based in Charleston, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., had approximately $27 billion in assets as of March 31, and United Bank and its subsidiaries have 223 branches, primarily on the East Coast and in West Virginia and Ohio.

The agreement, scheduled to close in the fourth quarter, calls for United to acquire all outstanding shares of Community Bankers Trust in exchange for common shares of United, and the Henrico company and Essex Bank properties would be branded as United after the merger. The deal would bring United Bank into the Lynchburg, Richmond and the Northern Neck region markets, United Chairman and CEO Richard M. Adams said in a statement.

“We are excited to become a part of the United Bank family,” Community Bankers Trust President and CEO Rex L. Smith III said in a statement. “They have a steadfast and proven commitment to their customers and the communities in which they operate. The merger will give us the ability to offer better and more sophisticated products and services while still maintaining the community bank approach to doing business with local leadership. This will be a great benefit to our customers, to our shareholders and to the communities of Central Virginia, the Northern Neck and Eastern Maryland.”

Smith will be retained as regional president responsible for the existing Essex Bank locations in Virginia.

Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial adviser for the deal, and Williams Mullen served as legal counsel to Community Bankers Trust.

Va. unemployment claims continue to decline

Virginia’s number of new and continued unemployment claims dropped again last week, with 8,090 initial claims filed during the week ending May 29, a decrease of 1,753 claims from the previous week, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.

Continued claims totaled 52,228 last week, down 1,935 claims from the previous week. This time a year ago, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 31,379 people filed new unemployment claims, 74% more than last week, while 398,411 people filed continued claims, 87% more than last week. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.

On Tuesday, the VEC started requiring unemployment benefit recipients to apply for at least two jobs a week and report details of job search activity, a requirement that was waived during the height of the pandemic.

More than half of the claimants who filed for benefits last week (and the prior four weeks) reported being in the accommodation/food service, administrative and waste services, retail trade and health care and social assistance industries, according to the VEC.

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

Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending May 29:

  • Norfolk, 381
  • Fairfax County, 344
  • Richmond, 343
  • Virginia Beach, 257
  • Prince William County, 222
  • Newport News, 203
  • Portsmouth, 181
  • Alexandria, 168
  • Chesapeake, 164
  • Chesterfield County, 156

Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 385,000, a decrease of 320,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the lowest number of initial claims since March 14, 2020, the week before the COVID pandemic prompted mass layoffs. There were 1,611,720 initial claims during the same week last year.