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byline: Kate Andrews

Richmond cuts three of six casino proposals

Updated, March 25

The city of Richmond has rejected three of its six casino proposals. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe, Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos and Wind Creek Hospitality are no longer in the running, the city confirmed Wednesday night.

In late February, the city announced that six casino projects had been submitted for consideration. Still under consideration are projects proposed by Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corp., Baltimore-based Cordish Cos., and a partnership between Colonial Downs and Maryland-based media company Urban One Inc.

“The Pamunkey Indian Tribe was extremely disappointed to learn directly from the city of Richmond that its casino proposal would not receive any further consideration in the Richmond casino selection process,” Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray said in a statement Wednesday evening released ahead of the city’s announcement. “The timing of the decision, which comes before the public comment period has even concluded, seriously undermines confidence in the selection process and suggests a predetermined outcome has been reached. The timing of this decision also suggests that public and community input will not be seriously considered in this process.

“Further, it appears that the city of Richmond did not afford the Pamunkey Indian Tribe the optional preference in state law that recognizes the Pamunkey Tribe’s ancestral heritage in the region. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe submitted the only 100% minority-owned, Virginia-based proposal. We were shocked to learn of our early dismissal from a process occurring in our native region and state, particularly in light of the fact that the tribe was one of the first entities — if not the first — to talk to the city about gaming before commercial gaming was legalized in the commonwealth.”

Wind Creek Hospitality released the following statement Wednesday evening: “We are disappointed to learn that Wind Creek Hospitality will not be considered for the Richmond casino project. We strongly believe that Wind Creek sets itself apart from other operators by not only building casino resorts, but by building up the communities our properties are located within. We wish the best of luck to the other operators and to the city of Richmond as they continue through the selection process.”

A rendering of the proposed Richmond resort and casino provided by Pamunkey Indian Tribe, now out of consideration.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s office confirmed the narrowing of the field in a news release Wednesday night. “These proposals did not advance due to factors such as lack of site control, concerns about the feasibility of financial projections, lack of organizational experience and/or deficiency of the proposal,” according to the statement. “The top-ranked proposals stood out because the operators provided strong proposals with detailed financial and operational analyses to support their vision for a resort casino in Richmond. The evaluation panel will enter into the next phase of evaluation and begin negotiations with these operators, while continuing to engage the Richmond community.”

The mayor’s office named seven city employees and two Richmond City Council members earlier this year to serve as an advisory panel that will recommend one proposal, which will then be considered by the council and ultimately by city voters on the November ballot. The panel is expected to make its recommendation to City Council by late May or June, and has been holding virtual public meetings  to answer questions and receive input from Richmond residents.

City Council is expected to select a preferred casino operator this summer but Richmond voters will have the final word in a November referendum, judging whether to grant approval to the casino to operate in Richmond. Voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth overwhelmingly approved casinos in each of those cities in November 2020 local referendums.

According to the city, there will be virtual public meetings with each of the three remaining casino operators next week, in which they will take residents’ questions. More information on the decision process is available on the city’s website, including a map with the proposed sites.

Still in the race

With Wednesday’s news, the three remaining casino proposals are:

  • Bally’s $650 million, 1.6 million-square-foot casino with sportsbook, performance space, a hotel and dining and retail outlets on a 61-acre parcel of land south of the James River near the city’s western border, which also includes a $100 million one-time payment to the city. Former NFL linebacker Willie Lanier, a Richmond resident, and Reston entrepreneur Warren Thompson, the founder, president and chairman of Thompson Hospitality Corp., are also involved in the project.
  • Urban One’s $517 million ONE casino. Urban One owns and operates 55 radio stations and the TV One cable network, and it has paired with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, Colonial Downs Group’s owner and the Rosie’s Gaming Emporium franchise owner. This project, including a sportsbook, 150 hotel rooms, a 3,000-seat theater, 90,000 square feet of gaming space, and 12 bars and restaurants, would be built on 100 acres owned by Altria Group Inc. on Richmond’s South Side, a largely industrial area.
  • Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos., which owns casinos in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Florida, proposed the $600 million Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond resort on Richmond’s North Side, near The Diamond baseball stadium on the current Movieland theater property. The resort would include a hotel with 300 rooms and 30 suites, a 4,000-seat entertainment venue and 250,000 square feet of gaming space.

Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins released this statement Wednesday night: “ONE is honored and excited to be selected as one of three finalists to develop a resort casino project in the city of Richmond. We are convinced our selection is based on having the absolute best location in an industrial area off Interstate 95 in South Richmond; having the most diverse group of more than 50 investors providing opportunity for minority ownership and wealth-building in the Richmond community; and offering the most robust amenities, including 50 acres of green space for Richmond to enjoy, a music venue and a first-class casino and hotel.”

Bally’s President and CEO George Papanier said in a statement Wednesday night, “The Bally’s Richmond is truly a Richmond-first project, dedicated to supporting local businesses and minority organizations by driving job creation and developing sustained economic opportunities. We are confident that our proposal will provide incomparable economic benefits to the greater Richmond community, and we look forward to continuing our dialogue to prove to the city and its various stakeholders that Bally’s is for RVA.”

And Zed Smith, chief operating officer of The Cordish Cos., said in a statement Wednesday, “Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond will maximize jobs, tax revenues and community impacts for the city. The project will generate over $7.5 billion in overall economic benefits, $1.5 billion in tax revenue and over $200 million in incremental community benefit payments to the city over the first 15 years of the project. These payments will help fund critical community services such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, parks & recreation, workforce development and affordable housing.”

Out of the running

The Pamunkey tribe’s $350 million proposal, which included a 300-room, four-diamond hotel tower, a spa, pool, fitness center and several restaurants, was the least expensive of the projects submitted, and its proposed location was on the city’s South Side, off Interstate 95 and south of the Bells Road exit on 24.5 acres. Wind Creek, affiliated with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, proposed its $541 million casino on Richmond’s South Side as well, with 100,000 square feet of gaming space, a 67,000-square-foot entertainment center, a spa, indoor pool and seven food and beverage locations. Golden Nugget’s $400 million proposal was for the same property as the Bally’s proposal, north of Powhite Parkway and east of Chippenham Parkway.

The Pamunkey project was the only one submitted by a Virginia-based entity, and it was the tribe’s second casino proposal, with construction set to begin on its $500 million Norfolk casino this year.

Golden Nugget did not respond to emails seeking comment.

 

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Report: Snyder to purchase full control of Washington Football Team

Daniel Snyder is poised to purchase the remaining 40.5% of the Washington Football Team, which would give him full control of the NFL franchise, according to reporting by The New York Times on Wednesday.

The Ashburn-based NFL’s team owners are expected to approve a waiver next week that would allow Snyder to take on an additional $450 million in debt to pay the minority co-owners $875 million for their holdings. Snyder has 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 Times reports. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, an NFL spokesman said the sale and the league’s investigation into sexual harassment and misconduct are “two separate matters,” and that an investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson is continuing.

Earlier this month, a Washington, D.C.-based sports radio show, “The Sports Junkies,” reported that a leaked portion of Wilkinson’s report recommends that Snyder divest his 60% ownership of the team, or be suspended for six months. The Ashburn-based team has been at the center of controversy since last year over reports in The Washington Post of lewd videos taken of the team’s cheerleaders without their knowledge, which were later screened for team executives.

In December, The Washington Post reported that the team paid a female former employee $1.6 million in a confidential settlement in 2009 after she accused Snyder of sexual misconduct. According to the leaked report, the alleged incident occurred on Snyder’s private plane. December’s news came after bombshell allegations by 15 women who said they were sexually harassed when they worked for the team during Snyder’s tenure as majority owner since 1999. Several Washington Football executives were fired in the wake of the August report.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided a few days later, at the end of August, that the league would take over the investigation into the team, which  launched its own third-party probe.

Also last August, Snyder went to court and accused Schar of spreading negative information about him to potentially force him to sell his majority stake in the team, which he purchased in 1999. In July 2020, the team bowed to corporate pressure and announced it would drop its former name, the Redskins, which was broadly seen as discriminatory and derogatory against Native Americans, and said it would choose a new name after months of discussion and public input.

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U.Va.-Va. Tech researchers develop promising coronavirus vaccines

Athletic rivals Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia are working together on two new coronavirus vaccines, and their research has shown early promise in protecting people from existing and future variants of COVID-19, according to the universities.

Created by U.Va. Health Professor Steven L. Zeichner and Virginia Tech Distinguished Professor X.J. Meng, one vaccine targets a pig coronavirus that killed nearly 10% of U.S. pigs during a recent outbreak, and the other targets COVID-19. The pig vaccine prevented test pigs from becoming sick with the porcine coronavirus. The researchers found the inoculated pigs’ immune systems defended them from developing severe symptoms, and the scientists say it is reasonable to think that the COVID vaccine could do the same in humans, with further testing.

Zeichner has developed a new platform that targets specific DNA to instruct the immune system how to attack a virus, and he says this system could lead one day to a universal vaccine for coronaviruses, including some that could cause pandemics or that spread the common cold. It also would provide a way to produce lower-cost vaccines, Zeichner said. The scientists published their findings online, and they are now under peer review.

“Our new platform offers a new route to rapidly produce vaccines at very low cost that can be manufactured in existing facilities around the world, which should be particularly helpful for pandemic response,” Zeichner said in a statement.

According to the universities, additional testing — including human trials — would be necessary before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could approve the COVID vaccine, but the scientists are pleased by the early results.

“Such a vaccine, if successful, would be of significant value against variant virus strains,” Meng said in a statement.

 

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New Arlington-based tech contractor names chief financial officer

Two Six Technologies Inc., a new national security technology provider based in Arlington, announced Wednesday it has hired Bob Kwaja as chief financial officer.

The company was formed in February after an affiliate of global investment firm The Carlyle Group acquired IST Research and Two Six Labs. Among Two Six Technologies’ clients are the Department of Defense, the intelligence community and other U.S. national security agencies. Kwaja, who previously was BlueHalo’s senior vice president of finance and corporate development and has worked in executive roles at Centauri and Belcan, will focus on strategic growth in the sector, according to a news release from the company.

Kwaja, who has a degree in finance from the University of Maryland, has worked in mergers and acquisitions, as well as finance in the aerospace, defense and government sectors.

“As we round out the senior team of our newly formed enterprise, we’re delighted to add someone of Bob’s caliber, who brings an ideal skill set of financial and M&A expertise combined with relevant operational experience in the cyber, defense, and intelligence sectors,” Joe Logue, CEO of Two Six Technologies, said in a statement. “Bob has been highly successful in creating value at private equity-backed GovCon companies via both organic and inorganic growth — all of which will provide significant benefits to Two Six Technologies.”

The company has 285 employees and a technical presence in more than 40 countries.

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Northrop Grumman wins missile defense contract worth up to $3.9B

Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and partner Raytheon Missiles & Defense were awarded a Missile Defense Agency contract worth up to $3.93 billion to perform work on the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, the agency announced Tuesday.

Part of an award of $1.6 billion in contracts through fiscal year 2022 to Northrop Grumman and Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, Northrop and Raytheon will conduct risk reduction and technology development work in Arizona, Utah and Alabama on the Next Generation Interceptor program, part of the ground-based missile defense system that will protect the country from intercontinental ballistic missiles. The end of the contract, including flight test options, is in 2029, according to Northrop.

Lockheed will work with Aerojet Rocketdyne on its part of the contract in Alabama and California, which is worth up to $3.7 billion with option periods through 2025.

“We are honored to be selected by the MDA as prime contractor to develop the NGI system to protect our nation from advanced missile attacks,”  Scott Lehr, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and general manager of launch and missile defense, said in a statement. “There is a critical timeline for fielding this capability and our team brings together the industry’s top missile defense talent, agile design and manufacturing practices, and state-of-the-art operational factories to support the MDA and our nation’s defense against these evolving threats.”

Northrop Grumman employs more than 90,000 people and reported $33.8 billion in 2019 revenue.

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Hampton Roads community colleges form workforce cooperative

Three Hampton Roads community colleges are forming the new Community College Workforce Cooperative to create a one-stop shop for industries seeking large-scale job training in the region.

Tidewater, Thomas Nelson and Paul D. Camp community colleges, which have 10 locations across Eastern Virginia, announced the collaboration Tuesday. The CCWC, led by Executive Director Todd Estes, will coordinate and centralize the colleges’ resources for job training for industries like shipbuilding, ship repair and wind energy that are growing and need qualified employees.

“By working together, we can build an even stronger and more vibrant workforce,” Tamara Williams, interim vice president of TCC’s Center for Workforce Solutions, said in a statement. “This collaboration positions us to help advance the region’s economic development priorities, filling workforce gaps, and making community college training even more accessible to large employers.”

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Va. to loosen COVID restrictions April 1

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday he is “slowly and safely” lifting some COVID-19 restrictions statewide beginning April 1, including raising limits of gatherings to 30% capacity at entertainment venues.

In most cases, outdoor gatherings will be limited to 100 people and indoor gatherings at 50 people, the governor said. Wedding venues, which have been under heavy restriction for months, will be allowed to have events following these limits. Large entertainment venues, such as The Diamond baseball stadium in Virginia, can have more attendance, he added, as long as they don’t exceed 30% of the venue capacity, and masks and physical distancing are enforced.

Last week, Northam released preliminary guidance for K-12 schools, colleges and universities to safely hold in-person graduation ceremonies and other commencement events this spring. Outdoor graduation events will be capped at 5,000 people or 30% of the venue capacity, whichever is less, and indoor events have a limit of 500 people or 30% of capacity.

“These are measured changes,” Northam said, noting that masking and physical distancing measures remain in place. Responding to a question, he said that he has not yet lifted restrictions on indoor businesses like bars because “this is where the virus tends to be spread. As soon as we can open or lift measures safely and responsibly, we will.”

The governor’s office sent further details regarding the changes going into effect April 1:

  • Social gatherings increase from a limit of 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors currently to 50 people indoors and 100 people in outdoor settings after April 1.
  • Entertainment venues, including amusement parks, continue to operate at 30% capacity. Outdoor venues will have no specific cap on the number of attendees other than observing the 30% capacity limit. Indoor venues can have a maximum of 500 people, an increase from the current 250 cap.
  • Recreational sporting events will allow 100 spectators per field or 30% capacity in indoor settings, and 500 people per field or 30% capacity for outdoor events.

However, members of Virginia’s wedding industry are still concerned about their financial health. The owner of Belle Garden Estates, a Franklin County wedding venue, filed a lawsuit against Northam earlier in the month seeking an injunction against restrictions affecting gatherings at wedding sites.

Attorney Tim Anderson, who filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiff, said in a statement Tuesday that Northam’s expansion of attendance to 100 people “does not change the posture of the lawsuit. … Wedding venues are being treated differently [than] other outdoor venues. This is discriminatory. Why can a wedding venue not operate with up to 30% capacity?”

Northam, who has said that weddings are riskier than other kinds of gatherings, with family members and friends hugging and dancing, said Tuesday he will revisit lifting other restrictions on a monthly basis, as long as cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. He re-emphasized that outdoor wedding venues will continue to be limited to 100 attendees for the time being.

The governor added that he met earlier in the day with other U.S. governors and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, to discuss reopening plans and vaccination rollout. “This isn’t about throwing a switch or opening up the floodgates,” Northam said, characterizing Fauci’s advice.

In vaccination news, Northam said that the state will receive about 48,000 more doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine beginning next week, about five times the amount received in the past week.

As of Tuesday, 24.5% of the state’s population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 13.4% are fully vaccinated. Several regions of the state have started vaccinating people in group 1c and the number of new cases and deaths have decreased in recent weeks. The current seven-day positivity rate is 5.6%, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s COVID dashboard. In January, the rate was at 17%, Northam noted Tuesday.

The governor said Virginia is on target to meet President Joe Biden’s May 1 deadline for all U.S. adults to have access to COVID vaccines.

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BWXT subsidiary chosen to develop microreactor design for DOD

Lynchburg-based BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC is one of two companies chosen to develop a final prototype design for a transportable advanced nuclear microreactor, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday.

Along with Maryland’s X-energy LLC, BWXT was selected from a preliminary design competition and will continue developing its design under a Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) initiative called Project Pele. The two companies’ prototypes will then be reviewed in early 2022 and given a complete environmental analysis, after which one of the two companies will be chosen to build and demonstrate a prototype.

According to the DOD, the development of a small, transportable nuclear reactor would allow the agency to reduce its carbon emissions and provide tools for disaster relief and critical infrastructure support. The DOD uses approximately 30 terawatt-hours of electricity per year and more than 10 million gallons of fuel per day. Project Pele is a whole-government project with oversight by the U.S. Army, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NASA and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

“We are thrilled with the progress our industrial partners have made on their designs,” Jeff Waksman, Project Pele program manager, said in a statement. “We are confident that by early 2022 we will have two engineering designs matured to a sufficient state that we will be able to determine suitability for possible construction and testing.”

BWX Technologies Inc., BWXT Advanced Technologies’ parent, was chosen last year by the Department of Energy to design and develop a small nuclear reactor as part of a $106.6 million project. the Lynchburg nuclear fuel supplier has partnered with Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on the project.

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HNTB names infrastructure and mobility equity president

HNTB Corp., an infrastructure design firm based in Kansas City, Missouri, announced Tuesday that Diana Mendes has been promoted to corporate president of infrastructure and mobility equity, a newly created position based in Arlington.

Mendes has spent 35 years in the infrastructure industry and previously served as HNTB’s mid-Atlantic division president overseeing operations in six states and Washington, D.C. She also was HNTB’s transit and rail market sector leader. With the promotion, Mendes will work with federal, state and local agency leaders to create equitable solutions to transportation issues.

“As many of HNTB’s clients are being challenged to address inequities at an increased level of accountability and transparency by the constituencies they serve, we want to assist in strategizing and delivering effective, innovative solutions that lift historically underserved communities for a sustainable future,” Mendes said in a statement.

Mendes holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College and the University of Pennsylvania, and has served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, teaching the National Transit Institute’s advanced environmental justice seminar. She also is a frequent public speaker, addressing organizations including the Women’s Transportation Seminar, Transportation Research Board and others.

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Virginia Tech names new Innovation Campus leaders

Virginia Tech announced Monday that two current employees will take leadership roles in the university’s Alexandria-based Innovation Campus.

Robin Jones has been named assistant vice president for Innovation Campus student services, after serving as assistant provost for planning and resource management at Tech. Dannette Gomez Beane has been named assistant vice provost for enrollment management for strategic initiatives. She previously was the university’s director of operations in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

In her new role, Jones will collaborate with campus partners to expand services to graduate students enrolled in Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia programs, particularly its Tech Talent Investment Program, started to grow the pipeline of computer science and engineering graduates ready to work at Amazon.com Inc. or other tech companies. In 2019, Gov. Ralph Northam announced the program would aim to produce 31,000 new computer science degree holders in the next 20 years, with Virginia Tech pledging to graduate more than 16,000 of the students.

Beane will focus on graduate enrollment and degree goals for the Tech Talent Investment Program, to meet the university’s enrollment targets.

“Robin and Dannette’s established connection to a broad network of colleagues across the many Virginia Tech offices that serve students has allowed them to hit the ground running and their collaborative work is already benefiting applicants, current students, and the faculty that serve them,” Innovation Campus Chief Operating Officer Ken Smith said in a statement.

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