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byline: Katherine Schulte

Grant Thornton taps new D.C. market managing principal

William “Bill” Marx Jr. is Grant Thornton’s new market managing principal for the Washington, D.C., area, the Chicago-based U.S. arm of the global accounting firm network announced Wednesday.

Marx succeeds Greg Wallig, who was the company’s metro D.C.-Arlington County market managing principal and added the role of public policy head in June 2023. Wallig left Grant Thornton in June, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Marx has been a tax principal at Grant Thornton for more than 13 years and has more than 25 years of finance and tax experience. From 2015 to 2020, he led the firm’s Tax Accounting and Risk Advisory practices in its Atlantic Coast region.

“Bill has a long track record of providing valuable guidance to public and private companies, and his extensive knowledge will be an asset to our people and clients in the D.C. area,” Jim Wittmer, Grant Thornton Advisors’ managing principal for the Atlantic Coast region, said in a statement.

Before joining Grant Thornton in 2011, Marx was managing director of tax services at Smart Business Advisory and Consulting, which rebranded to LECG Business Consulting after merging with financial services management consulting firm LECG in 2010. Grant Thornton purchased LECG’s tax and business consulting groups in 2011.

Prior to that, Marx was the director of tax at utility construction company InfraSource Services, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has also worked for Comcast and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“Grant Thornton has an incredible team in place in the D.C. region, and we’re providing a level of high-touch service that’s tailored for the broad range of organizations based in our nation’s capital — both inside and outside of the government,” Marx said in a statement. “I can’t wait to expand our footprint in this unique community and bolster our peoples’ collective skillset.”

Marx holds bachelor’s degrees in education and accounting from Pennsylvania State University. He also earned a master’s degree in taxation from the University of Tulsa. He often leads classes and panels at events hosted by the Financial Executives Networking Group, the Tax Executives Institute and the American Bar Association, according to a news release.

Homestead Creamery to expand Franklin County facility

Dairy products maker Homestead Creamery will carry out a $2.5 million renovation and expansion of its Franklin County production facility, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday.

The company will build a new ice cream production room and install additional production and refrigeration equipment and freezers. The expansion is in response to growing customer demand for the creamery’s churned ice cream products, according to a news release.

Homestead Creamery expects to add two jobs and to purchase an additional $1.9 million of cream produced in Virginia over the next three years.

“On the heels of celebrating Virginia Dairy Month and Virginia Agriculture Week, today’s announcement of Homestead Creamery’s expansion and investment in Franklin County and in Virginia’s dairy industry is another example that Virginia is on the move,” Youngkin said in a statement. “I’m grateful to Homestead Creamery for their investment into one of Virginia’s top milk-producing counties and for supporting the growth of Virginia’s dairy industry — the fourth largest commodity in the commonwealth.”

Founded in 2001 in the Burnt Chimney area of Franklin County, Homestead Creamery uses milk from local dairy farms to produce milk, ice cream, eggnog and other dairy products sold through retail and wholesale networks. The company also has an on-site retail market and deli.

Homestead Creamery currently sells its dairy products and specialty lemonade in about 100 stores across the state. Its ice cream is available in 29 flavors across 13 states and Washington, D.C.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with Franklin County to secure the expansion project. Youngkin approved a $20,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Facility Grant program, which the county will match with local funds.

“This grant will fuel our vision for impactful building improvements, empowering us to better serve our customers and community,” Homestead Creamery Controller Jesse Novak said in a statement. “Together, we’re nurturing growth, innovation and prosperity. Thank you for believing in our mission and investing in our future.”

Chesapeake shopping center sells for $20.05M

A community shopping center in Chesapeake sold for $20.05 million in early June, property records show.

Located at 4300 Portsmouth Blvd., adjacent to the Chesapeake Square mall, the roughly 180,000-square-foot shopping center sold for $18.847 million, and an associated 1.32-acre outparcel sold for $1.203 million.

The shopping center is 90% leased. Its tenants include Value City Furniture, PetSmart and Dollar Tree stores. A portion of the shopping center with a BigLots and a Gabe’s store was not part of the transaction.

RCC Chesapeake Center LLC, whose address is the same as Richmond-based Hackney Real Estate Partners’ address, purchased the properties from Chesapeake Center LLC and from Chesapeake Center Outparcel LLC, whose address matches that of Washington Prime Group’s Columbus, Ohio, headquarters. Newmark represented the seller in the transaction.

Wawa parcel in Newport News bought for $4.5M

A property leased to a Wawa in Newport News sold for $4.5 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Monday.

OMILOS LLC — registered to an Arlington County address — bought the 1.95-acre parcel located at 11124 Jefferson Ave. Property records show that Athanasios K. Polyzos previously owned the property, beginning Nov. 16, 2022.

Clark Simpson and Erik Conradi with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group represented the seller in sale negotiations.

Bristol casino ups the ante for opening

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol’s development team has pushed back the opening of the permanent casino, previously expected in July, and will instead open the approximately $515 million permanent casino resort in late fall.

The team — a joint venture between Hard Rock, Par Ventures President Clyde Stacy and The United Co. Chairman Jim McGlothlin — announced the change in plans June 5.

“I think sometimes people forget [Hard Rock is] not just a casino company,” says Allie Evangelista, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol. “And that’s why we’re not so focused on rushing into opening a casino floor, because we really want people to see us for who we are as an entertainment and hospitality business.”

The temporary Bristol Casino: Future Home of Hard Rock opened July 8, 2022, becoming Virginia’s first operating casino. The 30,000-square-foot casino in the
former Bristol Mall has about 900 slots, 29 table games and a sportsbook. It also has a restaurant, a sports bar and lounge, and a grab-and-go food outlet.

The permanent resort casino is expected to have a 303-room hotel, more than 1,500 slots, 75 table games, new dining venues and a 2,000-seat indoor entertainment venue.

“As a business, for us, this is a lot more exciting because we were opening a casino floor rather than opening the full Hard Rock experience,” says Evangelista, “and being able to open everything at once … allows us to really have a great first impression.”

Plus, she says, guests won’t experience construction-related disruptions.

Now that the full casino resort will open all at once, rather than in phases, “we believe the construction is redoing their timeline, because you don’t have to [put up] temporary wall things, [and] you don’t have to go around operations, so we believe we can pick up some time,” says Evangelista. The developers are waiting for the construction team — TN Ward and BurWil Construction — to provide a more specific timeframe.

The extended timeline follows a 2024-2026 state budget amendment that allowed temporary casino operators who met certain conditions to conduct gaming for six additional months past the previously codified two-year limit.

As of June 7, the Bristol Hard Rock had 619 employees, and 200 more people were set to onboard once they acquired their Virginia Lottery licenses. The resort’s full employment goal is 1,400 employees, Evangelista says.   

Richmond switches up stadium funding plan

UPDATED JULY 16

Richmond City Council this spring pitched a bit of a curveball on financing of the city’s new baseball stadium.

On May 8, councilors approved a plan that they say would save the city money and get the replacement stadium — part of the proposed Diamond District — completed in time to meet the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ 2026 season deadline.

Davenport & Co., the city’s financial adviser, recommended issuing $170 million worth of general obligation bonds to finance the Diamond District’s stadium and first-phase infrastructure work, rather than community development authority bonds, as planned.

That would put the city on the hook for paying off the bonds if projected revenue falls short, although the new structure would also have economic benefits, including a lower interest rate that is expected to reduce costs by $215 million over the next 30 years. Also, if the bonds were issued by July 1, the state would have chipped in $24 million through its sales tax incentive program, but Richmond missed that deadline.

“When cities take on the role of developer, they are assuming risk for taxpayers,” Terry Clower, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, says. “In this case, there are compelling reasons for the change in financing that recognizes market conditions and a particular state tax incentive.”

However, attorney and activist Paul Goldman filed a lawsuit in May, challenging the city’s plan to issue the bonds without a November ballot referendum.

“It’s the public’s money; it’s not the politicians’ money,” and residents should get a vote, Goldman argues, but his lawsuit was tossed out in June by Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant. The only way to force a referendum without a court order was to have roughly 11,000 Richmond voters’ signatures within 30 days of the city’s notice of the ordinance’s adoption, published May 12.

That’s a “task worthy of Hercules,” Goldman says. “It can’t be done unless you’re going to spend a fortune.” On June 28, Goldman said he wouldn’t appeal the court’s decision.

However, for Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, the Squirrels’ new stadium is on deck.

“We are full speed ahead on delivering a world-class baseball stadium and an exciting new neighborhood for ALL to enjoy,” Stoney said June 10 in a statement. “The Flying Squirrels are here to stay in Richmond!”  

VIPC partners with VC funds to invest $100 million in 100 startups

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. is partnering with seven venture capital fund managers to invest $100 million in 100 Virginia-based startups.

Through the partnership, announced May 20 by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and named Virginia Invests, VIPC will commit $40 million to the seven funds using previously awarded funding from the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative. In December 2022, Youngkin’s office announced that Virginia had been approved for up to $230 million from the SSBCI program, with about $173 million of that going to VIPC.

“The lifeline of a high-growth entrepreneurial ecosystem is the ability to tap into capital,” Youngkin said, “and that’s exactly what Virginia Invests is all about. How do we accelerate growth? How do we amplify good ideas? How do we unleash opportunity by bringing together people who want to invest in all of this and people who need the money to make it go?”

The funding firms have committed an additional $60 million, and they will select the 100 high-growth startups to invest in during the next three to five years. By contract, firms not headquartered in Virginia will have to provide 1.5 times the funding they receive, while firms headquartered in the state will make a 1:1 match, Youngkin told reporters.

“One of, I think, the really important steps was to recognize that picking companies is not something that we should do,” he said. “We should invest in funds that are picking companies, and that also allows us to have the ability, if companies are doing well and more capital is being put to work well, then potentially, we could invest some more. But the resources and the expertise that are represented by these seven funds in particular deep sectors is unique.”

The seven fund managers focus on founders who are typically underserved. They are Washington, D.C.-based 100KM Ventures; New York-based AIN Ventures; Houston-based The Artemis Fund; Portland, Oregon-based The BFM Fund; Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Idea Fund Partners; Atlanta-based Valor Ventures; and Tysons-based Veteran Ventures Capital, which recently moved its headquarters from Tennessee to Virginia.

“This is the first round of [funding] commitments. There’ll be more,” Youngkin said.

The nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority, VIPC provides strategic commercialization and funding support to Virginia-based tech startups.  

Liebherr to expand Newport News-Hampton facility

Newport News-based Liebherr Mining Equipment will invest $72.3 million to expand a plant at the border of Newport News and Hampton, creating an estimated 175 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.

“We thank Liebherr, an international leader in mining equipment manufacturing, for its commitment to the commonwealth of Virginia,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Liebherr has recognized that Virginia is strategically located to serve as its global production headquarters for mining trucks and service customers within the United States and across the world.”

Founded in 1949, Liebherr Group is a family-owned technology and equipment producer. Founded in 1995, Liebherr Mining Equipment Newport News Co. has more than 550 employees. It manufactures industrial-scale mining trucks used to transport material at open-cast mining operations. The trucks are partly assembled, tested and certified at the plant, and complete assembly occurs at the mine.

“We are excited to expand our mining equipment facility in Newport News … to better support Liebherr Mining customers around the world,” Cort Reiser, managing director of Liebherr Mining Equipment Newport News Co., said in a statement. “We’re thankful for the partnerships with the cities of Hampton and Newport News and the Commonwealth of Virginia that have greatly enriched our operations and enabled Liebherr to bring 175 new jobs and investment to the region.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Newport News and Hampton to secure the project. Youngkin approved a $1.5 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the cities. Liebherr Mining Equipment is eligible to receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant program. VEDP will support the company’s employee training through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, a three-year incentive program that provides cash grant reimbursements for associated human resources costs after a company has had new employees on the payroll for at least 90 days.

Va. ranked No. 1 in customized workforce training by Business Facilities

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program has taken the top spot in site selection industry publication Business Facilities’ ranking of states’ customized workforce training for the second year in a row.

Business Facilities is a magazine geared toward corporate site selectors and site selection consultants. The publication released on Monday the top states for a few categories in its 20th annual rankings report, although the full report won’t be available until its July/August 2024 issue. Texas won best business climate, and California took first place for the tech talent pipeline category.

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program is a discretionary incentive program that provides free customizable workforce recruiting and training services for eligible businesses locating or expanding in Virginia. Launched in 2019, the program is a collaboration between the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Community College System. With company input, VCCS develops credential and industry certification programs to create a talent pipeline aimed at meeting future workforce needs after the VEDP program ends. 

“The breadth and speed with which this VEDP program begins to deliver for companies is a highlight that Business Facilities is pleased to recognize in this year’s ranking,” Business Facilities Editorial Director Anne Cosgrove said in a statement. “The capability to provide training for businesses across a variety of industries to meet their specific needs is a feature that stands out with the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program.”

Since its launch, the program has helped secure more than 13,000 jobs in Virginia, including for the Lego Group’s $1 billion manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County and Tyson Foods’ $300 million Danville-area facility in Ringgold. Northrop Grumman is participating in the program for its advanced electronics manufacturing and testing facility in Waynesboro, announced in November 2023. The Fortune 500 defense contractor started construction on the project, for which it expects to create 300 jobs, in February.

More recently, in June, Swiss humidification systems company Condair Group announced a $57.2 million facility in Chesterfield County, expected to create 180 jobs. It will participate in the talent accelerator for the project.

“The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program is a primary reason why so many companies choose to invest in Virginia instead of any other state,” VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi said in a statement. “Virginia’s customized approach is unique to each company’s needs. We determine priorities in close collaboration with company leaders and then deliver truly customized recruitment and training services to ensure their operation is successful from the startup phase to full operation.”

The states following Virginia in the customized workforce training rankings are Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan and Arizona.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement: “The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program enhances Virginia’s competitiveness to win major projects and is often the deciding factor on investment in Virginia. … Virginians are joining the workforce in record numbers, and it’s critically important to ensure our workforce development matches the needs of today while building a workforce for the future.”

MicroStrategy buys $786M more bitcoin since late April

Tysons-based tech company MicroStrategy keeps growing its bitcoin holdings, most recently spending about $786 million to acquire almost 12,000 more of the cryptocurrency.

From April 27 to June 19, the company, which is widely reported to be the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holder, acquired approximately 11,931 bitcoins for approximately $786 million in cash, according to its June 20 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On June 18, MicroStrategy completed a private offering of convertible senior notes, gaining about $786 million, which it used to make its most recent bitcoin purchases.

As of June 20, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries held approximately 226,331 bitcoins, purchased for about $8.33 billion total. The average purchase price per bitcoin was $36,798, including fees and expenses. As of 4:04 p.m. Monday, bitcoins were selling for $59,459.37 apiece, according to CoinDesk, valuing MicroStrategy’s total holdings at more than $13.45 billion.

Bitcoin has steadily lost value over the past week. On June 17, bitcoin closed at $66,490.30. One factor for the cryptocurrency’s decline is that German authorities are selling bitcoins seized from crimes. Also, Mt. Gox, a cryptocurrency exchange that shut down in 2014, could start to repay clients, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, which could mean more bitcoin will hit the market soon.

MicroStrategy shares were trading for $1,372.15 at market close Monday but dropped to $1,367.67 in after hours trading as of 4:09 p.m. At the previous close, MicroStrategy shares were selling for $1,483.76.

MicroStrategy announced its first bitcoin purchase in August 2020, saying it had converted $250 million from its cash holdings to more than 21,000 bitcoins, making it one of the first public companies to convert its cash treasury reserves into cryptocurrency as a store of value.

The investment strategy was led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, who stepped down as CEO after the company’s August 2022 earnings report. Earlier this month, Saylor and MicroStrategy agreed to pay $40 million to resolve a tax fraud lawsuit filed by the city of Washington, D.C.