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byline: Paula C. Squires

Virginia Business publisher named to Virginia Communications Hall of Fame

Bernie Niemeier, the publisher and owner of Virginia Business magazine, has been named to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture at VCU will induct seven communications professionals into the hall of fame at an awards ceremony on March 29 at the Altria Theater.

The award recognizes communications professionals with exceptional careers in advertising, journalism, public relations, new media and other media fields, and who have made outstanding long-term contributions in the field of communications and who were either born in Virginia or became distinctively identified with Virginia.

“The seven new laureates being inducted this year have all made tremendous contributions to the field of communications, and it will be a privilege to honor them at our Hall of Fame event, Montse Fuentes, dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, said in a statement.

Niemeier has more than 40 years of experience in the publishing business, including 17 on the corporate staff of now-defunct Richmond-based Media General Inc. In September 2009, Niemeier led a private-equity-funded purchase of Virginia Business magazine from Media General. In 2017, he acquired full ownership of the magazine and is now its sole owner.

Virginia Business is the only statewide publication dedicated to covering economic activity and business news in every region of the state. Since it began publishing in 1986, the magazine has won many state and national awards. Since 2010, the magazine has won more than 20 national awards including several for Niemeier for editorial writing.

The other inductees are:

Joseph Cortina, founding partner and creative director of Cortina Productions in McLean.  A media design and production company, it creates interactive multimedia for museums such as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Newseum and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Pamela K. El, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the National Basketball Association. El is responsible for the NBA’s global marketing operation, directing brand development, overall marketing and advertising for the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League.

Jane Gardner, a retired award-winning health reporter and local news anchor who worked in Roanoke, her hometown of Richmond and in Norfolk. During her television career, Gardner won seven national and eight state broadcast journalism awards and numerous other honors for community service.

Gene Herrick, a retired photographer for The Associated Press, who documented major news stories of the 20th century, including the civil rights movement and the Korean War, as well as photographing such luminaries as Martin Luther King Jr. and Elvis Presley.

Jesse Vaughan, an Emmy Award-winning director and producer, Richmond native and VCU alumnus. Currently, the creative director of the Advance Creative Service Group at Virginia State University, he has won 29 Emmy awards.

Dwayne Yancey, editorial page editor of The Roanoke Times, has more than 30 years of experience in the news industry as a reporter, editor, Virginia political analyst and, more recently, a journalism entrepreneur, helping to launch local news sites and publications for The Roanoke Times. He also is the author of the 1988 book, “When Hell Froze Over:  The Untold Story of Doug Wilder: A Black Politician’s Rise to Power in the South.”

The Williamsburg Inn earns the AAA/CAA five-diamond rating for the first time


The Williamsburg Inn has earned the AAA/CAA five-diamond rating for the first time.

In winning the coveted ranking, the inn joins an elite circle of two other five-diamond properties in Virginia, the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond and the Inn at Little Washington in Washington.

AAA Inspectors characterized the Williamsburg Inn, within walking distance of the city's historic area,  as an experience that takes guests back in time with richly canopied beds, silk drapes and bedding, antiques and fine artwork.

AAA first began inspecting hotels and restaurants in 1937, the same year Virginia’s Williamsburg Inn opened. “It is exciting to see the Williamsburg Inn make the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Rating list this year,” Martha Mitchell Meade, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in a statement.  “To achieve this level of hospitality is a significant accomplishment.”

According to AAA, hotels receiving a five-diamond rating undergo a number of checks and balances including in-person inspections, anonymous overnight stays and review by a panel of experts to ensure credibility. Fewer than half of 1 percent of the more than 27,000 AAA inspected and approved hotels receive five diamonds.

CBRE|Hampton Roads promotes Perry Frazer to executive vice president


CBRE|Hampton Roads has promoted Perry Frazer to executive vice president effective immediately. He also will continue as the managing director of CBRE’s regional office.

Frazer has been in commercial real estate for more than 20 years and has been a consistent top regional producer. According to CBRE, he has successfully closed 15 million of square feet of office and flex space leases in the region.

A graduate of University of Virginia, Frazer has twice been awarded the Hunter A. Hogan Award for being the region’s highest producing broker.
In 2016, CBRE|Hampton Roads completed 502 lease transactions involving 4.7 million square feet and totaling $322 million in value. In addition, the office, which employs 116 people, completed 113 sales transactions with a total value of $644 million.

CarLotz opens its first location in Florida

 

CarLotz, a Richmond-based used vehicle consignment business, is opening its sixth retail store in a new venue.

On Monday, the company opened its first store in Florida in Tampa.

“We’re excited to expand the CarLotz footprint and bring our unique retail experience to the Tampa Bay area,” Michael Bor, CarLotz CEO, said in a statement.  “We’re looking all over the country to expand our business, and while we plan to open stores in many new states, Florida and, in particular Tampa, felt like the right fit for our first step into larger markets.”

Since it began in 2011, CarLotz has opened five locations in Virginia and North Carolina. The company said it has seen increasing demand for its vehicle consignment business in the Florida area in recent years. “We are thrilled to bring our consignment model to Tampa … and become a member of the community,” Bor said.

At 10,000 square feet, the Tampa store will have room for nearly 300 consigned vehicles. CarLotz plans to initially hire 15 to 20 full-time people to work in sales, administration, and reconditioning.

Skanska to complete Virginia Tech Carilion Biomedical Research addition in Roanoke

 

 

Skanska USA said Monday that it has been awarded a $68 million contract to complete the Virginia Tech Carilion Biomedical Research Addition, a 140,000-square-foot building begun last fall on the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke.

 

The project is a collaboration between Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech. The primary focus of the four-story building is to provide modern research facilities for enhanced biomedical research programs in five major t areas including:

 

·         Body device interfaces

·         Brain health and disorders

·         Cardiovascular science

·         Infectious diseases and immunology

·         Metabolism and obesity

 

“This building will allow Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic to build on a successful partnership in Roanoke, in which we’ve played a significant role,” Greg Peele, executive vice president and general manager of Skanska’s building operations in Virginia/North Carolina said in a statement.  “The end result of our efforts will be an expansion of the biomedical research they’ve been conducting, greater learning opportunities for students, and expanded business opportunities for a highly-trained technical work force in the region.”

 

The building will house next-generation core instrumentation facilities including molecular, cellular and whole-body imaging and powerful computing facilities. Wet laboratories requiring direct ventilation and specialized piped utilities for water and various gases, MRI and CT scanning, high-resolution electron microscopy, necropsy, and pathology will be added. An atrium and multiple green roofs also are part of the project.

 

The expansion will be connected by an elevated walkway to the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, previously constructed by Skanska and completed in 2010. That four-story, 152,850-square-foot building comprises a medical school, research institute and 52,000-square-feet of lower level parking.

 

AECOM is the architect for the addition, which is expected to be completed in February 2020.

 

Skanska said it has built more than 250 projects in Virginia. During the past 10 years, it has completed  projects worth $2.7 billion and now has about $1.3 billion of work in progress work in Virginia and North Carolina region. Based in New York, Skanska has offices in 31 metro areas, with 10,000 employees.

 

 

Cupid at The Cavalier Hotel

Call it a publicity stunt, but it sure is a sweet one and right at Valentine’s Day, too. 

Seventy-five couples, who either were married or honeymooned at the historic Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, have been selected to renew their vows in a private ceremony at the property on Feb. 14, before it reopens to the public on March 7.

The event is part of the pre-opening festivities to celebrate the more than $80 million renovation of the historic Cavalier. Other special events include public tours that will begin on Feb. 16 and run through March 2. The tours will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 11 a.m. on March 2. 

Gov. Ralph Northam has been lined up to officiate the renewal ceremony, and the couples have been invited to stay at the hotel free of cost.

The Cavalier originally opened in 1927. Some of the romantic stories behind the couples include multiple generations marrying on the property, engagements on The Cavalier’s iconic hill, meeting at the hotel and former employees meeting at work and falling in love.

Among the selected participants, the oldest couple to renew their vows honeymooned at The Cavalier in 1940.  The youngest couple wed on October 2014. Two couples share an anniversary, and their weddings were the last events hosted at The Cavalier before the restoration began three years ago.

While many of the participating couples returning in February are longtime locals or summer residents of Virginia Beach, others have not been back to the area since their special day. According to the Cavalier’s public relations team, former military couples who were stationed briefly near Virginia Beach and residents from cities in Virginia and other states such as Connecticut, Arizona and Tennessee will journey back to The Cavalier  for the reopening to reaffirm their vows.

As the first official guests of the newly renovated hotel, the 75 couples will receive:

·       Complimentary hotel accommodations
·       Complimentary lunch served in the Chrystal Ballroom
·       A hosted vow renewal ceremony
·       A hosted cocktail reception with live entertainment in the Raleigh Room
·       Dinner for two in Becca, the hotel’s restaurant
·       Big band dance party in the ballroom
·       Complimentary photographs
·       Complimentary copy of The Cavalier Love Stories, a hardbound compendium of the selected couples’ love stories 

The Cavalier will reopen as a Gold Key | PHR property. Its CEO, Bruce L. Thompson, is the developer behind the restoration, which he is doing as a public/private project with the city of Virginia Beach. The opening date for the property has been pushed back several times due to complications from structural defects that came up during construction.

 

 

Lee’s Hill Medical Plaza in Fredericksburg sells for $28 million

Avison Young has arranged the sale of a 72,255-square-foot, Class A-medical office building in Fredericksburg.  The buyer, a medical office REIT, purchased Lee’s Hill Medical Plaza for $28 million, according to a source close to the deal.

The seller was a joint venture partnership between Flagship Healthcare Properties with Drake Real Estate Partners.

According to Avison Young, Flagship and Drake acquired the property in 2014 and increased occupancy by more than 20%, bringing it to 91% at the time of the sale. Tenant additions included the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and multiple expansions as well as the long-term lease extension of the hospital anchor tenant, Mary Washington Healthcare System & Radiologic Associates of Fredericksburg.

“The Drake/Flagship joint venture has proven to be a fruitful one. The successful lease-up of the asset has allowed us and our investors to achieve our financial goals and also bring shared value to our tenants and the surrounding community by securing a long-term home for Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg,” Jonathan Garonce of Drake Real Estate Partners said in a statement.

Leading the Avison Young team was Jim Kornick and Chip Ryan,  principals in the Washington, D.C., office; Mike Wilson and Erik Foster, principals in the Chicago office and Mark Johnson, an executive vice president in the Chicago office.

“This asset represents a very unique opportunity in the national marketplace for a core-plus medical office building,” Wilson said in a statement.  “A Class-A facility with a long-term hospital anchor, along with some vacancy for growth and expansion, is tough to find. That was evident in the very strong buyer activity and aggressive pricing.”

Completed in 2008, Lee’s Hill Medical Plaza sits on five acres at 10401 Spotsylvania Ave. and offers 314 parking spaces.

The property is located off the I-95 interchange with U.S. Route 1, south of downtown Fredericksburg. The property is also near two major hospitals, five miles from Mary Washington Hospital and two and a half miles from HCA Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center.

Flagship Healthcare Properties will be retained as property manager.

Fortuna Center Plaza in Dumfries sells for $20.2 million


NKF Capital Markets has announced the sale and financing of Fortuna Center Plaza in Dumfries. The 104,694-square-foot shopping center is anchored by Shoppers Food Warehouse, along with Starbucks, Panera Bread, Five Guys and Rite Aid. Mosaic Realty Partners purchased the asset for $20.2 million.

The center is located along Dumfries Road, which provides visibility to more than 44,000 vehicles per day. Adjacent to Target, the location also provides access to Interstate 95.

Executive Managing Director Geoffrey Millerd, Managing Director Mat Adler and financial analysts Christian Brannelly and Chris Huesgen of NKF Capital oversaw the transaction on behalf of the seller.

“The excellent visibility, strong demographics, and continued population growth were significant drivers in the sale of Fortuna Center Plaza,” said NKF’s Adler. “This was a unique opportunity in Northern Virginia to acquire a grocery anchored shopping center with a quality tenant mix.”
 
 

Globalinx Data Centers plans data center campus in Virginia Beach


Globalinx Data Centers, Virginia Beach's first and only carrier-neutral cable landing and connection point for connectivity to Europe, Africa and South America, has announced a 150,000-square-foot, data center campus in proximity to the Telxius Cable Landing Station in Virginia Beach.


The campus is located in Corporate Landing, a 300-acre business park. Phase I is a 10,750-square-foot facility built upon a privately owned 11.5-acre campus. The data center is equipped with high-capacity space for network carriers, subsea operators, enterprises and hyper scale providers to colocate their networking equipment in a secure location.


The facility offers direct access to multiple subsea cable systems and terrestrial networks, and has access to more than 30 megawatts of power provided by Dominion Energy through two independent substations. According to Globalinx, Dominion Energy has certified Corporate Landing Business Park as a data center site.


“This further advances our goal of making Virginia Beach a truly digital port city and will help attract additional subsea projects for true diversity from the subsea cable systems in the New York-New Jersey region,” Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Warren Harris said in a statement.


Globalinx said it has started on the design and planning work for Phase II of the campus. Once completed, it will offer more than 150,000 square feet of colocation data center space with variable power densities to meet customers' requirements.


The city of Virginia Beach recently reduced the business property tax rate on computer and peripheral equipment used in data centers to 40 cents per $100, at 40 percent of assessed value.


Also, new businesses to the city are entitled to receive a reduced business license fee rate of $50 for each of their first two taxable years in the city. Performance grants also may also be available based on new capital investment made by new and existing companies.


“Virginia Beach offers some of the most attractive incentives for data centers in the country,” Greg Twitt, founder and president of Globalinx, said in a statement.  “The appeal of competitive tax rates and local incentives combined with robust power capabilities at truly reasonable rates is amplified by access to two of the most modern subsea cable systems ever to be built.  No other location along the Eastern Seaboard offers this opportunity, making Virginia Beach the number one destination for mid-Atlantic connectivity between North America, South America, Europe and North Africa.”

JCR Cos. buys Manassas shopping center for $31 million

 

The JCR Cos. has acquired the Center at Innovation in Manassas for $31 million. According to the Washington, D.C.-based firm, the center is more than 90 percent leased to a mix of national, regional, and local tenants including TJ Maxx, PetSmart, Chick-Fil-A, Verizon Wireless, and Red Robin.

The 101,990-square-foot shopping center also is shadow-anchored by a Target.

JCR said it plans to sell the three pad sites currently leased to Chick-Fil-A, SunTrust Bank, and Red Robin and to fully lease the inline space.

The Center at Innovation is located on Nokesville Road (VA-28) just west of the interchange with Prince William Parkway (VA-234), a key intersection in Manassas. More than 1,000 residential units and 1 million square feet of commercial development are planned or under construction within three miles of the center.

Completed in 2008 on a 14-acre parcel, the property offers five modern buildings with 482 parking spaces. 

“We are more bullish than ever on necessity-based neighborhood retail,” JCR Principal Joe Reger said in a statement.  “In fact, we hope to acquire over $100 million of retail property in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region in 2018.”

Reger added that JCR likes the fundamentals and rapid growth rate of Manassas. Center at Innovation is JCR’s second shopping center acquisition in Manassas, and its ninth suburban retail center acquisition since 2012.

In the national capital region. JCR’s growing portfolio focuses on the area’s core submarkets including Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Capitol Hill, Old Town Alexandria, Georgetown, and several fast-growing suburbs. 

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the seller, EDENS, in the sale of the center.