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byline: Robyn Sidersky

Google Public Sector taps Booz Allen exec as CEO

Karen Dahut will be the CEO of Google Public Sector, Google LLC’s subsidiary focused on government and educational contracting work.

Dahut starts Oct. 31 and will be based out of Google’s Washington, D.C., and Reston offices, according to a news release. She takes the place of Will Grannis, Google Public Sector’s founding CEO, who is returning to his role as chief technology officer of Google Cloud.

Google Public Sector was formed in June and is focused on bringing Google Cloud technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, to federal, state and local government customers and educational institutions. Google Public Sector has a separate board from Google LLC and its operations includes specialized sales, customer engineering, support, channel and partner programs, and security operations.

Dahut will leave her role as a sector president at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she led the company’s $4 billion global defense business. Before joining Booz Allen, Dahut served in the Navy for six years, reaching the rank of lieutenant and serving at the Navy Medical Research Institute, a facility in Bethesda, Maryland, that was closed in 1998. As a civilian, she worked for 11 years for the Logistics Management Institute, a Tysons-based nonprofit federal contractor, before going to Booz Allen. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business finance from Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, and a master’s degree from the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California.

 

 

Allianz promotes Canadian CFO to North American CFO

Henrico County-based Allianz Partners USA has promoted Patrick Espeut to chief financial officer for the North America region, which includes the U.S. and Canada, the travel insurance and assistance company announced Tuesday.

Allianz’s former chief financial officer, Jeff Wright, was promoted to CEO earlier this year. Espeut had been chief financial officer of Allianz Partners’ business unit in Canada. Espeut joined Allianz in June 2020 and before that worked for Canadian insurer Echelon Insurance for 17 years, serving roles including chief financial officer and chief risk officer.

Espeut serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Black Insurance Professionals as treasurer and is president of the Canadian Insurance Accountants Association. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in finance and is a chartered professional accountant of Canada. In his new role, he will be based in Henrico County.

“Patrick did a tremendous job in developing and implementing our financial business strategy in Canada and we’re excited to add him to our team in the U.S.,” Wright said. “Patrick joins us in the U.S. at an exciting time of tremendous growth for the travel insurance industry and we’re glad to have him aboard to help us navigate the challenges and opportunities that rapid growth provides.”

Wisconsin company to open $2M plant in Roanoke County

Osseo, Wisconsin-based North American Specialty Laminations LLC, a company that provides lamination solutions to the building products industry, will invest $2 million to open a mid-Atlantic production facility in Roanoke County, creating 44 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.

NASL’s 57,000-square-foot plant will be located at 5185 Benois Road. It will serve NASL customers along the East Coast and Southeastern U.S.

“North American Specialty Laminations’ decision to establish its mid-Atlantic operation in Roanoke County reinforces the many advantages leading manufacturers can find in Virginia,” Youngkin said. “Advanced manufacturing companies are a strong cluster in the region, which offers the skilled workforce and higher education connections to guarantee a robust talent pipeline for the future. We look forward to supporting NASL as they ramp up in the commonwealth.”

In business since 1999, NASL is a profile-wrapping and specialty fabrication manufacturing company. A portfolio company of Boston-based private equity investment firm Building Industry Partners, it has facilities around the country and in Canada. The Roanoke facility will be a hub for profile lamination and fabrication capabilities for door, window, cabinet, wall panel, fencing and moulding customers. Doug Pence will be the facility’s general manager.

“With our extensive analysis, we selected Virginia for its consistent pro-business stance, progressive supporting programs and skilled workforce in the greater Roanoke area,” CEO Doug Rende said.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Roanoke County to secure the project for Virginia and will support NASL’s job creation through VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

 

IALR names Boeing exec to EVP role

The Institute for Advancing Learning and Research in Danville has named Todd M. Yeatts as executive vice president of manufacturing advancement, effective. Oct. 3.

Yeatts joins IALR from The Boeing Co., where he was senior manager for government operations. At the IALR, he will oversee the manufacturing advancement training program, and operation and strategic direction of the new Center for Manufacturing Advancement, expected to open this year. He will report directly to IALR President Telly Tucker.

“I am delighted to welcome Todd to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and know that he will bring a wealth of knowledge, insight and leadership,” Tucker said in a statement. “As we continue to serve as a regional catalyst for economic transformation, Todd’s unique background will help advance Southern Virginia’s role as a leading hub of advanced manufacturing. Maintaining strategic relationships with government, industry, education and technology stakeholders will help provide critical support and awareness, especially as we grow our training programs to serve not only our regional workforce but national and defense industrial base needs as well.” 

At Boeing, Yeatts conducted program advocacy and awareness campaigns, managed congressional site visits, provided legislative testimony and served as the primary contact for government officials. Before his most recent role at Boeing, he served as regional communication manager for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in St. Louis, Missouri, after 19 months in Iraq as director of strategic communication for a team based in Baghdad. He also spent 25 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Additionally, Yeatts worked in state government as the director of communications for the Virginia Tobacco Revitalization Commission and served as military aide-de-camp for Virginia Govs. Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and Bob McDonnell. He was appointed by Govs. Terry McAuliffe, Ralph Northam and Glenn Youngkin to the Governor’s Aerospace Advisory Council.

Yeatts’ roots are in Danville. He has served as assistant city manager of Danville, where he initially served as director of legislative and public affairs. He also was legislative liaison to the General Assembly for Danville and Pittsylvania County. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Yeatts serves on a variety of boards and commissions, including chairing GO Virginia’s Region 7 Council in Northern Virginia.

 

 

Stratford Hills Apartments sells for $76.5M in Richmond

Stratford Hills Apartments, a 430-unit residential community in Richmond’s Chippenham Village neighborhood, sold for $76.5 million on Aug. 22, Colliers announced.

West 300 North Associates LLC bought the property, located at 2517 W. Tremont Court near Chesterfield County’s Bon Air area, from Stratford Bethany LLC. The property includes 42 buildings, 11 of which are garden-style apartments and 31 are townhomes. The community includes 292 townhome-style units, with one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. The new owners have plans for renovating the interiors and updating amenities. The property is 98% leased and a total of 429,393 square feet.

Garrison Gore, Charles Wentworth, G.S. “Hank” Hankins and Victoria Pickett, all from Colliers, handled the transaction on behalf of the seller.

 

Syska Hennessy hires new assoc. VP for Richmond office

New York City-based engineering firm Syska Hennessy Group, known for projects such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Central Intelligence Agency’s Langley headquarters, has named David Wright associate vice president and senior practice area leader for health care in its Richmond office, the company announced Sept. 7.

Wright joins Syska after 23 years as senior vice president and managing director of the Richmond office of New York engineering firm WSP USA. He supervised 25 staff in Richmond and oversaw health care projects including bed tower expansions, emergency department renovations, patient wing renovations, central plant upgrades and large outpatient centers, according to Syska Hennessy.

Syska’s Richmond office has 10 people and its clients include Inova Health System, Augusta Health, and Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, according to a spokesperson.

Wright earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is a member of multiple professional organizations.

“Our health care practice is growing exponentially,” Tim Krawetz, Syska senior principal and global healthcare practice leader, said in a statement. “David will play a critical role in ensuring that innovation and quality continue to accompany that growth.”

Caroline County building sells for $3M

A 71,252-square-foot office building in Caroline County has sold for just over $3 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Sept. 5.

The building, located at 24010 Partnership Blvd. in Ruther Glen, is on 47 acres. Atlantic Union Bank sold the building to Partnership Blvd Properties LLC.

Will McGoogan of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the transaction on behalf of Atlantic Union Bank.

Colonial Downs Racetrack sets $2.88M daily bets record

Colonial Downs Racetrack broke records again in its racing season, with bettors waging more than $6.5 million on New Kent County Virginia Derby Day earlier this month, Colonial Downs Race Group announced this week.

The total amount bet on races during the 26-day racing season was $74.9 million and a daily average of $2.88 million, up more than 29% from the average daily of $2.23 million in 2021. The season marked an all-time wagering high in the history of Colonial Downs, according to a news release. Colonial Downs paid out $15.9 million in purses for the season and the average daily purse was $612,000, setting a Virginia record. The program had 1,382 horses representing 321 trainers for a combined 2,179 starts for the season.

“Virginia racing is stronger than ever,” John Marshall, Colonial Downs Group executive vice president of operations, said in a statement. “It is gratifying to see Colonial Downs evolve into one of the nation’s elite destinations for thoroughbred racing. We congratulate all of those who worked so hard to place Virginia racing in such an admirable position.”

Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent County hosts live thoroughbred racing on the 180-foot-wide Secretariat Turf Course and on a 1.25-mile dirt track.

Colonial Downs Group is a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E), which also owns six Rosie’s Gaming Emporium locations statewide. It has more than 1,000 employees in Virginia. Churchill Downs Inc., which is known for the Kentucky Derby, entered into an agreement to acquire P2E for $2.485 billion in February.

Exclusive: Capital Square adds co-CEO

Glen Allen-based real estate company Capital Square has promoted Whitson Huffman to co-CEO, the developer and sponsor of tax-advantaged real estate investments announced Monday.

Huffman, 33, will co-lead the company with his father-in-law, Louis Rogers, founder and CEO of Capital Square, a fast-growing real estate investment fund sponsor and commercial real estate development company established in 2012. The company specializes in Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) offerings as part of IRS Section 1031 property exchanges, as well as sponsoring opportunity zone funds, and it has branched out into developing multifamily properties. Capital Square also sponsors a real estate investment trust, as well as institutional funds.

Huffman joined Capital Square in April 2018 and most recently served as chief strategy and investment officer, leading real estate investment activity and overseeing nearly $6 billion in real estate transactions.

“It’s important to have a smooth transition in an orderly way over time for the younger executives to begin their transition to the day when they are senior executives,” said Rogers, 65. 

Louis Rogers

“Whit’s my guy, I trust him completely,” Rogers added. “He’s the best underwriter I’ve ever seen. … Together, we’re an awesome team. I can do the words; he can do the models and numbers.” 

In his new role, Huffman will work with Rogers to manage all aspects of the firm, and the pair will work closely to continue plotting the expanding firm’s growth and strategic direction. Rogers said Huffman has built relationships with brokers, builders and developers and “completely understands the world we live in, from soup to nuts.” 

Before joining Capital Square, Huffman was an associate with Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust JBG Smith Properties. Huffman “cut his teeth” at JBG Smith, he says, developing a solid background in multifamily housing. While there, he helped develop 1,300 residential units and more than 210,000 square feet of retail space. He also sought entitlements for more than 1,500 residential units and 350,000 square feet of retail space. Before he was with JBG Smith, he worked as a consultant for Ernst & Young. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Miami University’s Farmer School of Business and his master’s degree from Georgetown University.  

Huffman said he was drawn to Capital Square by the opportunity to grow a company and work with Rogers, a nationally recognized expert on Section 1031 exchanges and other real estate, tax and securities topics. Rogers spoke highly of Huffman, crediting him with recruiting younger executives and finding new markets, along with increasing acquisitions, raising funds and building a new development team. Huffman “joined, and our business doubled, tripled and quadrupled,” Rogers says.

Jacqueline Rogers, daughter of Louis Rogers, became Capital Square’s chief communications officer in April. Huffman is married to Rogers’ other daughter, Alexandra Huffman, managing director of Walker & Dunlop Inc.

Capital Square was named to Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing private companies this year for the sixth straight year. Its annual growth rate is 282% and it was ranked No. 2,117 on the most recent list. 

Capital Square has more than 100 employees, adding 50 staffers during the pandemic. 

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead Capital Square beside Louis as co-chief executive officer,” Huffman said in a statement. “It has been incredible to be a part of the company’s exceptional growth over the past five years, and I’m excited to continue the momentum with our talented team. Our motto at Capital Square is that we are building the future, and we’ve just gotten started.”

Since 2012, Capital Square has raised more than $3 billion in equity. In recent years, the company has become an active developer of mixed-use multifamily properties across the Southeastern U.S. It also has acquired medical and industrial properties. 

In June, Capital Square broke ground on a luxury apartment tower in Raleigh, North Carolina’s Warehouse District; in July, the company started construction on a luxury apartment hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. Capital Square also is the largest developer in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood, where it built the Ink, Viv and Gem apartment complexes. Another development, The Otis, has 350 units and is under construction and another development with three buildings at 2935 W. Clay St., 2944 W. Marshall St. and 2931 W. Marshall St. will have 350 units and is in early development. In total, Capital Square has 912 units in Scott’s Addition. 

In 2022, Capital Square had at least 16 closings, with two more expected in September. Recent multifamily acquisitions by Capital Square include the $98 million purchase in August of Rivergate, a 402-unit apartment community in Woodbridge. Between April and July, it also purchased Sterling Manor in Williamsburg, Hunter’s Chase in Chesterfield County and The Trails at Short Pump in Henrico County.

Having co-CEOs is a rare concept, but it’s caught on more recently, with examples including Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos at Netflix Inc., and Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor at Salesforce. In Virginia, Henrico-based Markel Corp. has co-CEOs, though Richard R. Whitt III will retire by March 31, 2023, leaving Thomas S. Gaynor as the company’s sole CEO. 

Of the 2,200 companies listed in the S&P 1200 and the Russell 1000 from 1996 to 2020, fewer than 100 were led by co-executives, according to the Harvard Business Review, which analyzed 87 companies with co-CEOs and found that nearly 60% of companies led by co-CEOs produced higher-than-average shareholder returns than their respective company indexes.

 

$55M affordable housing community moves forward in Richmond

The final two phases of Brady Square, a $55 million affordable housing community in Richmond, now have financing and approvals to move forward, developer Dakota Partners announced Tuesday.

The Massachusetts developer announced plans for the community in December 2021.

Dakota Partners purchased a 14.4-acre parcel at 2200 Brady St. on Richmond’s South Side. The complex will have 246 residential units. The first two phases, with 132 units and a community building, are under construction and 40-45% complete. The first phase is planned to include 66 units with 11 buildings and one community building; the second phase will be 66 units as well. The first phase is expected to be completed by May 2023 and the second in August 2023.

The third and fourth phases, each with 66 units, will bring the total to 264 units. Work on phase four started in early September and includes clearing the area for pads where its four buildings will stand. Phase four is expected to be completed in August 2023. The third phase will start at the end of September and is expected to be completed in May 2024.

All four phases will have one-, two- and three-bedroom garden and townhouse-style apartment units within two-story residential buildings.

Brady Square will target households earning 30%, 50% and 60% of the area median income household. The AMI in Richmond for 2020 was $51,421, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The undeveloped land was purchased from Drucker & Falk LLC, a Newport News-based commercial real estate company  focused on multifamily property management. Dakota received $700,000 from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund in July 2020 to help finance the first phase of the project, according to the state.