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byline: Robyn Sidersky

Va. Tech names 2 engineering department heads

Two departments in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering will have new leaders beginning this summer, the university announced this week.

Suneel Kodambaka has been named head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and will start July 1, and Ella Atkins will be head of the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace starting Aug. 1.

Kodambaka comes to Virginia Tech from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a faculty member in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering since 2007. He was also vice chair of undergraduate studies from 2013 to 2018 and the area director of the online master’s degree in structural materials and material science programs since 2019.

Kodambaka will replace Sean Corcoran, who was interim department head since David Clark retired in 2021.

His research has focused on the science underlying the synthesis and stability of advanced materials for aerospace, energy storage, optoelectronics and other industries. His work has been funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation and Northrop Grumman.

Kodambaka

Kodambaka earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Illinois-Champaign, a master’s in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a bachelor’s in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madres in India.

Atkins comes to Virginia Tech from the University of Michigan, where she is a professor of aerospace engineering and directs the Autonomous Aerospace Systems Lab. Until 2020, she served as associate director of the university’s Robotics Institute. She also spent a year as a technical fellow at Collins Aerospace.

Atkins’ research has focused on perception, decision making, and control algorithms to improve the performance and safety of unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility operations. Her research includes the investigation of airspace geofencing for safety and traffic management of unmanned aircraft systems, mapping out a smart service system for traffic management in low-altitude airspace, and cyber-physical communication for cooperative human-robot mobility.

“This is a pivotal moment, as the department is poised for remarkable growth and has the potential to become an even greater center of academic excellence,” Atkins said in a statement. “Enrollment and student demand for the program is high, and there is much excitement with the investment in new teaching and research facilities in both Blacksburg and in close proximity to government agencies. I am also thrilled at the chance to collaborate and strengthen existing partnerships on campus with the National Security Institute serving national security and defense needs and the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership supporting safety and policy of operations in autonomous and cyber-physical systems.”

Atkins has published more than 250 papers and advised more than 25 Ph.D. students.

She will succeed Eric Paterson, who led the department for nearly 10 years and was named executive director of the new Virginia Tech National Security Institute. Robert Canfield had been serving as interim department head.

Atkins earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s and Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan.

 

Metro CEO, COO resign, effective immediately

Paul J. Wiedefeld, general manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, is stepping aside, effective immediately instead of June 30, as he had planned, according to a statement he released Monday night.
“I have decided to make my retirement effective today to provide a more timely transition to Interim General Manager Andy Off,” the statement says.
Wiedefeld had announced his retirement in January and planned to retire six months later.
Wiedefeld was hired in November 2015 to lead the authority, which manages the Metrorail and Metrobus transportation systems in the Washington, D.C., region. On May 10, WMATA announced Randy Clarke as the next general manager.
Wiedefeld also accepted the resignation of Chief Operating Officer Joe Leader, also effective immediately.
“I believe conveying all authority of the General Manager’s office to Mr. Off better positions him to address the challenges that came to light this week, while preparing for the transition to the next CEO,” Wiedefeld said in a statement released by Metro. “Stepping aside a few weeks ahead of schedule is in the best interest of the agency and its workforce, whom I have been deeply proud to lead over the last six years.’
On Sunday, Metro announced it would remove 72 operators after finding that more than half of the system’s 500 rail operators have lapsed recertification. The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission identified the laspses in a recent review, which prompted Theresa M. Impastato, Metro’s executive vice president and chief safety officer, to further investigate.

“The WMATA Board of Directors received a safety briefing on Thursday that included learning that nearly half of all rail operators had lagging recertifications,” WMATA Board Chair Paul C. Smedberg said in a statement Sunday. “The Board finds this unacceptable and extremely disappointing. We support Metro management’s decision to immediately remove from service operators who became out of compliance more than a year ago as a first step. The Board directed Metro management to provide a full accounting of how and why this occurred and develop a plan to ensure it is remedied as fast as possible.”

With fewer operators, there is a reduction in service on the Green and Yellow lines, and extra trains to relieve crowding will not be available. Service is expected to be impacted until the end of May.

Metro estimates it will take two to three months to recertify more than 250 rail operators.

WMATA has had trials and tribulations during Wiedefeld’s tenure, particularly stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, when rider numbers plunged by 90% in 2020 and still have not recovered. Metro projects to be carrying about 75% of its former passengers by 2024. The agency also has had to sideline more than half of its rail cars since October 2021 due to a safety defect, which causes their wheels to widen from their axles and possibly run off track.

Wiedefeld also has overseen massive expansion of the Metrorail system, including the Dulles-bound Silver Line, reconstructing the platform at the Reagan Washington National Airport, building a new station at Potomac Yard and a second entrance to Arlington’s Crystal City Metro station, projects either completed or in progress. Wiedefeld said he expects to continue focusing on moving Metro’s headquarters, restoring full rail and bus service and opening the Silver Line extension. He also is credited for emphasizing safety through the SafeTrack program and developing a $2 billion annual capital program for repairs.

Before joining WMATA, he was CEO of BWI Airport and the Maryland Transit Administration.

“I thank Joe Leader for his tireless work and dedication, and I wish the men and women who move this city continued success. I am also very grateful to Metro’s customers, stakeholders, and board for your support,” he said in a statement released by Metro.
Metro Board Chair Paul C. Smedberg accepted the two resignations on behalf of the board of directors.
“The WMATA Board of Directors has accepted Paul Wiedefeld’s decision to make his retirement effective today. In addition, Chief Operating Officer Joe Leader has resigned, effective immediately,” Smedberg said in a statement.
“The Board appreciates Paul’s and Joe’s commitment to WMATA over the last six years. We feel the timing is right for Interim General Manager and CEO Andy Off to lead the organization through this critical transition period, with a continued emphasis on safety. Safety is and will continue to be our top priority. We will look to Andy’s leadership to ensure we continue on this path.”

Chesapeake office park sells for $5.7M

Poplar Hill Medical Center, a four-building medical office park in Chesapeake, has sold for $5.7 million, Divaris Real Estate Inc. announced Thursday.

Texas-based real estate fund manager Woodside purchased the park in December 2020 and sold it to Charlottesville-based Seminole Trail Properties in a deal that closed May 6.

When Woodside bought the property, it hired Divaris to lease and manage the asset. The park is 40,166 square feet and in less than a year went from 45% occupancy to 94% occupancy. The tenants are clinical and other offices, including primary care, dentistry, psychotherapy and wellness.

Jason Oliver and Rachel Salasky, with Divaris, represented the seller and brokered the sale.

Va. Beach’s Frank Lloyd Wright house is for sale

A Virginia Beach house designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright is back on the market for just under $3 million. 

The 3,020-square-foot home at the city’s North End, on Crystal Lake, was designed in 1953 for Andrew and Maude Cooke and completed in 1959. Maude Cooke wrote a letter to Wright seeking a design for the family’s home, as many enthusiasts did at the time.

It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and has a hemicycle design with floor-to-ceiling windows.

The Cooke house was built in the later part of Wright’s career, during his Usonian period, a term he used to refer to the United States, rather than American. The Usonian-era structures Wright built were developed to create well-designed houses for people of moderate income.

Wright’s later houses all had some sort of planning module, square, rectangle, diamond or hexagon, and then there were houses with radial patterns, like the Cooke house. 

“The Cooke house is really interesting because it has two types of patterns — radial pattern [in] the curved main part — but it also has what we call an inline section based on a rectangular grid,” said John Waters, preservations program manager for the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. “That’s one of the things that makes it interesting and unique.”

There are fewer than 400 existing Wright structures left. 

While it’s not uncommon for one of Wright’s houses to go on the market — this one has had a few owners in its time — in the past year, like the rest of the real estate market, the homes are moving quickly. The Cooke house is priced at $2,975,000 and has been on the market for about two weeks. The listing agent is Robin West with Rose & Womble Realty. 

Some owners collect them or use them as second homes, but the conservancy encourages that the houses be lived in, Waters said.

“What’s unique about the Cooke house is that it is one of his hemicycle houses,” said Lisa Schrenk, a professor of Architectural History at the University of Arizona, who studies Wright. “You’ve got that wonderful curving glass wall, focusing the view onto the property, and you’ve got the lake right there.” 

Wright, who died in 1959 at the age of 91, built three houses in Virginia, but the Cooke house is the only one in Hampton Roads. The other two are in Northern Virginia, including the Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, which has been relocated twice and is open for public tours.

Schrenk said Wright was interested in total works of art and not only designed the building but also the furniture in a way that the homeowner could not rearrange it. Some of Wright’s signature designs include tented ceilings and solid floors. 

“In a Wright house, regardless of its period, there is a continuity of design concept for the house,” Waters said. “Things carry through from the big picture down to the details.”

The Cooke house was renovated by the Duhl family, one of the previous owners, and it garnered a preservation award from the Hampton Roads chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.

The Duhl family, which owned the home beginning in 1983, restored it to Wright’s original design and then sold the home to a local businessman in 2016. He commissioned architect Lawrence “Duff” Kliewer Jr. with Cox, Kliewer & Co. PC for renovation consultation, according to Rose & Womble Realty, which is now listing the house. The kitchen and bathrooms were redesigned by KDW Home, and it now has new appliances, fixtures and a new heating system, and the woodwork has been restored to its original color. It still has the home’s original 40-foot long built-in sofa in the living room that faces the wall of windows with a view of Crystal Lake. 

Waters said the conservancy works with owners of Wright homes to be good stewards and help them sensitively restore the structures. 

“It really is important to find someone who is sensitive to the importance of the house,” he said. 

Wright’s houses are considered works of art. 

“I think it is like any great work of art in that sense, you’re always seeing new things,” Waters said. “The really compelling thing is more about what it gives back over time, in terms of its attention to detail.”

Publix to open first South Hampton Roads store

Publix Super Markets Inc. will open its first grocery store in South Hampton Roads in Suffolk, the company announced Thursday.

The 45,000-square-foot Publix will be on the southwest corner of Godwin Boulevard and Kings Fork Road, according to a news release. Publix has not given a timeline for the store’s opening. It will hire about 140 associates, a spokesman said.

Hampton Roads is one of the larger markets in Virginia where the Florida-based grocery giant has not yet expanded. Publix opened a store in Williamsburg in 2018 and has 19 total in the commonwealth.

In the area where the Publix will be built in Suffolk, there are projects in various stages of development.

In the first quarter, Publix’s sales were $13.2 billion, a 13.5% increase from last year. The chain employs more than 230,000 people. The privately-owned grocery chain had $48 billion of sales in 2021 and has 1,295 stores across the Southeast, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

This story has been updated to clarify that the Suffolk location is the first Publix in South Hampton Roads.

Clark Construction to expand in NoVa

Bethesda, Maryland-based Clark Construction Group LLC, the general contractor for several phases of Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2, announced plans Tuesday to expand the company’s footprint in the mid-Atlantic region, including building a 128,000-square-foot office in McLean.

The office will be at 7900 Westpark Drive in Fairfax County, and will “provide a modern and collaborative hub for Clark’s infrastructure, building and asset solutions teams along with many of Clark’s corporate departments that serve the company’s projects nationwide,” according to a news release. Clark has six other offices in the mid-Atlantic region and will double the size of its Baltimore office.

“Clark’s success for the past century has been deeply rooted in our commitment to creating an exceptional experience for our clients and our communities,” Clark CEO Robby Moser said in a statement. “Continuing to serve the region and harnessing the wealth of opportunities and talent that spans from Baltimore to Richmond requires a network of strategic locations. We are delighted to expand our office footprint throughout the region to meet the needs of our business, better serve our communities, and provide greater opportunities for our team.”

The company is renovating the space and will move there in the fall. It’s Clark’s third location in Virginia. The other two are affiliate Shirley Contracting Co.’s office in Lorton, and Clark Water’s office in Sterling. Clark also is in the process of establishing a Richmond office, it said in the release.

“Clark is an invaluable partner to the commonwealth, and we congratulate them on a new regional expansion into McLean,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “Their continued growth and success is a gain for the commonwealth, and I thank them for their continued endeavors in Virginia. Virginia can and will be a hub for growing businesses like Clark, new companies and job opportunities.”

Clark is the general contractor for the first phase of Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 in Arlington, as well as phases six, seven and eight for Metropolitan Park. The company also renovated, repositioned and made improvements to the 14-story building at 1770 Crystal Drive in Arlington. In addition, Clark is involved with the Interstate 95/Route 630 reconstruction and widening project in Stafford County, and it built the 1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use development The Boro in Tysons, the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Merrifield and other projects throughout Virginia.

“We have created an environment here in Fairfax County where companies like Clark see the value in investing and expanding,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay. “Clark Construction has played an important role in infrastructure development for Fairfax County and the region. Their projects have helped move our commuters along faster and strengthen our local businesses. We welcome them to Tysons and look forward to continuing this cooperative effort.”

 

Cobalt Real Estate Solutions names new CIO

Virginia Beach-based investment fund Cobalt Real Estate Solutions has named Tim McCann as its chief investment officer, the company announced Tuesday.

Cobalt, an affiliate of Divaris Real Estate Inc., is seeking to raise $50 million in equity to add $150 million in properties to its portfolio. and McCann will seek investment opportunities, develop investment strategy and policies, and work with equity and lending partners to grow Cobalt’s portfolio.

McCann is a 35-year veteran of the real estate industry and has worked for Broad Street Realty, Transwestern, Penrose, JP Morgan and AEW in roles including acquisitions, underwriting, mortgage origination and asset management, according to a news release.

“Tim brings tremendous competency and experience to this new role,” Gerald Divaris, chairman of Cobalt Real Estate Solutions and chairman and CEO of Divaris Real Estate, said in a statement.

Cobalt was established in 2017 and has assets in Virginia, Florida and Tennessee.

Capital Square names VP of marketing

Capital Square has promoted Sydney Hockaday to vice president of marketing, the Henrico County-based real estate investment firm announced May 9.

Hockaday joined Capital Square in 2018 as the firm’s marketing coordinator and has been promoted three times, first to marketing manager in 2019, then to assistant vice president of marketing in 2021 and most recently to vice president.

Hockaday supervises all social media accounts, coordinates company events, oversees new designs in marketing, advertising, photography and videography materials. She has overseen marketing for more than $4 billion in transaction volume and led the company’s corporate rebranding in 2019.

“I am extremely grateful to Louis and the other executives for providing the tools and opportunities to grow within the company,” Hockaday said in a statement. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my role in marketing over the years, and I’m excited to lead bigger, more strategic marketing initiatives in my new role to help Capital Square continue its success.”

Before joining Capital Square, Hockaday worked for a regional restaurant company and was communications manager for the Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation. She earned her bachelor’s in marketing from Virginia Tech.

Skanska to construct $69M Va. Tech building

Virginia Tech’s $69.5 million Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building will be constructed by Skanska and completed by April 2024, the Swedish builder announced Monday. Virginia Tech announced plans for the building in late March, and construction started in April.

The 102,000-square-foot building will provide teaching and laboratory space on the university’s Blacksburg campus. It will be four stories and have 26 wet, dry and specialty laboratories to be used by the colleges of science, engineering, College of Natural Resources and Environment and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The new building will also have graduate teaching assistant workspaces, classrooms, collaboration spaces, informal study areas, and space open to students at all hours.

The first floor will have what Virginia Tech calls the Discovery Suite, which includes wet and dry lab maker space that will “foster experiential learning by providing the space and equipment needed for student-led science projects conducted as part of a class or in partnership with industry,” Jill Sible, associate vice provost for undergraduate education, said in a statement.

Over the past 15 years, the number of undergraduates enrolled in science, technology, engineering, math and health science majors has increased 60%, according to the university, growing from 8,000 students to nearly 13,000.

The building was designed by Portland, Oregon-based ZGF Architects LLP. It will meet or exceed LEED Silver certification for sustainable design.

“The construction of the Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building is an exciting new phase in the realization of Virginia Tech’s vision for the north academic district,” Chris Kiwus, interim senior vice president and chief business officer, said in a statement. “This is possible only through the intentional coordination with our university partners.”

Metronet names Va. market leader

Fiber optic company Metronet hired Andrew Brummette in April to be its Virginia market leader, the company announced Monday.

Evansville, Indiana-based Metronet is expanding to Norfolk, its first foray into Virginia, where it will build a fiber optic network and offer internet service to city residents. Brummette is based in Norfolk, where Metronet has 11 associates based, along with three more remote workers. Metronet plans to hire other local market management positions, sales, customer service employees and service technicians to support the Norfolk area.

The company began construction earlier this year and has laid more than 30,000 feet of fiber cables so far, and it plans to start offering service to customers in the fall. Metronet serves more than 250 communities across the country.

Brummette joins Metronet from telecommunications company Segra, where he was a financial planning and analysis manager. He has more than 15 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, in sales, finance and business modeling, according to a news release from Metronet.

“Metronet’s fiber optic network and commitment to a superior customer experience has continuously impressed me, and I look forward to leading the Metronet experience in Norfolk and other communities as we expand,” Brummette said in a statement. “I’m excited to bring our future-proofed services to more residents and businesses throughout the state to aid in economic development while ensuring that residents, schools and businesses have access to the most reliable and fast internet speeds available.”