The pandemic hasn’t seemingly slowed down commercial real estate development and transactions in Hampton Roads.
Despite significant financial hits to the hospitality industry, the $125 million, 305-room Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront opened in June, the second phase of Gold Key | PHR’s three-phase, $350 million renovation and expansion of The Cavalier Resort.
Also in June, Suffolk-based TowneBank and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) jointly purchased for $30 million the 22-story Norfolk Southern Tower in downtown Norfolk from the Fortune 500 railroad corporation, which is in the process of migrating its corporate headquarters to Atlanta.
In the health care industry, Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare opened the $93.5 million, 253,000-square-foot Sentara Brock Cancer Center, a patient treatment and care facility in Norfolk, in June.
In Suffolk, Bon Secours is planning a $115.7 million, 67,000-square-foot expansion of the Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, for which it filed a certificate of public need in July.
On the horizon are two proposed casinos: the $300 million, 400,000-square-foot Rivers Casino Portsmouth and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s $500 million resort in Norfolk, both of which must be approved by local voters in November to move forward.
Faced with challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, many Hampton Roads businesses and universities are looking to drones for help. Unmanned flight systems also are likely to drive economic development in the future.
In May, when the fear of dwindling personal protective equipment was still fresh, the Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) partnered with Virginia Beach-based DroneUp to test how drones could assist medical professionals in delivering test samples and PPE with no contact between humans.
With 103 test launches at the former Saint Paul’s College site in Lawrenceville, DroneUp was able to successfully deliver 100 packages to partner organizations at stations set up around the 55-acre campus.
The company then started working in the spring on a white paper to be sent to the White House with recommendations for best practices and a blueprint for how other organizations and agencies can deploy drones. And although DroneUp couldn’t share specifics of where the project may be headed, company spokesperson Amy Wiegand says that this is an area the company will continue to work on.
DroneUp also has continued to expand its flight services through its April acquisition of Glenview, Illinois-based AeroVista Innovations LLC, which provides drone training for private and public sectors now as the DroneUp Training Academy. The company also added Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability to its app, which allows drone pilots to get airspace authorization with the Federal Aviation Administration, Wiegand says.
A drone lifts a payload during a test launch on the former campus of Saint Paul’s College. Photo courtesy DroneUp
“That continues to develop because technology grows and changes and evolves,” she says.
While DroneUp flexes its new capabilities, Old Dominion University’s Virginia Institute for Spaceflight & Autonomy (VISA) is hard at work to develop the Autonomy Research Institute for Societal Enhancement, or ARISE.
VISA, along with Hampton University and William & Mary, as well as REaKTOR, the National Institute of Aerospace and Longbow Group, plans to develop a center at Fort Monroe to look at integration of autonomous systems into public use across air, sea and land.
The group’s goals are economic development, workforce development and research, says VISA Executive Director Dave Bowles, and the organization has applied for funding through GO Virginia, the state-funded initiative to foster regional private-sector growth. Bowles says he expects to hear about the funding decision in late September.
“Hampton Roads is well-positioned to be a big player in [autonomous systems],” Bowles says. “We’ve got the port, the naval footprint and … I think autonomous systems can play a tremendous role in offshore wind for maintenance, inspection and supply. This center is a good complement to other assets the commonwealth has, and I think it could be a big [source] for bringing in new businesses into the area.”
Training professionals to use unmanned systems and bringing drone capabilities to the public will be key in the next phase of growth in the industry, he says.
The Virginia Open Data Cube, a collab-orative project involving NASA, VISA and ODU’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center (VMASC), combines data from satellites, drones and other sources and makes it available in an open-source format. It is already in use at higher education institutions and businesses in Hampton Roads to prepare for flooding associated with sea-level rise.
Having the information in one place will inform businesses and higher education institutions on how to better safeguard coastal resiliency, Bowles says.
Karen Jackson, chairman of the Unmanned Systems Association of Virginia, says that the industry is set to grow as a result of the pandemic, which has broadened the possibilities for deliveries.
“We’ve seen an acceptance level that is headed in the right direction, and it’s headed in a way that will only grow,” says Jackson, who served as state secretary of technology under Gov. Terry McAuliffe and is the New College Institute’s interim executive director.
Unmanned systems can speed up delivery times for companies and organizations, she says. “Part of that is it does take away proximity. Geography becomes much more simple when you can fly [instead of] drive. … As people get more comfortable with [drones], and people learn how to use them responsibly … the use cases are becoming more and more compelling.”
Five years ago, when Sandi Cauley opened her boutique fitness business, Turn Cardio Jam Studio, she did so on her own dime — not wanting to be strapped to loans and investors. But after the pandemic hit, she needed outside help to keep her business afloat.
After she had trouble securing a Paycheck Protection Program loan, Cauley turned to the city of Richmond, which in April launched a $1 million small business disaster loan program offering up to $20,000 to businesses within city limits. Forty-eight grants totaling nearly $935,000 were approved by August.
Cautious about interest rates, Cauley worked with the city to secure a conservative loan amount in case her business went under. But the stress of paying off the loan melted away in late July when the Richmond Economic Development Authority converted the loans into grants. In late August, the city launched another initiative, the $3 million Richmond Recovers Grant Program to aid small businesses and nonprofits. Both programs were funded by the $20.1 million the city received via the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
“I can’t say enough what a relief it is,” Cauley says about the loan being converted into a grant. “I didn’t want that hanging over my head.”
Cauley has been able to pay her utility bills and her staff, as well as purchase equipment for virtual classes.
“It really did carry us — and still is carrying us,” says Cauley, whose Scott’s Addition gym also offers small, physically distanced in-person workouts.
Some of Richmond CPA Nadia S. Anderson’s clients “didn’t miss a beat,” but others had to end their business relationship with her to make ends meet. She also has an event-planning business, Virginia Grace, which effectively dissolved during the pandemic, taking away about a third of her income.
With her assistance grant from the city, Anderson was able to pay her independent contractors and fill her own income gap. She also learned a valuable lesson about accepting help from others, even when she felt ambivalent about taking out a loan.
“There are a lot of small business owners who believe that being a small business owner means that you have to do everything yourself,” Anderson says. “[I encourage] people to make sure, as a small business owner, that you’re tuned in and that you … understand your business … so that when something changes you’re able to sustain and to recover.”
Only one year after CEO Mike Salvino took the reins, Tysons-based Fortune 500 IT company DXC Technology on Monday announced a major leadership overhaul, including naming new heads of its Americas, Asian Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa business segments, among others.
Salvino announced the following appointments and changes to the executive leadership team:
Americaswill be led byJim Brady and David Swift. Brady joined DXC in June from Accumen, where he was the chief operating officer. He previously worked with Accenture and Honeywell. Swift joined DXC in November 2019 from Accolade where he was chief service officer. He previously worked with Aon Hewitt and Accenture.
Asia Pacific will be led by Seelan Nayagam. Nayagam joined DXC six years ago leading Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) and will now also lead Asia. The units will operate as one business unit.
Europe, Middle East and Africawill be led by Tom PettitandSteve Turpie. Pettit joined DXC in June from Accenture where he spent 25 years, most recently as a senior managing director in Accenture’s Health and Public Services business. Turpie joined DXC in November 2019 and previously held senior roles in strategic sourcing and procurement at QBE Insurance Group Ltd. and Zurich Insurance Company.
DXC/Luxoft Analytics & Engineering will run by Dmitry Loschinin, formerly the CEO of Luxoft.
The company also announced the following changes in corporate functions:
Marketing and communicationswill be led byShari Wenker, chief marketing and communications officer. She joined DXC in April from Accenture, where she spent 24 years and most recently led marketing and communications for Accenture Technology.
Legal will continue to be led by Bill Deckelman, who has been general counsel and secretary for 12 years. Deckelman will transition his secretary responsibilities to Head of Corporate Legal Zafar Hasan, who joined DXC three years ago.
“I am very pleased with the leadership team that we have been able to create to drive the ‘new DXC’,” Salvino said in a statement. “We have attracted some outstanding industry talent and combined with the existing leaders have created a leadership team that has a strong track record of delivering for customers and people. I am looking forward to personally working with this team to continue to execute on our transformation journey.”
DXC Technology was formed in April 2017 as a result of the merger of Computer Science Corp. and the Enterprise Services business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company has 138,000 employees worldwide and last year had revenues of more than $21 billion.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids will invest $6.2 million to upgrade equipment and increase manufacturing capacity at its operations in Bland County, where it is the county’s largest private-sector employer. The expansion will add 40 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday.
“Hitachi ABB Power Grids has made tremendous contributions to Southwest Virginia and the commonwealth for nearly 50 years, and we look forward to our continued partnership with this expansion,” Northam said in a statement. “The company’s decision to invest in its Bland County facility is a testament to the region’s accessibility, integrated transportation network and skilled manufacturing workforce. We thank Hitachi ABB for its commitment to sustainable energy and for helping advance our Clean Energy Virginia initiative in rural parts of the commonwealth.”
The Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Bland facility has been in operation since 1972, designing and manufacturing medium voltage dry-type power transformers to be used to adjust and stabilize the voltage of electricity flowing between the electric grid and businesses, homes and factories. The company employs 800 people throughout Virginia, with approximately 332 working at its Bland County facility. The Bland County operation competed with other Hitachi manufacturing facilities across the United States for the project.
“With its proximity to key markets and range of transportation options, Virginia provides the right combination of location and access that makes it easy to get our products where they need to be,” Steve McKinney, Hitachi ABB Power Grids senior vice president and hub manager for transformer business in North America, said in a statement. “Perhaps most importantly, the commonwealth has a skilled workforce and is able to meet our advanced manufacturing needs. We look forward to building on our long, successful track record in Virginia.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) worked with the Bland County Economic Development Authority, the Virginia’s Industrial Advancement Alliance and the Port of Virginia to secure the project for Virginia. Northam approved a $140,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Bland County with the project, and the company is eligible to receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program. VEDP’s Virginia Jobs Investment Program will provide funding and services to support employee training.
“It is always good news when a multinational corporation like Hitachi ABB Power Grids chooses to expand, due in part, to the benefits provided by The Port of Virginia,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John Reinhart said in a statement. “We are expanding our capabilities to attract more companies like Hitachi ABB Power Grids, and we look forward to serving as its international trade gateway for decades to come.”
Henrico County-based real estate investment company Capital Square announced Monday it has hired Bernard R. “Ben” Vonderhaar as managing director and head of institutional fundraising.
Vonderhaar was most recently the managing director of fundraising at BlackGold Capital Management LP and has also served as managing director and head of the endowment and foundation, health care and family office practices at Highland Capital Management LP, as well as managing director of the Central and Southwest division at Commonfund.
“We are thrilled that Ben Vonderhaar has joined Capital Square to assist with institutional fundraising,” Capital Square founder and CEO Louis Rogers said in a statement. “Capital Square has sponsored more than $2.2 billion of tax-advantaged real estate investments through the retail broker-dealer, RIA and wealth manager channels. It is a natural progression for Capital Square to use its growing platform, skills and expertise to sponsor larger, institutional investment programs and Ben is the right person to help us get there.”
Vonderhaar is a guest lecturer at William & Mary Mason School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business and the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business. He also has served as an adjunct professor at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Findlay and his master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in economics from Ashland University.
“I am pleased to join Capital Square to expand its institutional fundraising,” Vonderhaar said in a statement. “Capital Square has proven expertise in successfully sponsoring and managing real estate investments that would benefit institutional investors seeking superior risk-adjusted returns.”
Todd Stottlemyer, CEO of McLean-based health information technology provider CNSI, is the 2020 recipient of the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s (NVTC) annual Michael G. Devine Hall of Fame Award for his contributions to the technology business community.
“Todd Stottlemyer’s induction into the NVTC Hall of Fame is a well-deserved honor,” Greg Baroni, chairman and CEO of Attain LLC and NVTC board chair, said in a statement. “Throughout his career, and particularly during his tenure leading the NVTC Board, Todd has been one of our region’s superstars. He continues to make a direct and significant impact on growing the technology community in Northern Virginia and Greater Washington.”
The Michael G. Devine Hall of Fame Award is presented annually to a leader whose contributions have had a significant impact on the National Capital Region’s technology business community during his or her career. Stottlemyer, former chair of the NVTC Board of Directors, was honored Thursday night at the annual Greater Washington Technology CFO Awards event.
“It is a tremendous honor to receive the Michael G. Devine Hall of Fame Award,” Stottlemyer said in a statement. “Mike Devine set the standard for what it means to be a hall of fame honoree. I am deeply humbled to join such a distinguished group of past recipients and technology industry stalwarts, including two of my longtime friends and mentors, Mike Daniels and Bill Conway.”
Before joining CNSI in 2018, Stottlemyer served as the CEO for the Inova Health System’s Center for Personalized Health and also served in executive leadership positions with technology firms including Acentia (now part of Maximus), Apogen Technologies (now part of Perspecta Inc.) as well as McGuireWoods Consulting, BTG (now part of L-3) and BDM International (now part of Northrop Grumman Corp.)
He currently serves as a venture partner for Blue Delta Capital Partners and is on the boards of LMI, IST Research, Verato, The Peterson Cos. and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. He is also a former chair of the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and has served as a commissioner on the Fairfax CountyEconomic Development Authority and as a member of the William & Mary Board of Visitors, serving as rector for five years.
An office building in Henrico County has sold for $5.85 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced Wednesday.
Located at 4461 Cox Rd. in the Innsbrook Corporate Center, the 70,000-square-foot office building was approximately 50% occupied at the time of the sale, with printing software company TriMech as the main tenant, says Evan M. Magrill with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.
Mortgage lender CapCenter, also currently located in Innsbrook, purchased the three-story Class A office building from Banks Bros. Building LLC. to accommodate its growth.
Magrill and N. Dean Meyer with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the seller in the transaction.
Under the contract, Alion will provide services including enterprise protection risk management to mitigate the compromise, loss, unauthorized access/disclosure, destruction, distortion or nonaccessibility of mission-related information, according to the DOD.
Work on the contract will be performed in McLean and is expected to be completed by Sept. 24, 2025. The Air Force obligated $352,000 at the time of the award.
Founded in 2002, Alion specializes in training, big data analytics and cybersecurity. The company has more than 55 offices in the U.S. and more than 25 research labs.
The Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) awarded Tysons-based tech company MicroTech a $65 million task order to provide information technology and software consolidation services and support, the company announced Thursday.
Under the task order, MicroTech will perform services to support Ginnie Mae’s mortgage-backed securities platform, including reviewing requirements for new functionality, interfaces and data gathering to support the association’s data center migration, modernization and enhancement efforts.
“MicroTech is excited about supporting the critical work performed by Ginnie Mae, which plays such an important role in our nation’s economy,” MicroTech President and CEO Tony Jimenez said in a statement. “This contract award continues to demonstrate our commitment to quality and excellence and builds upon our already successful performance history of bringing innovation, industry best practices and outstanding quality management processes to our government customers.”
Ginnie Mae serves as the main financing arm for government mortgage loans and ensures mortgage lenders have funds to provide loans to customers. MicroTech’s support will allow Ginnie Mae to keep pace with the growing mortgage-backed securities market, according to a company statement.
Founded in 2004, MicroTech provides IT, cybersecurity, cloud computing and telecommunications services to government agencies as well as public and commercial clients.
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