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A shopping center in Christiansburg has sold for $3.25 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.
Located at 290 Peppers Ferry Road, the 9,525-square-foot retail center sold to Collegiate Investment 290 LLC as an investment. Pepper’s Ferry Plaza was owned by Family Peppers Ferry LLC and its tenants include Subway, Mattress Warehouse and a Virginia ABC store.
Jessica A. Johnson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale on behalf of the seller.
Amid its inaugural virtual semester, the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria is already kickstarting its future tech talent production through the creation of an advisory board, for which top Virginia executives will provide guidance to the campus on business partnerships and projects.
Top executives from Qualcomm, Boeing, KPMG, Northrop Grumman, The Carlyle Group and Hunch Analytics and other regional tech players will bring their expertise to the advisory board, making suggestions and facilitating regional partnerships with employers with a goal of closing the talent gap and making Virginia a tech hub.
“This distinguished and diverse group is united by a commitment to help us grow the ideas and talent required for economic growth and global leadership,” Virginia Tech President Sands said in a statement. “We are grateful for their service and we expect them to challenge us to set ambitious goals and push us to achieve them.”
The advisory board includes:
The Innovation Campus, which was announced as part of Virginia’s successful bid to attract Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 to the region, is expected to produce 750 computer science graduates each year by the end of the decade and is anticipated to fill the tech supply gap in Virginia’s economy. Greater Washington Partnership Chair Russ Ramsey says that by 2025 it’s expected that there will be 60,000 more tech jobs than Virginia can supply, which is why the Innovation Campus is opening at just the right time.
“Now with COVID, the role of higher education is going to be even more important,” says Ramsey, who serves on the advisory board and also serves as chair of Capital CoLAB, an initiative promoting collaboration among the region’s universities and businesses. “Given the tremendous spotlight on digital skills and virtualization … throughout society … my goal … for Virginia Tech, coming within steps of Amazon HQ2, is to be able to beat this skills gap.”
Lance Collins, who just completed his fifth week as vice president and executive director of Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, says that the Innovation Campus, as a graduate-level institution will work more closely with the business community as a whole than other college campuses.
“The Innovation Campus is different than a traditional academic campus in that it’s by design [intended to] be strongly integrated with companies, nonprofits and even potentially government agencies,” Collins says. “ It’s really got this strong engagement with the community. In order to build all of those linkages with those entities you really do need a strong group of people to help to think about what are the most important technology areas that are emerging.” Collins came to Tech from Cornell University, where he served as the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering for 10 years.
One of those leaders is Sanju Bansal, founder and CEO of Hunch Analytics, who will serve as chair of the advisory board. He says his hope for the Innovation Campus will be to bring more tech jobs and innovations to the state.
“I would be thrilled for students … to come out, have ideas for companies and … start them here in Virginia … instead of going to Cambridge or Silicon Valley. It will be a seeding function,” Bansal says. “One of the ongoing frustrations is the fact that the labor pool in this area is quite talented … but we don’t have a very digital-ready workforce — that is, people who can build product that is world-scale. I always thought it would be nice to have more capacity indigenous to the region.”
Bringing talent and jobs back to Virginia is a win-win for the Innovation Campus, business partners and the advisory board, Collins says.
“There’s a sense of excitement around really elevating technology in the Greater D.C. region and they’re excited about that prospect because they benefit from it,” he says. “It’s a virtuous cycle — if we succeed, they succeed.”
Innovation Campus classes are being conducted online this semester due to the pandemic. The Innovation Campus’ first academic building is on track to start construction next year and open in August 2024. In the meantime, faculty offices and course instructors will operate out of Tech’s current Falls Church satellite location.
A survey released Friday by Virginia Commonwealth University and Arizona State University economists indicates that the U.S. employment rate slightly increased during the week ending Sept. 12 to 64.5%, a 2.1% increase from two weeks prior.
Although an improvement, the employment rate currently remains well below its February level of 73.8%, according to the Real-Time Population Survey conducted by VCU business professor Adam Blandin and ASU’s Alexander Bick, an associate professor of economics.
The unemployment rate also decreased by 1.2% during the week of Sept. 6 through Sept. 12, according to the report. Labor force participation, or those who are both employed and at work, increased slightly, but has been fairly flat since June.
The latest survey also showed that among those who were employed in February, 29.6% have had a loss in earnings as of the week ending Sept. 12, which is down from 38.8% in mid-April. This indicates that “some earnings losses experienced early in the pandemic were temporary in nature, according to the survey.” More than one-third of those who are earning less are working but have taken a pay cut relative to February, according to the survey.
Of those working, less than two-thirds are still working for the same employer as in February, with the remaining working for a different employer or not working at all.
“Net increases in employment since April came primarily from a growing number of individuals working for a new employer, rather than returning to their employer from February,” according to the survey. “Among those who worked in February but are not currently working, less than half believe they would be able to return to their previous employer, even if conditions were to improve rapidly.”
The survey is conducted in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and follows the methodology of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Study.
Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday signed legislation that will bring zero-emission electric buses to Virginia as part of an initiative to change public transportation in Hampton Roads.
Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Louise Lucas and Del. Alex Askew creates the first-ever dedicated Hampton Roads Regional Transit Program and Fund, which will be managed by the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission.
“This legislation provides critical funding to increase access to public transit in a vital economic region of the commonwealth,” Northam said in a statement. “The transition to all-electric transportation in the Hampton Roads area will help combat climate change, reduce pollution, and drive a clean energy future across Virginia.”
Under the new law, cities will continue funding public transit, but Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) will implement a new regional program of routes paid for with statewide and regional funding.
“We’re making history today that will benefit commuters and businesses across Hampton Roads for years to come,” HRT President and CEO William Harrell said in a statement. “A mix of reliable transit funding is long overdue, and better connections and faster commutes on public transportation will benefit everyone, even those who don’t ride the system themselves.”
HRT will develop a network of bus routes with new buses and amenities, along with mobile ticketing and improved technology, which will launch in Hampton and Newport News in 2022. The network will eventually include 13 core bus routes and limited-stop services.
HRT’s bus fleet will include Virginia’s first public transit buses that are all-electric and produce zero emissions. The six electric transit buses use advanced battery technology and were manufactured by Proterra in Greenville, South Carolina. The electric buses will be used on Route 20, which runs between the Downtown Norfolk Transit Center and the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
“Investing in the transition away from dirty transportation fuels is a critical step, and the commonwealth will continue to develop projects and partnerships to move us toward cleaner transportation,” Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew J. Strickler said in a statement.
The bus project will be supported by the Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s MERIT prioritization program, which is funded by the Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Transportation Voucher Program, the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust and the Federal Transit Administration’s Low- or No-Emission program. In October 2018, Northam announced that the commonwealth would allocate $14 million, or 15% of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust to fund all-electric buses in Virginia.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor Leidos Holdings Inc. a five-year, $89 million task order to support energetics research and development for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OUSD) and the Combat Capability Development Command, Armament Center (CCDC-AC), the company announced Friday.
Under the task order awarded by the U.S. Air Force’s Installation Contracting Agency, Leidos will provide research and development focused on designing, synthesizing and scaling up energetic materials.
“For more than 30 years, Leidos has provided innovative advancements in energetics research and development, and we are excited to continue this work for the U.S. Air Force,” Michael White, Leidos vice president of the mission operations and infrastructure protection division, said in a statement. “We remain committed to the OUSD and CCDC-AC missions, the Picatinny Arsenal community and delivering critical technologies to the warfighter quickly and affordably.”
Work on the contract will be performed in Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey.
With annual revenues of $11.09 billion last year and 37,000 employees, Leidos specializes in technology and engineering services for defense agencies.
The Virginia Department of Health on Friday announced the first COVID-19 death of a child under the age of 19 in the commonwealth.
The adolescent was a resident in the Southside Health District, which covers Brunswick, Halifax and Mecklenburg counties, but VDH said it would not disclose further information about the teenager due to privacy restrictions and out of respect for the patient’s family.
“We were extremely saddened to learn of the loss of the state’s first adolescent with COVID-19. On behalf of all of us at VDH, I extend sincere condolences to the teenager’s family and loved ones,” State Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver said in a statement. “No age group is immune from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this unfortunate event, along with the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases we are seeing in some areas of the commonwealth, is a reminder that we all need to do our part to help slow the spread of virus in the community.”
The death will be reflected on the state’s Saturday, Sept. 19, data dashboard update. As of Friday, VDH reported 138,702 cases, 10,520 hospitalizations and 2,949 deaths.
Below is the latest from VDH:
In August, Virginia employers recovered a total of 68,000 jobs (a 1.8% increase from July), but the commonwealth is still 212,600 jobs shy of where it was last year, according to employment statistics released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.
“Despite the sizable increase in August, total employment remains way below the pre-pandemic level,” says Joe Mengedoth, a regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. “The total number of jobs that were lost in March and April were almost 440,000, and over the last four months, a total of 188,000 jobs were added back. That’s a recovery of about 43% of the jobs that were lost. So this shows that there’s still quite a ways to go.” Virginia tied with New Jersey and New York for having the largest increase in jobs between July and August, however, according to DOL statistics.
In terms of unemployment, the jobless rate in Virginia fell to 6.1% in August, which Mengedoth says reflects both a decline in the number of unemployed workers and an increase in the labor force. The peak unemployment rate in Virginia during the pandemic was 11.2% in April — but before the pandemic it was at only 2.6%.
The largest job increase occurred in Northern Virginia, which added 30,100 jobs in August, with Richmond having the second-highest increase adding 8,700 jobs. Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Newport News added 7,700 jobs, while Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford added 3,000, Harrisonburg added 1,500, Roanoke added 1,300, Charlottesville added 1,100, Lynchburg added 900 and Staunton/Waynesboro and Winchester added 200 jobs.
Nearly every major sector in Virginia added jobs in August, with the largest gain in the government sector, which added 40,800 jobs. More than 32,000 of those jobs are in local government. The next largest gain was in the sector including transportation, wholesale and retail, which added 10,500 jobs — most of which were in retail. Information services was the only unchanged industry at 66,300 total jobs. Mining declined by 100 jobs and manufacturing declined by 900 jobs in August.
While the hospitality and tourism industry saw an increase in jobs during the month by 6,300 jobs, it still remains the most depressed industry in the state, Mengedoth says, especially compared to its pre-pandemic level and its year-ago level. “Overall, compared to last year, [the hospitality] industry is down 20.3%,” Mengedoth says. The industry has lost about 83,000 jobs, according to data released by the Virginia Employment Commission.
One industry, however, is actually ahead of its year-ago level — construction.
“Construction was actually relatively unscathed by the pandemic,” says Mengedoth. “Employment did decline sharply in April … construction was considered an essential activity, so that industry really did bounce back quickly.” Construction is now running 2% ahead of where it was during the same time last year.
Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday voted early in person at the Richmond general registrar’s office on the first day of Virginia’s 45-day early voting period.
Amid the pandemic, Virginians, through a new law, are permitted to vote absentee by mail or in person at their local registrar’s office or satellite locations. Under legislation signed by Northam, Virginian voters do not have to provide a reason for early voting, which permits any Virginia voter to cast their ballot early. For in-person voting, Virginians can — starting Friday, Sept. 18 — vote absentee in person at their local registrar’s office until Oct. 31.
Traditional in-person voting will also be available on Nov. 3, Election Day, as usual. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 and Virginia has allocated federal CARES Act funding for personal protective equipment at the polls. Virginia Medical Reserve Corps volunteers will also help at polls to ensure social distancing and sanitation measures are followed.
“Virginians can be confident their vote is secure, and will be counted,” Northam said in a statement. “While the pandemic has made this an unprecedented election year, Virginia voters have several safe and easy ways to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Voting is an essential part of our democracy, and I encourage every Virginia voter to know their options and make a plan for safely casting their ballot.”
Due to the pandemic, the Northam administration expects a higher number of Virginians to vote by mail for the 2020 election. The Department of Elections reported Thursday that it had received 824,000 requests for absentee ballots by mail — but in the 2016 General Election, only 566,000 absentee ballots were cast, half of which were by mail.
Virginians have several options to vote in the 2020 General Election including absentee by mail, absentee through drop-off locations, early in-person absentee voting and Election Day in-person voting.
Beginning Friday, Virginia general registrars will mail absentee ballots to voters who request them. The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Friday, Oct. 23 at 5:00 p.m. Absentee ballots include a return envelope with prepaid postage and must be postmarked by Nov. 3. All absentee ballots also include a barcode and election mail insignia for added security. Voters can track their ballot once it leaves the registrar’s office so a voter can know when it has been mailed to them and delivered back to the registrar.
Absentee ballots can also be hand delivered to the registrar’s office or be returned to a secure drop-off location. Locations are available through locality websites, and absentee ballots can also be dropped off at polling locations on Election Day.
The Metro Board of Directors is contemplating $200 million in spending cuts to maintain a balanced budget in the event that federal CARES Act funding runs out, which could lead to service cuts, shorter hours and layoffs.
On Friday, the board for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) voted on potential service cuts, schedule changes and layoffs, which, according to the board, would be necessary to balance the budget, which Metro is required to do. The board estimates it will deplete its share of federal CARES Act funding by the end of the year that has been used to maintain public transit while ridership and revenue has dropped as much as 90% on some lines.
“CARES Act funding has replaced fare revenue,” WMATA General Manager and CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement. “If that funding isn’t there after December, Metro will need to implement measures that hurt the region’s economic recovery and adversely impact essential workers.” Fare revenue typically accounts for approximately 28% of Metro’s operating budget.
“As tough as these choices are for this fiscal year, much deeper and more painful cuts will be required for the next fiscal year if federal relief doesn’t arrive in time,” Board Chair Paul Smedberg said in a statement. “We hope people who depend on Metro will come forward to share their views about the proposed changes before the board makes a final decision in November.” According to WMATA, Metrorail ridership is at only 12% of what it was pre-pandemic and is not expected to return to anywhere close to normal until a vaccine is widely available.
In addition to potential service cuts and layoffs, Metro has also delayed capital projects, cut back on contractors and froze vacancies to cover the $200 million shortfall.
“Metro is what drives the region’s economy and moves our federal workforce,” Wiedefeld said in a statement. “Cutting service, shortening operating hours, laying off and furloughing workers – these all run counter to the strong recovery that everyone wants.”
Proposed changes include:
Metrorail
Metrobus
The Metro Board of Directors will ask customers and residents to provide feedback on the service reductions during a public comment period, of which further details will be announced later.
Reston-based Fortune 500 defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) announced Thursday it would restructure itself along two business lines as Jim Scanlon, a longtime leader with the company and current head of SAIC’s Defense Systems Group, prepares to retire in January.
Starting in the fiscal year fourth quarter, SAIC will operate under two lines of business, as of Oct. 31: defense and civilian, to be led by Sector President Bob Genter, and National Security and Space, to be led by Sector President Michael LaRouche. The restructuring will allow SAIC to “accelerate strategic growth priorities in areas such as digital engineering, digital transformation and space,” according to a company statement. Genter is currently the executive vice president and general manager of its civilian business and LaRouche is currently executive vice president and general manager of the company’s national security group.
After more than 30 years with SAIC, Scanlon, executive vice president and general manager of the current Defense Systems Group, will retire on Jan. 29, 2021, assisting the company’s transition and new organizational structure. He began his time with the company as a project engineer and started leading the defense systems division in 2017, having previously overseen SAIC’s Army business unit. He also played a major role in the company’s 2013 split from Leidos Holdings Inc.
“For more than three decades, Jim has been an important leader in shaping the SAIC we all know today. We wish him the best and thank him for all he has done for our customers, our people and our company,” SAIC CEO Nazzic Keene said in a statement. “With Jim’s retirement, we reevaluated our organizational structure, as we always look to best align with our business strategy and growth priorities.”
SAIC employs more than 25,000 people and has pro forma annual revenues of $7.1 billion.
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