September For the Record
Roanoke/New River Valley Apex Clean Energy is appealing a decision that it ran out of time for its Rocky Forge Wind project in Botetourt County, a proposed complex of 14 mountaintop wind turbines atop North Mountain that would stand about twice as tall as the Wells Fargo tower in downtown Roanoke. Apex informed the county […]
AUGUST 2021 FOR THE RECORD
Roanoke/New River Valley Three off-campus housing complexes in Blacksburg geared toward Virginia Tech students were sold for $146 million in a deal announced by Berkadia in late June. The buyer, California-based Reliant Group, added the portfolio to its earlier purchase of another student housing property near Virginia Tech. A Reliant Group-connected LLC purchased Hunters Ridge, […]
June For The Record
Roanoke/ New River Valley In late April, Salem-based LewisGale Regional Health System broke ground for a new freestanding emergency room in Roanoke. Located on West Ruritan Road, the nearly 10,000-square-foot facility will be named LewisGale Medical Center Blue Hills ER and staffed with board-certified emergency room physicians and nurses. It is expected to open in […]
For The Record May 2021
Roanoke/New River Valley A proposal under consideration by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget could redefine Blacksburg and the New River Valley area from a federal metropolitan statistical area to a micropolitan statistical area. Blacksburg is one of 144 localities nationwide that could be impacted by the potential change that would raise the population […]
April For The Record
Roanoke/New River Valley Strasburg-based First National Corp. (the bank holding company of First Bank) announced in February it will acquire The Bank of Fincastle. Financial terms of the transaction were not released, but the combined bank is expected to have approximately $1.2 billion in assets, $868 million in loans, $1 billio[...]
FOR THE RECORD February 2021
Central Virginia Stockholders of CarLotz Inc., the Chesterfield County-based consignment dealer of used cars, gave the requisite approval to complete a proposed merger with Miami-based special purpose acquisition company Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp. that was scheduled to close in late January. Upon the consummation of the merger, CarLotz, which is valued at $827 million, is […]
For the Record January 2021
Roanoke/New River Valley “Dopesick,” an eight-episode limited Hulu series, will film in Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley and the Roanoke region through the spring, Gov. Ralph Northam announced in November 2020. Based on the bestselling nonfiction book “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America,” by Roanoke journalist Beth Macy, the series will […]
December For The Record
Eastern Virginia In early November, the U.S. Navy awarded Newport News-based Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. (ATAC) a potential five-year, $441.58 million contract to provide subsonic and supersonic aircraft for the branch’s fleet training operations. Under the contract, ATAC will supply Type IV supersonic (which exceed the speed of sound) and Type III high subsonic (which […]
November 2020 – For The Record
Eastern Virginia The offshore wind industry could create up to 5,200 jobs in Virginia (with a majority in Hampton Roads), generating an estimated $740 million in total economic activity during the next several years, according to an economic impact analysis released in late September by the Hampton Roads Alliance. Dominion Energy Inc. recently completed installation […]
October 2020 – For The Record
Shenandoah Valley The Frederick County Economic Development Authority in late August allocated $1 million of federal CARES Act funds for a business grant program that would award grants of $5,000, $7,500 and $10,000 to businesses that were impacted by the pandemic. The Augusta County Economic Development Authority (EDA) also announced in early September it has […]
September 2020 — For the Record
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA Danville voters will weigh in on a local casino in November, after a circuit judge ordered a referendum to appear on the ballot. Caesars Virginia, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corp., plans to construct and operate a $400 million casino at the former Dan River Mills industrial complex in Schoolfield. The General Assembly […]
August 2020 – For the Record
EASTERN VIRGINIA The Breeden Co. has plans for a new 240-unit apartment complex at the former Farm Fresh building at the heart of Virginia Beach’s Laskin Road Gateway. The initial development plans for Pinnacle at 31st Street were still being reviewed by the city in early July. The plans feature a two-level parking deck below […]