Richmond council clears way for $325M VCU Health project
Richmond City Council approved the sale of the city’s Public Safety Building on Monday, clearing the way for a $325 million VCU Health System medical office tower and multi-use project downtown. Council members unanimously approved the 3-acre property’s $3.5 million sale to Capital City Partners LLC, a collaboration [...]
Double play
Hampton Roads will be home to two Las Vegas-style casino complexes after Norfolk and Portsmouth voters overwhelmingly approved November 2020 referendums greenlighting the projects in their cities. The referendums passed with 64.4% of the vote in Norfolk and 66.7% in Portsmouth. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is working with Tennessee[...]
Moving forward
In a difficult year haunted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Central Virginia region persevered — and in some cases made economic progress. Henrico County led all other localities with a blockbuster endorsement of a $2.3 billion project, GreenCity, that would promote environmental sustainability and bring a 17,000-seat arena t[...]
Chambers of commerce
STATEWIDE Asian American Chamber of Commerce Tysons (571) 633-9754 asian-americanchamber.org Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce Richmond (804) 344-1540 aabac.org Virginia Chamber of Commerce Richmond (804) 644-1607 vachamber.com Virginia Hispanic Chamber North Chesterfield (804) 378-4099 vahcc.com CENTRAL VIRGINIA Altavista Area Chamber of Commerce Altavista (434) 369-6665 altavistachamber.com Amelia C[...]
A slow climb back
After the pandemic hit in mid-March 2020, many industries hit pause on big decisions. But it didn’t take long for Virginia’s economic development departments to perk back up. In May 2020, Microsoft Corp. announced it would expand its presence in Reston Town Center by launching a software development and research hub, creatin[...]
‘As resilient as you get’
After sealing the deal on Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters as Arlington’s economic development director in late 2018, Victor Hoskins took his talents to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) in August 2019. But instead of competing with his Northern Virginia neighbors when he t[...]
Richmond confirms six eligible bids for casino, seeks public input
Place your bets. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s office confirmed Friday that the six casino proposals made public this week all submitted proposals that are eligible for consideration by Richmond City Council and voters. The city also revealed the proposed locations for all six plans. Bally’s Corp. and Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos are interested in […]
UPDATED: Golden Nugget, Wind Creek enter proposals to build Richmond casino
Updated 3 p.m., Feb. 24 Joining at least four other groups competing to be chosen as Richmond’s choice for a casino operator, bids from two other casino companies were made public Wednesday. Houston-based Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos has proposed a $400 million casino project about six miles from downtown, and Wind C[...]
Textiles startup opening Buchanan County sewing factory
Local textiles manufacturing startup Maine Five is opening a sewing factory at Buchanan County’s Council Industrial Park building. Investing $350,000 in the 17,211-square-foot factory space, the company is immediately hiring 12 workers and has plans to employ to 100 total workers by 2026. Founded in 2020, Maine Five manufa[...]
UPDATED: Richmond now has six major casino proposals
Updated Feb. 26 The city of Richmond is now considering six casino proposals, the mayor’s office announced Friday. Monday afternoon was the city’s deadline for its request for proposals, and all six submitted were deemed eligible. Starting next month, Richmond will hold public meetings with opportunities for citizen [...]
Greater Richmond Partnership taps new CEO
Greater Richmond Partnership’s board announced Monday that Jennifer Wakefield, the regional economic development organization’s interim leader, has been chosen as its permanent president and CEO, effective immediately. Wakefield, who previously was chief operating officer and served twice as the partnership’s i[...]
Northam announces $3.6M expansion of Eaton in Henrico
Power management manufacturer and supplier Eaton Corp. plc will invest $3.6 million to move production from California to its facility in Henrico County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The move will create 80 jobs through the expansion of the Henrico facility’s production capabilities and the addition of new lines for electrical component manufacturing. Eaton, an […]