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TowneBank acquires Tennessee cabin rental company
Suffolk-based TowneBank acquired Tennessee-based vacation property rental company Venture Resorts Inc. on July 1, the bank announced Monday. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. “This is an exciting development for Towne Vacations,” Brian Skinner, president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group, the d[...]
Northam proposes $353M for small biz, tourism relief
Ahead of the General Assembly’s August special session, Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday he wants to spend $353 million of Virginia’s federal relief funding on small business recovery and assisting the tourism industry. Virginia received $4.3 billion in federal funds through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in[...]
Va. Museum of Fine Arts plans $190M expansion
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has hired the Detroit-based firm SmithGroup to design a new wing of the Richmond museum in a $190 million expansion and renovation project announced Tuesday. The new wing will provide space for African art, photography and 21st-century works, according to the museum. Construction is expected to b[...]
Va. hotel revenues increased by 178% in May
Virginia hotel revenues for May 2021 increased by 178% compared with May 2020, according to data released Tuesday by STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. During the same period, rooms sold went up by 96%. The average daily rate (ADR) paid for hotel rooms rose 42% […]
Richmond City Council approves casino referendum, which heads next to voters
Richmond City Council on Monday voted 8-1 for a casino referendum to appear on the city’s Nov. 2 ballot. If passed by city voters, the proposed $600 million ONE Casino + Resort would be the only casino under Black ownership in the country. Urban One Inc., which owns and operates 55 radio stations and the […]
State program would incentivize new workers with up to $1,000
To combat Virginia’s tight labor market, the state plans to invest $3 million in a program to provide new employees of qualifying small businesses with up to $1,000 to support their transition back into the workforce, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday. The Virginia Return to Earn grant program will match up to $500 from [...]
Indie movie starring Jon Heder to film in Central Va. this summer
“Tapawingo,” an indie feature film starring Jon Heder and Billy Zane, will film in Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond this summer, Gov. Ralph Northam announced June 4. Directed by Dylan K. Narang, it’s described as a coming-of-age comedy centered on “a listless oddball who becomes the unlikely bodyguard for a misfit t[...]
Petersburg sues to demolish old Ramada
The city of Petersburg filed a lawsuit Friday against the company owned by developer and former NFL player Chris Harrison, who promised in 2015 to replace the city’s shuttered and dilapidated Ramada Inn with a brand-new hotel, 100 apartment units and retail space. Six years later, redevelopment has not taken place. In Frid[...]
Shamin Hotels purchases Va. Beach Hampton Inn
Chesterfield County-based Shamin Hotels has purchased the 120-room Hampton Inn property on Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront, Grand Bay Advisors, which represented the seller in the transaction, announced Friday. The sale amount was not disclosed, but the land and building are assessed at $20.6 million, according to city records[...]
Rolling out the red carpet
With high-speed subsea internet cables landing on Virginia Beach’s shores and massive wind turbines propelling off its coast, the state’s largest city is primed to welcome new businesses and industries generating high-end jobs. “Virginia Beach is going to be the epicenter of economic development on the East Coast,” says [...]
Play ball!
Minor League Baseball is back for 2021, after the coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 season. And there’s no question that this summer will look much different than a typical baseball season. But the Richmond Flying Squirrels are optimistic. The team kicked off its season May 4. All fans who had vouchers or credits for 2020[...]
Help wanted
Twenty years ago, John Zirkle was just starting out in the Virginia Beach hotel business as a houseman, stripping bed sheets and doing laundry. Fast-forward to today and he is general manager of the Doubletree by Hilton at Virginia Beach and president of the beach’s hotel association. Lately, though, Zirkle’s had to recall s[...]
