Seeing the sites
Despite boasting a world-class port, a highly skilled workforce and easily accessible transportation infrastructures, Hampton Roads perennially comes away empty-handed in attracting large-scale industrial developments. Chalk it up to the region’s lack of shovel-ready sites, a situation that state and local economic develop[...]
Fairfax, Petersburg could hold casino referendums
Two pending Virginia State Senate bills would change the list of locations eligible to host a casino, adding Petersburg and Fairfax County to the mix and removing Richmond. On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology’s gaming subcommittee met to discuss these and other measures regarding skill games, sp[...]
Virginia Beach Holiday Inn sells for $16.25M
A 307-room Holiday Inn in Virginia Beach sold for $16.25 million in mid-December 2023, according to city property records. The six-story Holiday Inn Virginia Beach – Norfolk, located at 5655 Greenwich Road, was built in 1981, property records show. It opened in 1982, according to a news release from commercial real estate firm[...]
Fed’s Fifth District economy sees mild expansion
Economic activity in the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) expanded mildly in recent weeks, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. Published eight times per year, the [...]
Caesars Virginia ‘tops off’ Danville casino
Caesars Virginia is a step closer to opening its permanent casino in Danville after a topping-off ceremony Thursday. Though the temporary casino opened in May 2023, work on the permanent Caesars Virginia casino and 12-story hotel has been ongoing. The floor of the casino has been poured, metal framing is in place and the hotel [[...]
Richmond Region Tourism’s Berry to retire in June
After 32 years leading regional tourism efforts, Richmond Region Tourism President and CEO Jack Berry will retire on June 30. The organization’s board has named Executive Vice President Katherine O’Donnell as his successor, effective July 1. “The Richmond Region has enjoyed tremendous success over the past few deca[...]
Developers put Fort Monroe marina redevelopment on indefinite hold
The redevelopment of Old Point Comfort Marina at Fort Monroe has been put on hold due to rising costs, with no timeline specified for when it could occur. Instead of negotiating a long-term development agreement, the Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) and Smithfield-based hospitality management company Pack Brothers Hospitality (PBH) are now discussing a revised management […]
16 Va. companies receive LGBTQ inclusivity awards
Sixteen Virginia companies received the top score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, released in November. Nationally, more than 1,384 companies, including 378 Fortune 500 companies, participated in the organization’s 21st Corporate Equality Index (CEI) survey. Companies tha[...]
Norfolk HeadWaters casino could break ground in spring 2024
With the clock ticking on HeadWaters Resort & Casino’s statutory requirement to open a permanent resort casino by November 2025 — five years after Norfolk voters approved it — the developer has submitted new plans to the City of Norfolk, aiming to start construction in spring 2024. The Norfolk Architecture Review[...]
Va. hotel revenues continue to recover from pandemic
Almost all Virginia hotel markets have fully recovered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hampton Roads continues to outpace Virginia and the U.S. in improvement based on hotel revenue. Virginia hotel revenues through November were 12.7% higher than they were in 2019, according to a report released Tuesday by Old Domini[...]
Visit Alexandria CEO announces retirement
Visit Alexandria President and CEO Patricia Washington will retire at the end of June 2024, the tourism organization announced Friday. Washington has led Visit Alexandria since 2012. She led two rebranding efforts and four brand campaigns and helped Alexandria become a national tourism destination, according to a news release an[...]
Wizards, Capitals plan move to Alexandria in $2B deal
The Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards are planning a move across the Potomac River to a new home in Alexandria in a $2 billion deal that would see the professional sports franchises exit Washington, D.C., by 2028, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced early Wednesday. The nonbinding agreement to build a new arena for t[...]