$30M Chesapeake Square Mall redevelopment underway
Demolition began last week on sections of Chesapeake Square Mall as part of a $30 million redevelopment project of the 36-year-old indoor mall off Interstate 664 in Chesapeake. Stores are still open at the mall while Virginia Beach-based real estate development firm Kotarides is demolishing the former Burlington Coat Factory Spa[...]
Average US rate on a 30-year mortgage falls to 6.62%, easing for the third week in a row
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. declined for the third week in a row, another positive move for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the housing market’s busy season. The rate fell to 6.62% from 6.64% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6[...]
CoStar shakes up board of directors
Arlington County-based real estate data and analytics company CoStar Group is making major changes to its board of directors and launching a committee to scrutinize its finances as part of an agreement it entered with New York hedge funds D. E. Shaw group and Third Point. As part of the terms of the agreement, which […]
Average US rate on a 30-year mortgage dips to 6.64% for the second drop in 2 weeks
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged lower for the second week in a row, a modest but welcome boost for prospective home shoppers in the midst of the spring homebuying season. The rate fell to 6.64% from 6.65% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the […]
Wawa plans massive expansion in western Virginia
Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa plans to massively expand in the western side of Virginia, potentially investing $450 million and opening 60 stores along Interstate 81 within the next decade. This week, Wawa held groundbreaking events to celebrate the official start of construction on a store in Lynchburg at 1403[...]
Danville-Pittsylvania authority invests in history
Using a $1.89 million loan from the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority, Danville and Pittsylvania County officials plan to purchase about 289 acres adjacent to the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill. Members of the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA) unanimously agreed in January to[...]
Former Alexandria laser tag arena sells for $6M
The owners of an Alexandria Goddard School, an early childhood learning franchise, plan to open a second location in the city in a 20,000-square-foot building that started out as a roller-skating rink and was later home to a laser tag arena. The private preschool will take up 75% of the building at 5508 Franconia Road […]
VCU receives approval to purchase Altria Richmond research facility
Virginia Commonwealth University received state approval this week to buy Altria Group’s 450,000-square-foot research building in downtown Richmond. The Altria Center for Research and Technology, which opened in 2007, sits on more than four acres at 600 E. Leigh St. and is assessed for $275 million. Discussions between off[...]
Statewide home sales declined in February
Virginia home sales slowed in February, according to statewide sales data released Tuesday by Virginia Realtors. The trade association reports that there was a pullback in closed sales in February, with 6,129 homes sold statewide. That’s 604 fewer sales than last February — a 9% decrease. “Some of this was likely due t[...]
Governor signs landlord sexual extortion bill
RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently signed a bill that will charge landlords who threaten renters with sexual extortion with a Class 5 felony . Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, introduced House Bill 1998 to offer renters more protection from landlords who make malicious threats such as housing or financial loss, [...]
3D printed and factory-built homes could help tackle housing crisis
DENVER (AP) — As Americans struggle under backbreaking rental prices, builders are turning to innovative ways to churn out more housing, from 3D printing to assembling homes in an indoor factory to using hemp — yes, the marijuana cousin — to make building blocks for walls. It’s a response to the country’s short[...]
US home sales rose in February as mortgage rates eased and more homes put up for sale
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in February as easing mortgage rates and more properties on the market encouraged home shoppers. Existing home sales rose 4.2% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. S[...]