Central Va. Big Deal: Renaissance times
Henrico County’s near West End is seeing a renaissance. For decades, the area bordering Richmond around the Willow Lawn neighborhood has been home to mostly defunct commercial projects and old homes. But a $450 million project announced in December 2023 to renovate an old Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) campus promises to br[...]
Charlottesville’s Astraea acquired by Fla. satellite company
Astraea, a Charlottesville-based geospatial analytics firm, has been acquired by Nuview, a Florida-based company developing a satellite imaging constellation, the companies announced Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not available. Founded as a for-profit benefit corporation in 2016, Astraea applies data science and artificial intelligence to analyze imaging and sensor data gathered from Earth-observing […][...]
Former Va. ABC chief joins Hunton Andrews Kurth
Travis Hill, former CEO of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and former Virginia deputy secretary of agriculture and forestry, has joined Richmond-based law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, Virginia’s second-largest law firm announced Tuesday. Hill is a counsel for the firm’s Global Economic Development, Co[...]
Atlantic Union acquisition of American National approved
Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bank’s parent company announced Monday that the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has approved its acquisition of Danville-based American National Bankshares, holding company of American National Bank and Trust. The Fed’s signoff was the last regulatory approval needed for the m[...]
Dominion to sell 50% interest in Va. Beach offshore wind farm for $3B
Dominion Energy announced Thursday it has reached an agreement with investment firm Stonepeak to sell a 50% noncontrolling stake in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project off the Virginia Beach coast for nearly $3 billion. If the sale is approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina [...]
Lighthouse Labs names new managing director
Debbie Irwin, the former director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, will be the next managing director of Lighthouse Labs, the Richmond accelerator announced Friday. She begins her new role Feb. 26. Irwin is leaving her role at SCCF, another entrepreneurial support organization based in Staunton, where she served for six[...]
Lego delays Chesterfield production start to 2027
Lego Group will begin production at its $1 billion Chesterfield manufacturing facility in 2027, at least a year later than originally planned, the Danish toymaker announced Thursday. The company also named Preben Elnef as project lead and Gray | Hourigan, a joint venture between Lexington, Kentucky-based Gray and Richmond-base[...]
Bills advance to protect state employees who access medical cannabis
RICHMOND, Va. — State lawmakers have advanced bills that would allow public sector employees to use medical cannabis without losing their job. House Bill 149, introduced by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, extends to state public employees rights that already exist in the private sector. The bill passed with bipartisan support on a[...]
CEO Hunt leaving Va. Credit Union League
Carrie Hunt is leaving at the end of the month as president and CEO of the Virginia Credit Union League, and Chief Operating Officer Karima Freeman will serve as interim head of the trade association, VACUL announced Tuesday. Hunt, a seasoned political lobbyist, is leaving to become chief advocacy officer of America’s Cred[...]
ODEC keeps interim president and CEO permanently
John C. Lee Jr. will stay on as Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s permanent president and CEO after serving in an interim capacity since Sept. 8, 2023, the Glen Allen-based not-for-profit power cooperative announced Monday. In October 2023, ODEC began its search for a new president and CEO after Marcus Harris resigned in[...]
Former Concorde Holdings CEO joins Capital Square
Drew Jackson, former president and CEO of Michigan-based Concorde Holdings, has joined Glen Allen-based real estate company Capital Square as senior managing director of private wealth solutions, the firm announced Tuesday. Jackson also joined the executive management team. A Radford University graduate, Jackson has more than 25[...]
Lighthouse Labs announces spring cohort
Richmond-based Lighthouse Labs’ next accelerator cohort of eight startups will include companies creating products for the real estate and health care industries. The 16th cohort since Lighthouse Labs opened in 2012 will be part of the program from March 4 to May 17. The selected companies are: 3D Orthobiologic Solutions, [...]