Vantage point
Norfolk leaders have high hopes for redevelopment projects that will reposition older properties — from an aging mall to an underused marine terminal — to better match modern market demands. “We are always asking, ‘What can we do that allows for some sort of creative transformation to actually happen?’” says Sean Was[...]
Dollar Tree names new C-suite execs after shakeup in June
After a C-suite shakeup this summer, Chesapeake-based Fortune 500 discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc. is filling spots on its leadership team. This week, the company named a new chief operating officer and chief development officer. On Monday, Dollar Tree named Michael Creedon Jr. chief operating officer. Creedon had been with Ad[...]
Norfolk industrial property sells for $7.3M
A 60,900-square-foot industrial property in Norfolk has been sold for $7.3 million, Colliers announced Sept. 20. Miami-based Jewell Capital LLC acquired the Brookside Industrial building, 4840 Brookside Court, from Maryland-based Hemsman Properties. The property in Norfolk Industrial Park is leased to regional distribution hubs[...]
Hotel revenues continue to outpace 2019, but only slightly
The commonwealth’s hotel industry is continuing its recovery, though the Northern Virginia market continues to be a drag on its performance, according to data from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. The latest data show rooms sold decreased by 4.6% in Virginia through August […]
A stitch in time: ODU, EVMS eye potential merger
At the end of 2020, Eastern Virginia Medical School firmly rejected a study recommending that the medical school merge to become part of Old Dominion University. But time passes, minds change, and sometimes there’s turnover at the top. In August 2021, Dr. Richard Homan, who’d led EVMS for nearly a decade, retired. By Decembe[...]
Riverside Health System to get new CEO in 2023
Newport News-based Riverside Health System will start 2023 with a transition to a new CEO, the health care system announced Wednesday. Bill Downey will step down after 40 years with Riverside, the past 12 years of which he served as CEO. Riverside’s president and chief operating officer, Dr. Michael Dacey, will take over a[...]
Chrysler Museum names communications director
Norfolk’s Chrysler Museum of Art has named Ashley Grove Mars as its new director of communications. Mars previously spent more than seven years working for the Virginia Zoo, including in marketing and as creative director. She worked as its communications director since March 2021, according to her LinkedIn account. Mars h[...]
Stihl hires HR exec from HII
Virginia Beach-based Stihl Inc. has named Melody Doleman as its new vice president of human resources, effective Sept. 6. She will be responsible for overall strategic management of human resources for the chainsaw and outdoor power equipment manufacturer. Stihl employs more than 3,000 workers in the United States and supplies t[...]
Va. Beach-based Fortis acquires Illinois packaging company
Virginia Beach-based packaging manufacturer Fortis Solutions Group LLC has acquired Montgomery, Illinois-based Identi-Graphics Inc., the company announced Tuesday in a news release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Identi-Graphics manufactures pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging for the snack, bakery, cosmetic and chemical markets in the United States and Canada. It specializes in printing bar […][...]
DroneUp appoints second Walmart exec to board
Virginia Beach-based DroneUp LLC has appointed David Guggina, Walmart Inc.’s senior vice president of innovation and automation, to its board of directors, the commercial drone delivery and flight services company announced Monday. “DroneUp has been a key player in making customer delivery via drone a reality for million[...]
Cabbies cry foul over Va. Beach’s free ride service
Lynne Johnston’s business, All City Cab Co., took a hit from the pandemic. But when the city of Virginia Beach started offering free door-to-door rides in one of her busiest zones — the Oceanfront — during tourist season, it was like another punch to the gut. This year, Virginia Beach contracted with Miami-based microtrans[...]
Va. officials woo chip manufacturers
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and state and local economic development officials are vying to attract semiconductor chip manufacturing facilities to four Virginia industrial sites as the commonwealth gears up to fight for a piece of the financial pie from sweeping federal legislation that promises to ramp up chip production in the U.S. [...]