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If it’s not one tech giant, it’s another. Ever since Amazon.com Inc. announced in late 2018 that it would open a second headquarters in Arlington County, discussions about workforce and real estate in Northern Virginia have fixed on the e-tailer. But Google LLC’s been busy, too. Last year the Mountain View, C[...]
Port of call
Hampton Roads’ deep-water port continued to be a dominant factor in attracting companies to the region in 2019, especially cold storage and warehousing and logistics firms. “As we try to bring industry into this area, the port is a significant driver of our economic development,” says Doug Smith, president and CEO of t[...]
The Hail Mary
Football isn’t the only occupation in which a wild, slim-chance pass can deliver a win. Last fall, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Danville and Pittsylvania County officials launched a Hail Mary economic pitch that landed a $57.89 million expansion project from Michigan-based van manufacturer Morgan Olson[...]
Subsea cable country
The scheduled 2020 arrival in Henrico County of a third connection to ultra-high-speed internet subsea cables should give the Richmond region bragging rights as a destination for data centers. In other words, it makes Central Virginia an alternative to Loudoun County, where 70% of all internet traffic flows but lacks a direct li[...]
The arena of politics
A historic vote on the biggest economic development proposal in the city of Richmond’s history — the potentially transformative $1.5 billion Navy Hill downtown redevelopment plan that would have included the state’s largest entertainment venue — collapsed in mid-February amid sound and fury as seven of Richmond C[...]
The byte goes on
The tech sector is growing in Northern Virginia, prompted by Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington County and Google’s expansion in Fairfax and Loudoun counties as part of its $13 billion national growth plan. Also, a new regional coalition, the Northern Virginia Economic Development[...]
A multifaceted strategy
Catching the big one matters, but a lot of little successes can mean a lot, too. In Southwest Virginia, small triumphs have accumulated over the past year, in addition to larger announcements. Last April, Polycap LLC, a Toronto-based manufacturer of specialty caps and closures, announced it would invest $7.7 million in Lebanon[...]
Roanoke office park sells for $3.2M
The Northpark Business Center in Roanoke County sold for $3.2 million on Feb. 17, Roanoke-based Waldvogel Commercial Properties Inc. announced this week. The 34,318-square-foot office park is located at 6701-6711 Peters Creek Road and was sold by Mechanical Development Co. Inc. The property consists of two single-story buildings that were more than 50% occupied at […]
Richmond’s Liqui-Box completes $585M DS Smith plc acquisition
Richmond-based packaging company Liqui-Box Corp. completed its acquisition of London-based international packaging business DS Smith plc’s plastics division to create a combined company with 35 manufacturing facilities and approximately 3,000 employees, the company announced Thursday. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but media reports last fall stated that the United Kingdom’s Competition and […][...]
VCU Honors College names new dean
Virginia Commonwealth University has tapped Scott C. Breuninger as dean of its honors college, VCU announced Friday. Breuninger starts on July 1. Breuninger currently works with the University of South Dakota (USD) as the director of its honors program and as an associate professor of history. He has been with USD since 2011 and[...]
ROA passenger traffic up 7.1% from last year
The Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport’s (ROA) January grew 7.1% on a year-over-year basis, with 53,016 passengers flying in January 2020, the airport announced Friday. ROA has sustained passenger growth since September 2016. In January 2019 to January 2020 there were 3,552 more passengers — 114 more passengers per day. “Passenger demand is a critical factor when […]
ICF makes executive promotions
Fairfax-based management consulting firm ICF International Inc. promoted two employees to executive leadership roles, the company announced Friday. James Morgan will become chief of business operations and Bettina Welsh will become chief financial officer, effective Feb. 29. Morgan previously served as CFO at ICF and his role as[...]
