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An overview of Hampton Roads
Home to 1.79 million people across 17 localities, Hampton Roads is Virginia’s second most populous region, just behind Northern Virginia. It also boasts the commonwealth’s biggest city by population: Virginia Beach, with an estimated 457,066 residents. Nearby Norfolk is the densest locality in the region, with 4,46[...]
Area Development ranks Virginia No. 1 for workforce training
The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program has been ranked the top workforce training program in the nation by Area Development magazine.
Nostalgia-fueled Colony House reopens
Thanks to $10 million in 21st-century improvements, Roanoke’s Colony House Motor Lodge will once again welcome guests who are into time travel. The iconic motel, which opened in 1959 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, closed in 2018 as it awaited an extensive makeover that includes redecorated rooms[...]
Chesterfield zoning update moves forward
Chesterfield County advances ZOMod, its zoning overhaul aligning rules with growth goals. Final vote set Sept. 17 after public hearing.
Peninsula businesses to get capital boost
Small and midsize businesses in distressed and underserved areas of Hampton and Newport News will be able to access economic support through a new $50 million low-interest business loan program. Launched in June by the nonprofit Greater Peninsula C.A.R.E.S. Foundation, the Peninsula Cooperative Fund is designed to close funding [...]
Marion museum aims to ‘Do the Dew’
The Birthplace of Modern Mountain Dew museum is expected to draw thousands of tourists with a thirst for history when it opens in the small town of Marion in May 2026. It will highlight the town’s role in improving a soda created in Tennessee in the 1940s. Bill Jones, general manager of Tip Corporation of […]
Crossed wires over regional power expansion
As data centers and power usage become ever more intensely debated topics in Northern Virginia, it’s no surprise that a new transmission line could ruffle feathers. Dominion Energy has proposed a 500-kilovolt transmission line to run from its Morrisville substation in Fauquier County through parts of Prince William and Lou[...]
Salem manufacturers plan expansions
Three advanced manufacturing operations with roots in Salem recently revealed plans to expand facilities in the city. Integer Holdings, which has operated in Salem for 30 years, announced expansion plans in April. The Texas-based medical contract developer and manufacturer of medical devices and components has leased a 13,000-sq[...]
Port of Virginia nears finish of $450M dredging project
Seven years after the Port of Virginia launched a $450 million dredging project to become the deepest and widest harbor on the East Coast, the massive endeavor will be completed by the end of this year as the shipping channels are dredged to 55 feet deep. The port, which is coming off two consecutive years […]
Trump coal policy changes could boost Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia officials say President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at revitalizing the United States’ struggling coal industry will be a boon to the region. This spring, Trump signed the “Unleashing American Energy” series of executive orders, which lifted barriers to coal mining on federal lands, a[...]
Transco pipeline to expand for Virginia power demand
In May, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based energy company Williams announced an expansion of its Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line, a move designed to help meet Virginia’s voracious appetite for power. Currently extending 10,000 miles from South Texas to New York, the pipeline, better known as Transco, will be expanded to carry an additio[...]
The Lake surf park, retail hub rises in Chesterfield
The Lake development in Chesterfield County is starting to shore up. The 105-acre mixed-use development will include a surf park as well as commercial, hotel and residential properties. The centerpiece of The Lake will be a 13-acre artificial lake with a tow cable for wakeboarding, kayaking, standup paddle boarding and other wat[...]
