Sign In
Free Newsletter
Roanoke/New River Year-in-Review: 2024 was about laying groundwork
Not every year can be 2023. That’s the verdict from economic development watchers in a wide stretch of Virginia, ranging from Lynchburg west through Roanoke and Salem to the New River Valley. In 2023, this region experienced a burst of business announcements with a total investment of at least $387 million and expectations of [...]
Roanoke/New River Big Deal: Framatome expands for a small modular future
The future is small, modular and very bright, according to Framatome, the nuclear energy company that is one of Lynchburg’s largest employers. A presence in the city since the 1980s, Framatome broke ground in April 2024 on a $49.4 million, multi-year expansion and renovation at its Mill Ridge Road facility, one of the company�[...]
BWXT wins $2.1B in U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contracts
The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has awarded BWX Technologies contracts totaling about $2.1 billion, the Lynchburg-based nuclear components and fuel supplier manufacturer announced Wednesday. The contract involves nuclear reactor component manufacturing and material procurement for Columbia and Virginia class submarines[...]
Riverdale project moves forward in Roanoke
Work on the $50 million-plus Riverdale mixed-use redevelopment planned for more than 126 acres on the sprawling former campus of American Viscose, a rayon plant that closed in the late 1950s, is moving right along. Developer Ed Walker shared a lengthy written update on the project Jan. 24 that included a rendering of a 267-unit [...]
Va.’s first onshore wind farm sells power to Google
Even as political winds shift in Washington, D.C., a long-delayed onshore wind farm in Botetourt County might finally be sailing to completion. Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced in December 2024 that it has reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, a wind farm the Charlottesvill[...]
Carilion CEO appoints chief of staff
Carilion Clinic has named Chris Turnbull chief of staff for Steve Arner, the Roanoke-based health care system’s president and CEO, according to a Monday announcement. Joining Carilion as a senior advisor in public relations and corporate communications in 2014, Turnbull went on to become senior director of corporate commun[...]
Riverdale, Roanoke foundry projects progress with zoning votes
Two ambitious Roanoke mixed-use readaptation projects are one step closer to rezoning under the city’s new “urban center” designation, which aims to create more pedestrian-friendly development. Developer Ed Walker’s Riverdale, a 126-acre multiuse project proposed on the site of Roanoke’s former Amer[...]
NRV passenger rail on track for 2027
Sooner than initially anticipated, rail passengers will be able to ride to and from the New River Valley for the first time since 1979. In late August 2024, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority approved a deal that would bring Amtrak service to the region via Norfolk Southern’s main line from Roanoke by 2027. Passengers would[...]
Big tech company to buy power from Va.’s first onshore wind farm
Even as political winds shift in Washington, D.C., a long-delayed onshore wind farm in Botetourt County might finally be sailing to completion. Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced Wednesday that it has reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, a wind farm the Charlottesville compa[...]
Following public outcry, Roanoke developer pulls rezoning application
It’s looking like the Old Poage Farm property, which today sits next to U.S. 221 in Roanoke County, will remain farmland a while longer. The land was settled in the mid-1700s when King George III deeded hundreds of acres to Col. Robert Poage, but most recently, the property was proposed as a site for a […]
Appalachian Power plans small nuclear reactor in Campbell
Appalachian Power, an electric utility subsidiary of American Electric Power which serves more than one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee, announced plans Nov. 14 to bring a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) project to Campbell County. The company, which has its headquarters in Charleston, West Virgini[...]
For the Record: December 2024
CENTRAL Richmond-based international foam producer Carpenter acquired omnichannel bedding brand Casper Sleep for an undisclosed amount, it announced Oct. 29. Under the agreement, Casper will operate as a subsidiary of Carpenter. The deal marks the third acquisition Carpenter has made in the past 16 months. In November 2023, Ca[...]
