Former Gentry Locke managing partner dies
G. Michael “Mike” Pace Jr., managing partner of Roanoke’s Gentry Locke law firm for several years and a former Virginia Bar Association president, died Jan. 8 after a long illness. He was 66. Pace, a Salem native, spent nearly his whole career at the Roanoke law firm, starting as a summer associate in 1983 and [&hellip[...]
Trucking company plans $50M facility in Botetourt
Warren, Michigan-based Universal Logistics Holdings is planning a $50 million investment to expand into Botetourt County, a project that is expected to create 45 jobs, the trucking and logistics company announced Wednesday. The expansion will bolster the company’s heavy truck capabilities in servicing truck assembly operations[...]
Renovating Roanoke’s ‘Grand Old Lady’
The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, Curio Collection by Hilton plans a $14 million renovation this year, bringing new technology, new design and new, custom-made Hotel Roanoke-logoed furniture to every one of its 329 guest rooms. The hotel’s most recent renovation, completed in 2020, upgraded its Pine Room restaurant, c[...]
Lynchburg and Danville law firms to merge
The law firms of Petty, Livingston, Dawson & Richards in Lynchburg and Southern Virginia Legal (SoVa Legal) in Danville will merge to become PLDR Law beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the two law firms announced Wednesday. Together, the two firms will jointly have 16 attorneys and have offices in Lynchburg and Danville, serving commun[...]
Roanoke apartment complex sells for $7.25M
Mount Pleasant Villas apartments, a 90-unit community in Roanoke, has changed hands. Raleigh, North Carolina-based Sweetbay Capital, a real estate private equity firm, acquired the apartment complex from JC Capital Rutrough for $7.25 million in early December, according to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. It’s the compan[...]
Framatome plans $49.4M expansion, creating 515 jobs
Framatome, a French nuclear power company with its United States headquarters in Lynchburg, will invest $49.4 million to expand, modernize and enhance its facilities, creating an estimated 515 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday. The expansion will meet increased demand for servicing existing nuclear power plants and de[...]
3 Va. universities make top 100 in national R&D rankings
The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University landed in the top 100 in the National Science Foundation’s fiscal 2022 rankings by expenditures on research and development. NSF determines the rankings with data from its annual Higher Education Research and Development Survey, which surveys U.S. c[...]
Torc hires chief information security officer
Blacksburg-based self-driving truck company Torc Robotics, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck, hired Summer Craze Fowler as chief information security officer, the company announced Tuesday. Fowler joins Torc after serving as senior vice president of cybersecurity and IT at Boston-based driverless vehicle company Motional and leading[...]
Gov. proposes $90M to launch ‘Va. Research Triangle’
In a preview of his 2024-26 proposed budget, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday that he is including $90 million in one-time funds to create “Virginia’s Research Triangle,” a network between the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech to build collaboration in biotechnology,[...]
Hampton Roads hotel revenues outpace Va., country
Hotel revenues in Hampton Roads outpaced Virginia and the nation through October, according to a report from Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, citing data from STR, a division of CoStar Group that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. Through October, hotel revenues we[...]
Interim VP of Carilion Mental Health becomes permanent
Carilion Clinic has named Lisa Sprinkel its permanent vice president of Carilion Mental Health, adding to her duties as vice president of Carilion Clinic Home Health and Hospice department. With Dr. Robert Trestman, Carilion’s mental health chair, Sprinkel will lead the mental health team, which has a new location at Tangl[...]
Nation’s first Goodwill-owned supermarket to open in NW Roanoke
Roanoke-based Goodwill Industries of the Valleys broke ground Nov. 14 on Melrose Plaza, a community hub that will be anchored by the nation’s first full-scale, full-service grocery store owned and operated by a Goodwill organization. Slated to open in December 2024 in a Northwest Roanoke food desert, the 25,000-square-foot Mar[...]