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$31.5M Winchester turkey plant to create 111 jobs
Minnesota-based TFC Poultry LLC will invest $31.5 million to establish its second U.S. production facility in Winchester, a project expected to create 111 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. “Virginia’s strong agriculture sector continues to play a critical role in the success of our booming economy,” Northam sai[...]
Shenandoah Valley races to develop industrial sites
A flurry of recent industrial investment in the Shenandoah Valley has regional economic development officials eager to make new sites shovel-ready as companies put a premium on locations that will enable them to stand up operations as fast as possible. Fast-casual restaurant chain Cava’s September announcement that it will bui[...]
Canadian frozen food company to create 67 jobs in Warren County
Montreal-based Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods LLC will spend $40.3 million to expand in Warren County, creating 67 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. Harrisonburg-based InterChange Group Inc. will build a 126,000-square-foot facility for Nature’s Touch. The company will import raw materials directly to the new facility[...]
Shenandoah Community Capital Fund to get $1M as part of federal program
The Shenandoah Community Capital Fund (SCCF) will receive $1 million in American Rescue Plan funding as part of the Community Navigator Pilot Program, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Thursday. The program is an initiative meant to reduce barriers that small businesses, especially those owned by veterans, women, people from rural communities and communities of […]
Inspiration strikes in coworking space
It’s ironic that the Staunton Innovation Hub, a coworking center, opened its largest phase amid a global pandemic that sent many workers home, away from shared workspaces. “The pandemic certainly created its own set of challenges in terms of opening a coworking space,” says Peter Denbigh, who founded the hub with his ex-wi[...]
‘Frenzied’ housing market is normalizing
The residential real estate market frenzy in Virginia may be slowing to more normal conditions, the chief economist with Virginia Realtors said in a new report out this week. For the first time in more than a year, sales activity slowed in September, compared with a year ago. Last month, there were 13,079 home sales […]
Mary Baldwin alum makes $12.5M gift
A 1965 alumna of Mary Baldwin University has given her alma mater $12.5 million, which will mainly go toward unrestricted support of the private university in Staunton, MBU announced Wednesday. Paula Stephens Lambert, a Dallas resident who founded Mozzarella Co. in 1982 and introduced many European handmade cheeses to the United[...]
Going cold turkey
To get a turkey on your Thanksgiving table this year, you may have to plan ahead. And even so, ham, pork tenderloin, chicken or even tofurkey might have to fill in as substitutes. Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, the Richmond-based prepared food business spun off from the former regional grocery store chain, informed its customers Tue[...]
Omni Homestead launches $120M renovation
The Omni Homestead Resort has started work on a property-wide revamp expected to cost $120 million, the resort hotel in Bath County announced Monday. Some renovation work will begin late this month, and an event pavilion will be added to the hotel, which opened in 1766. The Homestead project is likely to be the largest […[...]
Five-building industrial portfolio sells for $9M
A five-building industrial portfolio with buildings in Harrisonburg, Chesterfield County, Newport News, Virginia Beach and Durham, North Carolina, sold for just over $9 million Thursday, Glen Allen-based commercial real estate firm Commonwealth Commercial Partners LLC (CCP) announced. ESAP LLC sold the portfolio to Drakadia Hold[...]
Italian meat company bringing 150 jobs to Rockingham County
Italian cured meats manufacturer Veronesi Holding S.p.A., a Gruppo Veronesi company, will invest approximately $100 million to establish its first U.S. production facility in Rockingham County, creating an estimated 150 jobs over the next four years, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The facility will be located on 75.8 acres in the Innovation Village @ Rockingham […]
JMU-led pact seeks to increase labor participation
The Shenandoah Valley’s economy is rebounding, but the region is struggling with a poor labor force participation rate, even compared with the national rate of 61%. In Augusta, Bath, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, only 50% of potential workers are actually employed, says Jay Langston, executive[...]
