Hotel revenues continue to outpace 2019, but only slightly
The commonwealth’s hotel industry is continuing its recovery, though the Northern Virginia market continues to be a drag on its performance, according to data from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. The latest data show rooms sold decreased by 4.6% in Virginia through August […]
IALR names Boeing exec to EVP role
The Institute for Advancing Learning and Research in Danville has named Todd M. Yeatts as executive vice president of manufacturing advancement, effective. Oct. 3. Yeatts joins IALR from The Boeing Co., where he was senior manager for government operations. At the IALR, he will oversee the manufacturing advancement training prog[...]
Charlotte County approves Va.’s largest solar farm
The largest solar project in Charlotte County — and Virginia, according to Dominion Energy Inc. — was approved by the county’s Board of Supervisors in July. Reston-based utility-scale solar developer SolUnesco LLC received a conditional-use permit to build the $800 million to $1.6 billion Randolph Solar project in the sout[...]
Va. officials woo chip manufacturers
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and state and local economic development officials are vying to attract semiconductor chip manufacturing facilities to four Virginia industrial sites as the commonwealth gears up to fight for a piece of the financial pie from sweeping federal legislation that promises to ramp up chip production in the U.S. [...]
Caesars ups Danville casino investment to $650M
Caesars Entertainment Inc. has once again upped its investment in the forthcoming Caesars Virginia casino and resort in Danville, this time from $500 million to $650 million, while announcing Wednesday that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is now a joint venture partner in the casino project. Plans for the casino include a[...]
BWXT appoints new president of nuclear operations
The new president of BWX Technology’s Nuclear Operations Group Inc. spent three decades working for the Navy as a civilian. Sharon H. Smoot started her new position Aug. 1. She is responsible for the BWXT subsidiary’s mission to provide a range of nuclear components and services, including manufacturing reactor components for Navy submarines and aircraft […]
Prosperity drives formation of regional group
Interim Pittsylvania County Administrator Clarence Monday knows what’s better than two localities working together: a whole region working to support them in a joint effort. “The partnership between Danville and Pittsylvania County is unusually strong, so it makes sense that Pittsylvania County is a partner in the economic a[...]
Growth industry
When manufacturers thinking about setting up shop in Southern Virginia visit Pittsylvania County, the county’s economic development director, Matt Rowe, doesn’t just show off expansive, shovel-ready industrial sites. He also touts the region’s workforce, which includes many workers with advanced manufacturing skill sets. E[...]
AeroFarms to add 66 jobs in Pittsylvania
New Jersey-based leafy greens producer AeroFarms plans to add 66 more jobs as it increases production at its vertical farm in Pittsylvania County, the governor’s office announced this week. This is in addition to the 92 jobs promised in its operations at Cane Creek Centre, a $42 million investment in what is promoted as th[...]
South Boston hotel springs back to life
A steady stream of developers considered purchasing South Boston’s long-shuttered John Randolph Hotel during the past decade, but none sealed the deal until Julian and Karie Brittano toured the downtown property last fall. This spring, the couple’s High Point, North Carolina-based firm, The Brittano Group Inc., and its subsi[...]
FOR THE RECORD
Central Virginia The state’s fiscal 2023-24 budget, approved June 1, contains funding that will benefit future redevelopment of the Central Virginia Training Center site in Madison Heights. Republican Sen. Steve Newman requested $25 million in state money to annul outstanding bonds associated with CVTC, a former state facility for people with intellectual disabilities that closed […]
AeroFarms sells its Cane Creek property
AeroFarms has sold its 138,670-square-foot property in Cane Creek Centre to MDH Partners and leased it back for 20 years, the companies announced June 1. MDH Partners bought the property at 1526 Cane Creek Parkway for $19.1 million and leased it back to AeroFarms. The industrial park where AeroFarms is located is jointly owned b[...]