FOR THE RECORD: May 2026

CENTRAL VIRGINIA 

Delaware-based Fortune 500 specialty chemical company DuPont has completed the divestiture of its Aramids business, a designer and producer of synthetic fibers including Kevlar and Nomex, to Georgia-based manufacturer Arclin for about $1.8 billion, Arclin announced April 1. The sale will affect DuPont’s Spruance facility in Chesterfield County, which is billed as the largest DuPont manufacturing facility in the world. Previously, the plant made Kevlar, Nomex and Tyvek. Now, Arclin employees will manufacture Kevlar and Nomex at the facility. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Illinois-based Packaging Corporation of America, the third-largest producer of containerboard in the United States, plans to close a Richmond converting operation, resulting in 110 layoffs, according to a March 31 notice to the state. Employees are slated to lose their jobs the first week of June, according to a letter sent by Mark J. Romaniuk, deputy general counsel at PCA, in compliance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The company reported 2025 net income of $774 million, down from $805 million in 2024. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

CarMax Park, the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ new home, opened in early April, marking the end of an almost 30-year effort to replace Richmond’s aging baseball stadium, The Diamond. The $130 million ballpark is the centerpiece of the $2.4 billion, 67-acre Diamond District, the city’s largest development deal. Plans for a new stadium faced decades of delays and failed proposals. After multiple mayors and shifting locations, a deal was finalized in 2022, with revised funding approved in 2024. The project keeps baseball on Arthur Ashe Boulevard and sets the stage for major redevelopment at the Diamond District, including housing, a hotel and retail. (Axios Richmond)

Richmond-based demolition company S.B. Cox will tear down the former Best Products headquarters in western Henrico County to make way for an arena-anchored development project, county officials announced in mid-March. According to the Henrico Economic Development Authority, which owns the land at 1400 Best Plaza Drive, site work is expected to run through much of 2026. The two massive eagle statues outside the shuttered building will be moved before demolition so they can be preserved either at the site or elsewhere. The nearly 50-year-old building was deemed structurally unsafe for renovations, the EDA’s announcement said. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Two new hospitals and an expansion of another hospital totaling $672 million have been approved in fast-growing Chesterfield County. Virginia State Health Commissioner Dr. Cameron Webb signed off on the projects in early March, allowing VCU Health to build a 66-bed hospital, HCA Healthcare to create a $260 million, 60-bed acute care hospital and Bon Secours to move forward with a 58,400-square-foot expansion that would add 36 medical and surgical beds and four ICU beds to its St. Francis Medical Center. The county currently has two hospitals: Johnston-Willis Hospital, owned by HCA, and the Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

PEOPLE

Kristen Cavallo returned as CEO of prominent Richmond-based ad agency The Martin Agency in April. Cavallo announced her retirement as CEO of Martin and of Mullen Lowe Global in March 2024 to pursue political and social activism and in January 2025 became executive director of The Branch Museum of Design in Richmond. She will transition to being artistic director of the museum as she rejoins Martin, which counts Geico and UPS among its clients and rebranded to Martin earlier this year. Danny Robinson, who was promoted from chief creative officer to CEO to succeed Cavallo, is leaving to pursue work as a visual artist, beginning with an artist residency in France. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

EASTERN VIRGINIA

Dominion Energy’s $11.5 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off Virginia Beach’s coast reached a milestone in late March, delivering its first power to the grid. The marker follows the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility’s installation of CVOW’s first turbine tower in January. The project’s turbines are about 380 feet tall and have a capacity of 14.7 megawatts. A spokesperson said that CVOW will continue to deliver more power to the grid as additional turbines are installed, with full completion expected in early 2027. Once operational, CVOW will consist of 176 wind turbines generating up to 9.5 million megawatt-hours per year. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Norfolk-based real estate investment and asset management firm Harbor Group International plans to purchase 11 multifamily properties from Virginia Beach-based AH Realty Trust for $562 million. The transaction, jointly announced on March 16, is expected to close in the middle of the year. HGI has provided a $15 million nonrefundable deposit. The properties, with locations in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and North Carolina, collectively have 2,436 units. AH Realty Trust will primarily use the proceeds to pay down debt. The firm plans to separately market The Everly in Roanoke and Solis Gainesville in Gainesville, Georgia. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Port of Virginia is now home to the East Coast’s deepest port at 55 feet deep, it announced in mid-March, following the conclusion of its $450 million project to dredge Virginia’s commercial shipping channels and Norfolk Harbor. According to the port, channel dredging was completed on Feb. 28. The project, which started in 2019, was designed to produce channels deep and wide enough to safely handle two-way traffic for the largest ships in the Atlantic trade, without tidal restrictions or overhead obstructions. The port completed the widening portion of the project in February 2024. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Suffolk-based TowneBank has sold its resort property management division for $250 million to Belcrest Vacations Acquisitions, a limited liability company tied to a California-based private equity group, the bank announced in early April. TowneBank and a registered agent for the LLC declined to disclose the firm’s identity. TowneBank created the resort property management division, Towne Vacations, in 2014. The division manages nearly 3,000 high-end homes, renting them out to vacationers, often large groups splitting the cost of luxury properties. The business has locations in South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Maryland. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The U.S. Department of Energy on March 31 announced it had awarded a $1.83 billion contract to SURATech to operate the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. SURATech is a limited liability company that includes the Southeastern Universities Research Association, which currently runs the Newport News-based lab through limited liability company Jefferson Science Associates. The LLC also includes Virginia Tech and four major subcontractors: Honeywell International, Longenecker and Associates, Akima Support Operations, and AtkinsRéalis. SURATech will assume operations June 1. The initial contract runs for five years, through May 31, 2031. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

PEOPLE

Colonna’s Shipyard announced in late March it had appointed Brian Waterfield as its new chief financial officer. Waterfield succeeds Rebecca Wieters, who had held the position since 2017. As CFO, Waterfield will oversee the Norfolk-based company’s accounting function and support financial strategy. He joins Colonna’s Shipyard after more than nine years with accounting company Binder Dijker Otte, most recently serving as an assurance director in the firm’s Norfolk office. Founded in 1875, Colonna’s provides ship repair, marine and industrial machining, and steel fabrication. It employs more than 700 people. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Amazon.com did not add any jobs at its HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington County last year that qualified for Virginia’s workforce grant incentives and will not seek a state payment this year, marking a sharp slowdown in hiring at HQ2. In a filing submitted April 1 to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the company said it would provide a progress report for the state’s Major Headquarters Workforce Grant but would not request funding because it didn’t create any incentive-eligible positions in 2025. That’s a notable shift, when Amazon added 293 qualifying jobs in 2024 and requested more than $6.4 million last year. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

A Buc-ee’s in Stafford County is looking more likely. The Stafford Planning Commission voted 4-3 in late March to recommend approving a rezoning and conditional-use permit for the Texas-based convenience center chain’s proposed travel center off Interstate 95. Previously, planning staff recommended denial over traffic concerns, and a significant number of residents have voiced opposition. The county board of supervisors is expected to vote on the matter later this year. The chain’s first location opened in June 2025 in Rockingham County. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors agreed to sell about a third of the Chantilly law enforcement training campus for $166.8 million to a data center developer in late March. The county plans to use part of the sale proceeds to upgrade its police training facilities, which would otherwise require public funding through general obligation bonds, according to a staff presentation. The buyer, SCG Global Holdings, an affiliate of Miami-based Starwood Capital Group, is already developing a massive data center campus in nearby Herndon. The county and the developer will enter a contingency period until March 2027 for the 41.7 acres. (Washington Business Journal)

HawkEye 360, a fast-growing Herndon geospatial analytics company, filed for an initial public offering in April with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company did not disclose the number of shares of common stock it plans to offer or a specific timeline for going public. HawkEye intends to apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are lead underwriters on the offering. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos announced in late March it has completed its $2.4 billion acquisition of Illinois utilities infrastructure design firm Entrust Solutions Group. Leidos acquired the company from the New York private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. With the purchase, Leidos effectively doubles its presence in the infrastructure market and gains more than 3,100 Entrust employees. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

In late March, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that voided approvals for the controversial Prince William Digital Gateway, a proposed 23 million-square-foot data center complex planned on 2,100 acres near Manassas National Battlefield Park. In August 2025, Prince William Circuit Court Judge Kimberly A. Irving ruled in favor of 12 Gainesville residents suing to stop the project, approved in December 2023 by the county board of supervisors, including its lame duck chair. Irving voided the rezoning votes, finding that the county failed to comply with required public notice rules. The developers and the county could appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

ROANOKE/LYNCHBURG/NEW RIVER VALLEY

Canadian mining company Aclara Resources celebrated the opening of a rare earth elements separation pilot plant at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center March 18. Rare earths are a group of elements used to manufacture a wide range of high-tech products. The facility is expected to produce its first separated light rare earth oxides in May and heavy rare earth oxides in August. Last year, Aclara announced plans to invest $277 million to build the first U.S. facility capable of producing significant volumes of heavy rare earth oxides in Louisiana. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia has awarded the Carilion Clinic Foundation a $500,000 grant to be used toward a $50 million fundraising campaign to bring proton therapy to the Carilion Taubman Cancer Center, according to an early April announcement. The 260,000-square-foot Carilion Taubman Cancer Center is currently under construction in Roanoke and expected to open in 2028. There are fewer than 50 proton therapy centers in the United States. In Virginia, the treatment is offered at the Hampton University Proton Cancer Institute and the Inova Mather Proton Therapy Center in Fairfax. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Botetourt County-based construction and contracting firm Croy Contracting plans to invest $3.45 million in an expansion within the county, adding a division called CroySafe, the Roanoke Regional Partnership announced April 9. The CroySafe division offers professionally installed safe rooms. The project is expected to create 30 jobs, including positions in skilled trades, manufacturing, installation, operations and administrative roles. In addition to new jobs and supporting a facility upgrade, the $3.45 million investment will fund equipment and product development. CroySafe rooms are built directly into a structure and can be installed in two days. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission met March 25 to discuss the potential sale of the circa 1882 hotel as well as the repayment of about $12.7 million in bonds the city issued in 2024 to fund a conference center expansion. Plans for the expansion were axed after the Virginia Tech Foundation, which owns the hotel, and the commission, which owns the conference center and includes representatives of the City of Roanoke and Virginia Tech, began discussing selling the Star City landmark. At the meeting, commissioners unanimously approved transferring $339,720.75 from the commission’s reserve to Roanoke for a debt service payment due April 1 to bondholders. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

In late March, Chesterfield County-based Virginia Credit Union opened a Blacksburg branch, the first new branch location to open following the credit union’s 2024 merger with Member One Federal Credit Union. The 3,700-square-foot branch features a drive-through ATM and two walk-up ATMs, as well as a 2,400-square-foot community room. The Blacksburg location brings VACU’s total branch network to 39 full-service locations across Virginia. VACU is also working to transition branches in the New River and Roanoke valleys, as well as Lynchburg, to the VACU brand. (News release)

After a dozen years leading Virginia Tech, President Tim Sands announced April 9 in a letter addressed “to Hokies everywhere” that he intends to step down in the coming months. Sands plans to stay in the role until his successor is in place to ensure a smooth transition, according to a news release. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said in a press conference the following day that he was concerned members of Virginia Tech’s board had forced Sands out before Gov. Abigail Spanberger fills five vacancies July 1. Kaine called for Spanberger to “get to the bottom of this.” (VirginiaBusiness.com)

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Middletown has gone more than eight years without a local bank, but that could change as FNB Bank considers opening a branch in the town. The West Virginia-based community bank began a 90-day due diligence period on March 25 after signing a contingent agreement to move into a former bank building on Main Street. The agreement hinges on community support. Bank representatives are conducting outreach to see whether residents and businesses want to open accounts. Mayor Charles Harbaugh IV, who has long pushed for a bank, is optimistic about the effort, and early feedback has been positive. (The Northern Virginia Daily)

NextEra Energy Transmission has applied to the Virginia State Corporation Commission to build the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link, a 107.5-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that stretches from Dunkard Township, Pennsylvania, to the Gore substation in Frederick County. Regulators will review the proposal over one to two years, with approvals required from all affected states before construction can begin. Decisions should be made by early 2028. If approved, construction would begin in late 2029 for completion in 2031. Various public hearings will allow community input. Some critics argue the project may primarily support energy demands from data centers in Loudoun County. (The Winchester Star)

Northrop Grumman has applied to Virginia for an environmental emissions permit for its $200 million manufacturing facility under construction in Waynesboro, which sits on 87 acres and could employ up to 330 people at full capacity. It’s set to open later this year. The company requested a state operating permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which posted a public notice seeking public comment from mid-March to mid-April. The draft permit for the facility limits emissions to 9.9 tons per year for individual compounds and 24.9 tons per year for combined emissions. (USA Today Network)

Pitman Family Farms, a California-based poultry company operating since 1954, took over the former Cargill turkey processing plant in Dayton in mid-March. The plant is the Shenandoah Valley’s largest poultry operation. Pitman’s acquisition was part of a broader sale that included a cold storage site and feed mill. No major operational changes, such as expansions or reductions in operations, have been announced, with Dayton Town Manager Brian Borne indicating the shift is a change in ownership rather than function. (Daily News-Record)

The Shenandoah Nature Resort, a 640-acre wellness destination near Shenandoah National Park, is being developed by Wellmore Partners and Momentis, with support from a $65 million commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) loan announced in early April. The loan program is focused on energy efficiency and sustainability. Planned improvements include LED lighting, low-flow plumbing, upgraded roofing, efficient HVAC systems and geothermal energy. While the financing will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 341 metric tons annually, the broader resort development is expected to create over 975 jobs and boost local tourism and economic activity. Construction is underway, and the resort is expected to open in January 2028. (News release)

Valley Health is making operational changes across its six hospitals, including Winchester Medical Center, due to major federal Medicaid reimbursement cuts. The health system needs to reduce annual spending by $80 million. The Winchester Observation Unit will close July 1, with patients treated in inpatient rooms instead. Valley Health is ending its contracts with Emergency Medicine of Blue Ridge and Sound Physicians, which provide emergency department doctors and hospitalists, respectively. Officials say staffing levels and emergency departments won’t be affected, and most current providers are expected to stay. The changes will result in projected savings exceeding $1 million per month. (The Winchester Star)

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed legislation in early April that included incentives packages for Avio USA, a rocket motor manufacturer, for an expected manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County and Hitachi Energy, an energy equipment manufacturer, for a planned project in Halifax County. Those incentives packages are slated to cost the state a maximum of $6 million annually and $4.6 million annually, respectively. Avio USA is expected to invest at least $537.5 million and create and maintain at least 1,546 full-time jobs at its proposed site. Hitachi Energy is expected to invest at least $457.1 million and create and maintain at least 825 full-time jobs at the proposed Halifax site. (Cardinal News)

A $35 million, four-story Hyatt Studios hotel planned for River Street in Danville has secured $28.75 million in tax credits allocated through the Danville Virginia Community Development Entity and Henrico County-based community development financial institution Locus Impact, the Danville Office of Economic Development & Tourism announced April 1. The 55,000-square-foot hotel will include 122 extended stay rooms. The hotel developers are Florida-based real estate development firm Lansing Melbourne Group and North Carolina-based development and consulting firm 1st & Main Development. Construction is expected to take 16 to 18 months once work begins. (News release)

Seven environmental groups filed a petition March 31 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking to overturn federal approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Project, a natural gas pipeline. The 31-mile project would connect to the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Pittsylvania County and run through North Carolina. Approved in amended form last year, the pipeline’s length was reduced, but its diameter increased to 30 inches. The groups argue the project is unnecessary to meet regional demand. A hearing is scheduled for April 28. (Danville Register & Bee)

Omni Hotels & Resorts’ parent company has purchased $209.48 million in past-due loans from Martinsville’s Carter Bankshares for $289.48 million, according to a late March securities filing. U.S. Sen. Jim Justice II, a West Virginia Republican whose family owns The Greenbrier resort, and his family took out the overdue loans through a holding company. Omni Hotels & Resorts is a private luxury hotel brand that owns three Virginia properties, including The Omni Homestead Resort & Spa, a competitor of the Greenbrier. According to American Banker, at one point, Carter Bank had lent Justice-owned companies $740 million. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The idled Pine Products Sawmill in Henry County could restart after the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a $7.56 million loan guarantee to Twain Capital, a Mississippi-based firm planning to acquire and reopen the facility. U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith announced the funding March 23, which comes through the USDA’s Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program. The mill has been idle since 2024 after Teal-Jones Group, a Canadian-based forest products company, suspended operations amid financial challenges. County data indicated the operation employed about 64 workers as of mid-2024. Griffith’s office did not provide a timeline for when operations could resume. (Martinsville Bulletin)

PEOPLE

After more than 16 years with the City of Danville, economic development and tourism director Corrie Bobe stepped down April 14 to join the Danville Regional Foundation. Among the economic wins Bobe is credited with helping to secure is the Arlington County-based Avio USA’s planned $500 million, 860,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Southern Virginia Multimodal Park, which was announced in February. Avio USA is the U.S. subsidiary of Italian rocket company Avio SpA. Bobe will begin her new role May 4 as director of economic development and regional collaboration, focusing on workforce, housing and infrastructure needs tied to the region’s long-term economic momentum. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

During an April 7 visit to Damascus, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said restoring the Creeper Trail is key to the local economy. Kaine helped secure $240.5 million for repairs. All but one bridge along the trail has been demolished due to damage caused by Hurricane Helene. New bridges will be built in Abingdon and installed later, according to Damascus Mayor Katie Lamb. Officials aim to fully reopen the trail by late 2026, in time for the 40th anniversary of Trail Days in May 2027. Additionally, Kaine said he will prioritize funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency before storm season starts. (WCYB NBC 5)

Abingdon-based nonprofit Friends of Southwest Virginia plans to launch a tourism marketing research program to better understand visitor behavior and travel patterns across 19 counties and four independent cities. For this project, the organization is partnering with Utah-based Datafy, a software, analytics and ad-tech firm, and Future Partners, a California-based travel and tourism-focused creative insights firm. Friends of Southwest Virginia is also conducting a separate study of the region’s creative economy to develop a 10-year strategic roadmap for destination development and marketing. (Cardinal News)

Mount Airy, North Carolina-based Jay’s Heating, Air & Plumbing announced in late March the launch of Altitude Academy in Woodlawn. The training and apprenticeship program is aimed at training HVAC, plumbing and electrical professionals. Altitude Academy offers an earn-while-you-learn model, pairing structured instruction with real-world application, mentorship and a linear career progression path. The training facility, which is located at the former V&H Heating & Cooling building, is designed to mirror real-world residential environments and is equipped with modern HVAC systems, dedicated plumbing training stations and hands-on learning labs. (News release)

The Southwest Virginia Allied Health Simulation Lab — which includes three health training spaces — held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 26 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. The simulation  lab features high-, medium- and low-fidelity manikins, a simulated ambulance and clinical environments that replicate real-world health care settings. The space is designed to support learners at all stages, from K-12 students exploring career pathways to nursing, EMS and other health care professionals advancing their skills. The lab received financial support from several entities, including the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. (Bristol Herald Courier)

A University of Virginia’s College at Wise freshman developed an artificial intelligence tool aimed at helping people who live in Southwest Virginia find health care services, understand insurance and locate nearby providers. Peter Gaublomme created Wise Care using OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Users can enter questions, and the chatbot generates responses to guide them toward services. The tool cites sources and avoids storing personal data. Gaublomme is set to transfer to the main U.Va. campus in Charlottesville next year, but he said his commitment to Southwest Virginia will continue. (Cardinal News)

On March 30, nearly 100 Wythe County residents attended a public meeting concerning zoning. Wythe County Deputy Administrator Matthew Hankins said county leadership is trying to create a framework to manage growth. He noted that Wythe County is among a very small number of Virginia counties lacking zoning. Water consumption was among the concerns raised by residents. Solis Arx Digital Infrastructure, an AI computing campus, is being developed at Progress Park, about 15 minutes from downtown Wytheville. County officials have said the data center is anticipated to use only 2,000 gallons of water per day, or 0.13% of Progress Park’s current capacity. (WSLS NBC 10)