Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Startup, funding, and innovation news from Virginia

Members of the Charlottesville Angel Network, which marked its 10-year anniversary in April, have invested more than $20 million in nearly 80 startups. The group of accredited investors supports early-stage ventures and has realized returns from several successful exits, including from Palvella Therapeutics, a company developing therapies for rare genetic skin diseases that merged with Pieris Pharmaceuticals in December 2024. Early investors realized returns of up to 20 times, while investors in later funding rounds have had returns averaging about 8 times. The network also invested in Dive Technologies, an autonomous underwater vehicle company acquired by Anduril Industries in February 2022. Its combined investments resulted in a return of approximately 6 times. (News release)

Alexandria data management startup pgEdge announced in mid-March it had raised another $4 million from four investors, including Massachusetts-based cloud computing giant Akamai Technologies and London investment management firm Qube Research & Technologies. The new funding brings the 3-year-old startup’s total raise from a seed round that previously closed in August 2024 to $14 million and total lifetime funding to $23 million. Co-founded by local entrepreneur Phillip Merrick, the startup has an open-source software platform that can improve the speed and efficiency of websites and applications. (DC Inno)

Richmond National Group and its affiliates raised $55 million in an oversubscribed equity capital raise. Based in Glen Allen, the holding company for Richmond National Insurance — a specialty excess and surplus lines insurance company that focuses on small and mid-sized businesses — announced the raise had closed in late March. Richmond National raised the common equity capital from existing shareholders, including HF Capital, Bonhill Capital, WT Holdings and employees, bringing its total common equity capital raised since its founding in 2021 to more than $210 million. (News release)

Runtime Ventures, a new venture capital firm based in Arlington and Austin, Texas, launched a debut fund of $32 million to invest in early-stage cybersecurity startups, it announced in early April. Co-founded by managing partners Michael Sutton and David Endler, the firm plans to make 32 investments over the next three years, ranging from $250,000 to $2 million per investment, Sutton said. Runtime Ventures has already made 11 investments. Sutton and Endler met in 2001 while working at Reston-based iDefense Security Intelligence Services, which VeriSign acquired for $40 million in 2001. (DC Inno; News release)

Verge, a collective of organizations dedicated to tech-based in the Roanoke and New River valleys, announced March 18 a rebrand, an effort that includes a new website, logo and a new name: the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA). Previously, Verge, which has roots dating back to 2013, used “Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance” as its tagline. Organizations under the RBIA umbrella include Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP), a public/private business accelerator serving startups in STEM-H fields; RBTC, a member association of technology professionals, businesses and organizations; and CommonWealth Angels, a Roanoke-based private capital investment organization. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Where Ya Bin, an Ohio-based chain of stores that resell returns, opened its first Richmond-area location on March 14. The 18,000-square-foot store is located in the Quioccasin Station Shopping Center in Henrico County. Products are stocked for each Friday, with prices starting at $14 on Fridays and lowering throughout the week. On Thursdays, prices drop to 25 cents, and once bins are emptied, they’re restocked with fresh products to restart the cycle on the following Friday morning. Founded in 2022, Where Ya Bin has eight locations nationwide. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Chase City to turn old school into apartments

SUMMARY:

  • approves plan to turn former Robert E. Lee school into
  • Original $1 offer sparked controversy and brief resignation of town manager
  • Building has been vacant since around 1980
  • Project follows similar historic redevelopments by Richmond-based

After a long debate, Chase City’s aging, disused Robert E. Lee Community Center is set to be turned into apartments.

The fate of the former school has long been a topic of discussion in the town, with one local group hoping to turn it into a music venue, a local YMCA eyeing it, and a Richmond-based developer seeking to convert the structure into residences.

On Feb. 10, the town council narrowly voted down a plan to sell the building to developer Edwin Gaskin, the owner of Richmond-based Echelon Resources, for $1 — a vote that prompted the town manager, C.F. “Dusty” Forbes, to shout, “My resignation is on your desk,” according to The Mecklenburg Sun.

Forbes later withdrew his resignation while town officials and the developer tweaked details of the proposal. On March 24, council members voted unanimously to transfer the building to Echelon Resources, which plans to transform it into 25 mid- to high-end apartments, mostly one-bedroom units.

The building’s price was set at $10,000. If Echelon sells the building within five years, the town will get another $100,000.

Gaskin declined to discuss details of the plan for the building until a contract with the town is finalized. “It’s taken a patient path to get to this point,” he says. The developer has redeveloped numerous , including transforming a tobacco company warehouse into the Imperial Lofts in South Boston.

Asked about the former school’s Confederate name, Chase City Mayor Alden Fahringer says it will be up to a new owner to decide if it remains named for Lee.

Gaskin, who has a long record of turning older structures into apartments in Virginia and North Carolina, first approached the town in late 2022. Council members gave the first chances at redevelopment to local groups, but none were unable to take on multimillion-dollar renovations.

Forbes says he attended the Lee school for fourth and fifth grade, not long before the building’s regular academic use ended around 1980.

By the time Forbes became town manager more than five years ago, the building had been empty for a long time, and he says he was frustrated by the council’s February vote because the school could be part of wider redevelopment.

“I guess good things come to those who wait and persevere,” Forbes said after the council’s March decision.

Heard Around Virginia May 2025

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Utah-based drugmaker Civica missed its target for selling cheap insulin. When the company completed its manufacturing plant in Petersburg in 2022, it projected it would have insulin on the shelves of drugstores by 2024. But that did not happen, and the nonprofit medicine maker can’t say when it will have insulin for sale. Civica has switched insulin suppliers, faced delays in supply chains and slowly staffed up its plant. Civica spokesperson Benjamin Jarvela described the 2024 goal as “ambitious” and said Civica has made progress in other areas, such as hiring 140 employees in Petersburg last year. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground in March on the much-anticipated $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia in Petersburg. The mixed-use development’s backers say it will create about 1,400 permanent jobs, increase tourism and generate billions in economic benefit for Virginia. In November 2024, more than 80% of Petersburg voters approved a local referendum greenlighting the casino, which is being built on an undeveloped, 100-acre site off Interstate 95 in Petersburg. Smith and Cordish are partnering to develop the resort. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Court of Appeals of Virginia on March 4 issued an opinion affirming a judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the Hanover County Board of Supervisors and Wegmans. The suit revolved around the zoning approval of a 1.7 million-square-foot distribution center facility for the grocery giant in the county’s Brown Grove area. Hanover residents argued that the process was flawed and that their concerns were not adequately heard. The residents suing said they won’t appeal their case to the Virginia Supreme Court, ending the five-year legal battle. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Plenty Unlimited, a San Francisco-based agricultural technology company that counts tech billionaires Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt among its investors, in March filed for bankruptcy but plans to continue operating its vertical strawberry farm in Chesterfield County throughout the restructuring. In a statement, Plenty said it is “a challenging time” for the vertical farming industry and that it determined pursuing a restructuring is in the company’s best interest. In addition to its facility in Chesterfield’s Meadowville Technology Park, Plenty will continue operating its plant science research and development facility in Wyoming throughout the restructuring process. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The City of Richmond on March 27 finalized the purchase of the 95.93-acre Altria Group site in the city’s eighth district from Philip Morris USA for $5.5 million. The purchase will allow the city to create a new signature park in Southside, establish another east-west travel route along its southern edge and conduct a market study to determine the best uses for the remaining acreage. Nearly half of the undeveloped property includes wetlands and ponds, which the city will look to incorporate into a 45-acre signature park for the surrounding Southside communities. (News release)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced in March that he was vetoing language in the state’s revised budget that would require Churchill Downs to earn approval from Henrico County voters through a referendum before opening the Roseshire gaming facility in the county. Unless two-thirds of the Virginia House of Delegates and two-thirds of the Virginia Senate vote to override that veto, the facility will be able to open once it receives a license from the Virginia Racing Commission. Vetoes rarely are overridden by the General Assembly. The facility is expected to have 175 historical horse racing machines. (Henrico Citizen)

EASTERN VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach-based developer Mike Sifen has purchased the majority of Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake for $22.4 million, now owning all of the property except the Dillard’s department store. The 55-acre property’s sale was finalized on April 1, concluding a three-year process that began when Tennessee-based CBL Properties lost the property in 2022 after they defaulted on a nearly $62 million loan balance. Chesapeake Mayor Rick West said he spoke with Sifen and that Sifen indicated he’s willing to work with the city to find a common vision. (WAVY)

New York-based construction company Skanska announced in March that it has completed a $223 million redevelopment project for the Virginia Port Authority, upgrading 72 acres of Portsmouth Marine Terminal and 1,500 feet of wharf that now serves as an offshore wind staging port. Richmond-based Dominion Energy will use the space for its $10.7 billion Coastal project. According to Skanska, the terminal serves as a collection and storage site for wind turbine components, which are then transferred to installation vessels. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Virginia Beach-based business Taste, a café and food retailer that sells gourmet sandwiches, salads, soups, wine and desserts, recently announced its transition to 100% employee ownership under an employee stock ownership plan. Company leaders made the transition to employee ownership in November 2024 and announced it to team members at the end of January. The company has more than 600 employees and nine locations, with plans to open a tenth this fall. (The Virginian-Pilot)

-based TowneBank announced plans April 3 to acquire Old Point Financial, parent company of The Old Point National Bank of Phoebus, in a deal valued at $203 million. The merger is expected to enhance TowneBank’s position as the bank with the most market share in . The combined bank is expected to have total assets of $19.5 billion, loans of $13.1 billion and deposits of $16.3 billion, based on financial data as of Dec. 31, 2024. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Service-disabled and veteran-owned metal fabrication company TST Fab & Machine is investing $3 million to expand its existing Norfolk headquarters, with plans to create 56 jobs. The company fabricates sheet metal and manufactures machine parts for the Navy. The business is owned and operated by its CEO, retired U.S. Navy Commander Russell S. Turner, and its chief operating officer, Shawn Kuhle. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who announced the expansion in March, said the sheet metal and machine fabrication industries are “vital” to modern infrastructure, and this expansion will create jobs and boost innovation. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The U.S. Department of Energy announced March 27 that U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has approved a 12-month extension of the contract for Jefferson Science Associates to continue managing and operating the Jefferson Lab in Newport News. Jefferson Science Associates is a limited liability company created by the Southeastern Universities Research Association. Its contract was initially set to expire May 31. In February the DOE canceled its search for a new operator and manager of the facility, leading to questions about the federally funded lab’s future. The DOE plans to initiate a new contract competition. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

AeroVironment, an Arlington County-based defense contractor, announced in April that its stockholders have approved the $4.1 billion purchase of Arlington aerospace and defense tech firm BlueHalo. In November 2024, AeroVironment announced it was purchasing BlueHalo in an all-stock transaction. BlueHalo works in space technologies, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, directed energy, electronic warfare, cyber, artificial intelligence and uncrewed underwater vehicles. AeroVironment says the transaction is set to close in May, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. AeroVironment stockholders voted to approve the issuance of its common stock for the acquisition. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

An Fresh store in Manassas that opened in 2022 has closed. The Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, aka Virginia Works, received a Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) letter from Amazon in March saying that it planned to lay off 88 workers effective May 13. The store closed on March 16. A separate March WARN letter revealed that Arlington County nonprofit American Institutes for Research planned to lay off 149 employees by May 9. AIR expects to lay off 84 more people, according to a second WARN notice in April. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Herndon-based Fortune 500 company Beacon Roofing Supply has agreed to an $11 billion buyout by Connecticut software and professional services company QXO after previously rebuffing a slightly lower offer from the same suitor. The two businesses have entered into a definitive merger agreement with QXO purchasing the building supply company for $124.35 per share in cash, according to a March news release. The transaction was expected to close by the end of April. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The world’s largest corporate bitcoin investor, Tysons-based MicroStrategy, in April reported an expected first quarter loss in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing due to the falling value of its holdings in the cryptocurrency. After cresting at an all-time high of $100,000 in December 2024, bitcoin values fell below the $75,000 mark briefly on April 7. MicroStrategy said its unrealized loss on digital assets for the quarter ending March 31 was $5.91 billion. The tech company expects a resulting net loss for the quarter, although it will be “partially offset” by a related $1.69 billion income tax benefit. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Federal contracting firm Mitre, which has dual headquarters in McLean and Massachusetts, expects to lay off 442 people in Virginia, according to a letter sent to the Virginia Works department in April. The cuts come after the Trump administration announced more than $28 million in canceled contracts for the company. According to a WARN notice, the layoffs will take place by June 3. Founded in 1958, the not-for-profit company manages federally funded research and development centers, including the National Security Engineering Center. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Ashburn-based NFL franchise the Washington Commanders has hired Andy VanHorn to lead its effort to build a new stadium somewhere in the D.C. area. VanHorn is formerly executive vice president at JBG Smith Properties and was one of the key developers behind Amazon.com’s second headquarters. He will now serve as the Commanders’ new head of real estate. His new role, which began in January, includes “leading real estate related efforts for the new team stadium, support facilities and adjacent real estate needs,” VanHorn noted in his LinkedIn bio. (Washington Business Journal)

ROANOKE/ LYNCHBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY

In April, Roanoke Valley emergency room Dr. Thomas Bolton lost a $20 million whistleblower lawsuit against his employer, Lake Spring Emergency Group. Bolton alleged that he was fired for complaining that HCA Healthcare‘s emphasis on shorter ER wait times at LewisGale Medical Center in Salem and its Cave Spring ER had a negative impact on patient safety. A jury found that he had not been fired over his complaints. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, federal and state officials and executives, engineers and employees of Lynchburg-based gathered in March to celebrate the official opening of the nuclear company’s new Innovation Campus. Set on 11 acres in Campbell County, BWXT’s Innovation Campus (which shares a name only with Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria) includes 170,000 square feet of offices and manufacturing space, which will house laboratories where the company’s Advanced Technologies business unit will design, build and test advanced nuclear systems for its clients, which include NASA, the Defense Department and commercial businesses. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Munters, an air treatment and climate control solutions company with its global headquarters in Sweden, plans to invest $29.95 million on a 200,000-square-foot expansion of its HVAC manufacturing facility in Botetourt County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced in March. The new manufacturing facility, which will be devoted to data center cooling solutions, will be built on 30 acres at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield, adjacent to Munters’ current operation in Daleville. The expansion is expected to create 270 jobs. When completed, the expansion will also allow Munters’ to expand production of its Geoclima high-efficiency chiller line for U.S. data centers. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

An April 5 three-alarm fire at the Riverdale redevelopment site in Roanoke started accidentally from an electrical cause, Roanoke Fire-EMS Chief David Hoback said. Damages from the fire, which reduced Noke Van Co., a custom camper van business, to rubble are estimated at $4.25 million. The building was one of several structures located at the former campus of American Viscose, the 126-acre site of the $50 million Riverdale mixed-use redevelopment project from developer Ed Walker, who didn’t expect the fire would lead to cost overruns or delays. Noke Van lost 22 vehicles plus specialty equipment and tools in the fire. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

PEOPLE

Blacksburg-based National Bankshares announced on March 31 that its chairman and CEO, F. Brad Denardo, will retire June 30 from his position as CEO of the community bank holding company and its banking subsidiary, The National Bank of Blacksburg, which does business as National Bank. Denardo will also retire from his position as chairman, president and CEO of National Bankshares Financial Services, the company’s wholly owned financial services subsidiary. Succeeding him as CEO on July 1 will be Lara Ramsey, president of the holding company and the bank. Denardo will continue to act as a consultant to the bank and its parent company. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

G. Lyn Hayth III will retire as CEO of the Buchanan-based Bank of Botetourt at the end of June after nearly four decades at the bank. Michelle R. Austin, the bank’s president and chief operating officer, will become CEO on July 1 and retain her role as president. After joining the bank in 1986 as a vice president, Hayth went on to become president in 2002, a role he held from 2002 to 2023. He was named CEO in 2010. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

All Points Broadband and Dominion Energy in April started installing high-speed broadband internet, which will eventually reach all the districts of Rockingham County, beginning in the southwest — and some residents could be hooked up as early as this year. The broadband cable installation is expected to take another year or more. All Points CEO Jimmy Carr said they hope to finish the project and have all areas of the county connected to broadband by the middle of 2026. The $60 million project will be paid for through federal and state funds. (Daily News-Record)

James Madison University on March 26 announced that University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Chancellor James C. Schmidt will be its next president. His appointment was affirmed by the university’s board of visitors, and his tenure will begin on July 1. Schmidt, who succeeds interim president Charlie King, has worked in for more than 30 years. He said JMU has an opportunity to grow industry partnerships and contribute to the economic success of Virginia. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

A judge on March 31 dismissed a federal lawsuit by a group of Virginia Military Institute alumni. The federal suit, filed in June 2024 by more than two dozen alumni, claimed that the state-run military college in Lexington and the VMI Alumni Association are so intertwined that VMI essentially controls the association. Plaintiffs said the association violated their First and 14th Amendment rights when it restructured the school’s alumni fundraising organizations without alumni approval. Judge Norman Moon wrote that the complaint failed to present facts to “plausibly establish” that VMIAA was under the control of the institute. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins’ superintendent contract will expire in June, VMI’s board decided in February. (Cardinal News)

Convenience store chain Wawa plans to massively expand in the western side of Virginia, potentially opening 60 stores along Interstate 81 within the next decade. Wawa plans to invest approximately $7.5 million to build each store. Every store will employ an average of 35 people — which means that thousands of jobs will be created statewide. In April, Wawa held groundbreaking events to celebrate the official start of construction on a store in Lynchburg and a store in Staunton, both projected to open this fall. The company says it’s working to find and finalize details for other sites under contract. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Winchester Authority will undertake an economic analysis and fiscal impact study to determine if the city would be an appropriate home for a casino. EDA Director Jeff Buettner says a private developer whose identity hasn’t been publicly released approached the city about building a “convention and entertainment center, of which gaming would be a small component.” A location for the proposed facility has not been selected, but Buettner said the earliest that such an enterprise could open in Winchester would be about three years. More time is likely needed to fully vet the project, which would require state legislative approval for the casino component. (The Winchester Star)

PEOPLE

Mount Crawford-based industrial developer and company InterChange Group recently announced several major changes to its executive leadership. Effective March 10, Keith VanBenschoten assumed the role of chief strategy officer, and Cliff Alt was promoted to chief operating officer. The company also announced that Timothy Cognata had been appointed director of sales. InterChange said the leadership changes came in response to “evolving market demands” and the desire for the company to position itself better to capture new customers while better serving existing clients. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Danville private university Averett University filed a federal lawsuit March 26 alleging its former chief finance officer worked with an investment firm to conceal illicit draws from its endowment that were used to cover budget deficits. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Averett states that Donald Aungst, who was hired by the university in 2020, colluded with Arizona-based Global Strategic Investment Services to “surreptitiously” drain close to $20 million from the university’s endowment. Also, in April, Averett President David Joyce stepped down after only three months because his wife received a “serious medical diagnosis” requiring the couple’s “full-time attention,” according to his statement. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

In April, Boar’s Head Provisions and class action plaintiffs agreed to a $3.1 million settlement tied to the recall of 7 million pounds of deli meat produced at Boar’s Head’s Jarratt facility. The meat caused a deadly listeria outbreak in 2024 that led to 10 deaths and 60 hospitalizations. The settlement still needs to be approved by a federal judge. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

A higher assessment for the Caesars Virginia casino could result in about $1.6 million more in projected real estate tax revenue for Danville than initially expected. The previous assessment for the property, including the land and improvements, was about $350 million — which would have brought in about $2.9 million in real estate tax revenue for the city, according to City Finance Director Michael Adkins. But the most recent valuation from Jortberg Associates resulted in an assessed value of about $600 million, Adkins said. (Danville Register & Bee)

Construction for Microporous‘ $1.3 billion lithium-ion battery separator plant at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill was delayed from April until June or July due to uncertainty regarding its federal funding, according to Pittsylvania County’s economic development director, Matt Rowe. Microporous received approval for a $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in January. An executive order from President Donald Trump threw federal funding for renewable energy projects into doubt amid court challenges. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner has said he’s been concerned about the status of the grant and has spoken with the energy secretary about it. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities announced on April 10 a major milestone in its efforts to strengthen connectivity in Southern Virginia: It has now connected more than 1,000 commercial locations in its middle-mile fiber network. The open-access network now spans over 2,500 route miles in 41 localities with more than 6 terabits per second of capacity provisioned and will serve as the backbone for broadband expansion and accompanying economic growth in the region, according to Mid-Atlantic Broadband, which partners with internet service providers and other telecom providers to ensure access for end-users. (News Release)

Mountain Valley Pipeline and its opponents are clashing over the company’s plans to build a 31-mile, $370 million extension, called Southgate, from the main pipeline in Pittsylvania County into Rockingham County, North Carolina. Mountain Valley says Southgate is needed to deliver natural gas to North Carolina, where it says the extension’s proposed gas capacity is already fully subscribed by two utilities. But critics argue the project is unnecessary and harmful to the environment and that the proposal has changed significantly from its original plan and requires new regulatory review. Developers aim to start construction in 2026. (Cardinal News)

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

The Trump administration terminated a $500,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant to help pay for recreation and flood-resilience projects in five communities in Southwest Virginia. The news came in a Feb. 21 email from the EPA stating that the grant isn’t consistent with the goals of the current administration, according to Emma Kelly, the new program coordinator for nonprofit Appalachian Voices, which is working with the towns of Clinchco, Dungannon, Pennington Gap and Pound and the community of Dante on the projects. Appalachian Voices has filed an administrative appeal to contest the decision. (Cardinal News)

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter dated Feb. 28 said that Speyside Bourbon Cooperage in Atkins would lay off 75 employees at the end of April due to slowdowns in the bourbon industry. Speyside planned to end second-shift production and third-shift maintenance at the Smyth County facility. Laid-off workers may be recalled “as business needs warrant based on department, by seniority,” according to the letter. Although sales of American whiskey increased during the pandemic, domestic sales of American whiskey dropped 1.8% in 2024, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Bedroom and dining furniture manufacturer Vaughan-Bassett, which is headquartered in Galax, sent a letter to dealers and sales reps April 3 announcing no price increases for 120 days and discounts on certain items in the wake of announced . The company says all its furniture is made in Virginia and not susceptible to tariffs. For products already on a dealer’s floor, the company says it will guarantee no price increases through Aug. 1. For new placements that are ordered and shipped before April 22, the company said it would guarantee its existing prices also through Aug. 1. (BridgeTower Media)

The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority closed an almost $1.32 million loan for Lawrence Brothers Inc., a Tazewell County manufacturing company, to assist an expansion. With the loan, which VCEDA announced April 9, LBI will buy a Mitsubishi fiber optic laser. The company plans to invest at least $2.8 million and to add up to 37 full-time jobs. Incorporated in 1975, Lawrence Brothers specializes in heavy metal fabrication and custom metal applications for the general metal industrial goods industry and various other industries, including the underground mining, energy and electrical, automotive, material handling and airline sectors. (News release)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith announced March 20 that $11 million in federal funding is available to drive economic development in Southwest Virginia’s coalfield communities. The governor announced the Virginia Department of Energy is accepting applications for the eighth round of the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program that transforms abandoned mine lands and surrounding areas into economic assets. To qualify for funding, projects must be located on or adjacent to mine lands abandoned before 1977 and demonstrate strong economic development potential. (News release)

PEOPLE

Emory & Henry University announced in March that it was promoting Louise Fincher from interim president to the university’s permanent 23rd president. The university’s board of trustees unanimously selected Fincher as president during its spring meeting. Fincher joined the college in 2014 when she was selected as the founding dean of the School of Health Sciences in Marion. She became senior vice president in 2020 and interim president on Aug. 1, 2024, filling in for former President John W. Wells. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

 

Tariffs spark uncertainty for Virginia port and shippers

SUMMARY:

  • New from Trump administration disrupt global shipping and trade.

  • braces for amid rising costs.

  • Economists warn prolonged tariffs could trigger statewide job losses.

  • Domestic production efforts face high costs and limited labor supply.

Rachel Shames, vice president for pricing and procurement for Norfolk-based customs broker CV International, has been attending TPM, the California conference for the global container shipping and community, for years. But she’d never experienced a conference like the one in March.

Presenters were changing their slideshows at the last minute, responding to tectonic shifts in the tariffs landscape with announcements from President Donald Trump, who declared import taxes on steel and aluminum, foreign vehicles, pharmaceuticals, copper, lumber and other goods within a matter of weeks.

“The updates were coming in as sessions were underway, in real-time, as news was breaking,” Shames says. “The general mood was frustration and uncertainty.”

Words like “uncertainty” and “moving target” describe the chaotic push and pull of tariff announcements and delays over the first few months of the second Trump administration.

At the start, , Mexico and Canada were targets. Soon, some of those actions were delayed or changed. Then tariffs on steel and aluminum were announced. The European Union retaliated with tariffs on up to $28 billion worth of American goods, including bourbon, boats and motorcycles. In response, Trump threatened a 200% tariff on all EU countries’ wine.

In early April, Trump rolled out 10% tariffs on from all countries, plus higher tariffs on other nations, led by a 34% tax on Chinese imports, 32% on Taiwan, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 20% on the European Union.

It’s hard to know where prices will end up. The conservative-leaning Tax Foundation in March estimated that the tariffs could affect more than $1 trillion in imports.

“There very likely will be an impact,” says Shames, who works closely with international shippers. “We know when something is tariffed, when something is taxed, there’s usually less that’s moving commercially. We have to expect that’s going to be the overall effect.”

Chinese impact

For the Port of Virginia, the focus is China, a key partner, while Canada, Mexico and, to some extent, Europe, lag behind in trading. The port’s 2024 report shows China as its top import partner and the second-ranked export partner. India tops the list of exports and is second in imports.

The Port of Virginia ranks sixth in the nation for shipping traffic, processing 3.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in fiscal 2024, a 2% over the previous year and its second-best performance in its history. The impact of tariffs on the port depends on several factors: the tariffs’ duration, affected commodities and severity of retaliatory tariffs.

Robert McNab, chair of Old Dominion University’s economic department and director of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, says that if tariffs last a month, they would have minimal impact on the state’s , but if they linger for a year or more, the consequences throughout the commonwealth could be substantial.

“The effects of tariffs are cascading,” he says. “As tariffs gain momentum and the negative economic impacts aggregate, the job losses accumulate and increase over time. And it’s not just the direct jobs at the port that would be lost.”

Demand for longshoremen, transport drivers, and other landside support like warehousing would decline. Those people would spend less money.

In a worst-case scenario, long-term tariffs on imports and exports would have a cascading effect, accumulating downstream across the economy, McNab says.

Virginia has leaned into becoming a value-added state, bringing in intermediate goods like steel and aluminum that are used in finished goods like cars and appliances and then exported. If prices for those intermediate goods rose, for instance, demand for them would shrink. Those companies would lay off employees.

“That’s the worst-case scenario,” McNab says. “We have a long set of tariffs. We don’t have the domestic capacity to replace those goods at a cheaper cost, and you end up with higher prices. You end up with fewer people who are employed at the port and throughout Virginia because of the negative impacts of tariffs.”

Couple that with reductions in federal employment, and the outlook grows even dimmer.

“Over the last decade, Hampton Roads has been able to rely on increasing defense expenditures and rising levels of federal civilian employment to offset uncertainty with regards to international trade and other economic conditions,” he says. “We could now foresee an environment where tariffs reduce the flow of international trade while federal civilian employment in the region also declines. That could exacerbate the regional and statewide impact.”

That, McNab says, would squeeze economic growth throughout the urban crescent of Hampton Roads, Richmond and Northern Virginia, where 70% of Virginians live.

“If there was a worst-case scenario, it would be prolonged tariffs, declines in federal civilian employment and declining international migration,” McNab added. “Hopefully we don’t end up there, but you could see how these three threads could come together and really push against economic growth in the commonwealth.”

Looking back

However, the state can look to its recent past for some answers. In 2018, Trump imposed higher taxes on Chinese goods, targeting $250 billion in Chinese imports, starting at 10% and rising to 25%. Virginia’s exports to China fell from $1.7 billion in 2017 to $1.2 billion in 2018 and 2019, but China remained the state’s No. 1 source for imports throughout the .

In 2020, a new agreement between the two countries required China to purchase $200 billion more in U.S. exports, bringing Virginia’s exports to China up to $1.8 billion.

Still, there were negative impacts of the first tariff war. A 2020 Brookings report said the tariffs cost American companies $46 billion. Among the most affected was the agriculture industry.

“Farmers have lost the vast majority of what was once a $24 billion market in China” as a result of Chinese retaliatory actions, according to the American Farm Bureau.

Those threats to farmers are back. In March, China levied tariffs ranging from 10% to 15% on products like corn, pork, soybeans and fruit. Oil, seeds and nuts are the second largest export from the Port of Virginia, with wood and wood pulp in the top five. For Virginia farmers and timber harvesters, China was their top customer in 2023, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, importing more than $3.6 billion in agricultural and forestry purchases that year.

While the tariffs on Mexico and Canada splashed across headlines, they have less impact on the port because it does almost no business with those countries, a fraction of 1% of volume, according to Ricardo Ungo, director of ODU’s , Ports and Logistics Management Institute.

That’s not to say Virginia as a whole won’t be affected by a trade war with Canada, because in 2024, Canada was Virginia’s largest export market, accounting for 15% of exports, according to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.

But Ungo points out that after the 2018 Chinese tariffs, overall traffic at the port didn’t suffer. “What I saw for the 2018, 2019 aggregate volume, we didn’t see a real impact for all countries, but you could see impacts specifically for the Chinese items,” he says. “Traffic with China slipped 16% in 2019.

“To see the effects, you have to drill into the specifics of commodities from China. Motor parts decreased 7%. Furniture imports declined about 35%,” he notes. “But overall imports of furniture, which was third on the 2023 report, were compensated by increases from other countries, including Malaysia and Vietnam.”

However, nearly 80% of toys, smartphones, lithium-ion batteries and portable computers come from China, although trade has diversified somewhat in recent years.

“China is still so dominant in a lot of different industries because of the high level of efficiency, the highly skilled labor force,” Shames says, adding that the country has a robust infrastructure as well. “All of the things you’re looking for when you’re when you’re looking to minimize cost but be able to source a quality product.”

The United States — and Virginia — was resilient during the 2018 tariff war because of supply chains created with other exporters, notably in Southeast Asia, but the labor pool is not as large, skilled or efficient as it is in China, experts say.

What’s different today, Shames says, is that the low-hanging fruit has been harvested, and those relationships with other countries are already in place.

“What’s left when we’re looking at China right now is the products that are going to be really hard to move,” Shames says. Also, it’s risky to invest in production elsewhere in an uncertain tariff climate, she adds.

Old Dominion University economist Robert McNab says a monthlong tariff war wouldn’t hurt Virginia’s economy significantly, but a yearlong event is a different story. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Domestic production

And although the U.S. has made significant moves to increase domestic manufacturing, it can be expensive to jumpstart production.
In Virginia, Microporous is building a $1.35 billion lithium-ion battery component plant in Pittsylvania County, and Micron Technologies is expanding its presence in Manassas to build a $2.17 billion DRAM chip facility, moving its production from Taiwan to Virginia. In Petersburg, a regional pharmaceutical hub has started production, but all three projects are doing so with the assistance of now-unsure federal funding, along with significant investments by their companies and the state.

Shames notes that the U.S. has a smaller skilled labor force for factory jobs, as well as higher wages compared to workers in other countries, which present challenges for companies.

“Certainly there’s room for some manufacturing to come back here,” Shames says. “But whether it’s a very significant portion, I think most in the industry believe that that’s just not going to be possible.”

It’s not yet clear how much impact tariffs could have on Virginia’s manufacturing industry, and Virginia Tech associate professor David Bieri, an economist, said in March that Trump’s tariffs as currently structured won’t “lead to a tremendous amount of job creation in the United States.” McNab anticipates some businesses may freeze hiring or lay off employees out of concern of higher production costs.

And meanwhile, the port is also eyeing the White House proposal to impose levies as high as $1.5 million on Chinese-built ships arriving at American ports, as well as other countries’ vessels that are operated by carriers with Chinese ships in their fleets. The cost could approach $1 million per port call, and Shames says the domestic shipping industry is fighting the plan, which started under former President Joe Biden and is still alive under Trump.

In March, Atlantic Container Line CEO Andrew Abbott told CNBC that this tax would cause his company to go out of business because of costs he would have to pass along to customers, although some larger ocean liners could handle the impact better.

On the surface, Trump says these taxes would lead to more American-made container ships, but that industry has disappeared domestically due to Chinese competition.

“If [the tax] gets implemented, that’s big,” Shames says. “This will have ripple effects with the entire industry, and it will mean that shipping costs go extremely high,” she says, adding that it will eliminate some port calls because of the cost.

“Most people in our industry are optimistic that that proposal will not be implemented. If it is, it will be at a completely different level of congestion and freight pricing that we may have never seen before.”

Once again, it’s one more instance of uncertainty for an industry that has been impacted by the pandemic, geopolitical warfare and inflation over the past five years.

“You want to have some kind of a plan to counteract whatever kind of challenge you’re up against, some sort of a solution that will help you avoid, or at least minimize the impacts of something like this,” Shames says. “The problem is shippers really don’t know what next steps to take.”

Newport News Shipbuilding hits milestone with dual Ford-class carrier builds

SUMMARY:

  • NNS builds two Ford-class carriers in one dry dock for first time
  • was floated in October 2024; next
  • Shipyard uses for components on new carriers
  • NNS met hiring goal of 3,000 workers in 2024, more needed long term

is making history this year with its development of nuclear-powered , as for the first time, it is building two Gerald R. Ford-class carriers simultaneously in the same dry dock.

Industries, NNS’ parent company, announced in November 2024 that NNS had successfully transferred the mid-body hull section of aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. HII began construction on the Enterprise in 2017 and held a keel-laying ceremony in 2022.

The shipyard reported that on Oct. 31, 2024, it initiated a process of slowly filling the dry dock with more than 100 million gallons of water — marking the first time the Enterprise was floated. The carrier was then transferred to the west end of the dry dock, where construction on the ship is ongoing. The relocation of the Enterprise will allow NNS to begin assembling the USS Doris Miller in the east end of the dry dock later this year.

“It is only fitting for this Enterprise, , to be part of a historic first at NNS, considering the previous Enterprise, CVN 65, was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, proudly built here at the shipyard,” Les Smith, vice president of the Enterprise and Doris Miller aircraft carrier programs, said in a statement. “Thousands of dedicated shipbuilders are working with urgency on these aircraft carriers that we know will play a vital role in the Navy’s fleet.”

NNS said in March that it is integrating additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, into the shipbuilding process and that the shipyard successfully used this technique to build a valve manifold assembly on the Enterprise. The assembly allows distribution of a single source of fluid to multiple points on the ship and is installed in a pump room. The shipyard has similar manifolds planned for the Doris Miller, named after a late sailor who was the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross. He shot down at least one plane during World War II and helped carry wounded soldiers to safety during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

The two aircraft carriers are part of NNS’ $15.2 billion multi-ship contract awarded by the Navy in 2019. The Enterprise is expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2029, while Doris Miller is expected to be delivered in 2032.

NNS delivered the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford to the Navy in May 2017. The second-in-class, John F. Kennedy, is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy sometime this year, after missing a June 2024 deadline.

NNS spokesperson Todd Corrillo describes the simultaneous construction of the Enterprise and Doris Miller as one of the most significant recent developments at the shipbuilder, the largest industrial employer in Virginia. Another major milestone from the company is HII’s purchase of a metal fabrication plant in South Carolina in January.

“This acquisition increased our workforce by approximately 500 highly trained personnel, and we plan by 2027 to employment significantly at this site, a 480,000-square-foot facility,” CEO Chris Kastner said during a February earnings call. The plant, now part of NNS, is working on aircraft carrier components.

Finding shipbuilders

Thousands of shipyard workers are involved in the construction of the Enterprise and the Miller crafts, Corillo says, and NNS acknowledged last year that it needed to hire about 3,000 skilled workers in 2024 for needs, as well as 16,000 more in the next decade.

The shipyard met its 2024 goal, Kastner confirmed in the February earnings call, and he said he expects HII to hire around the same number of people this year. However, the company has shifted its focus from entry-level employees to hiring more experienced people “that have chosen shipbuilding as a career,” Kastner said.

The Hampton Roads Workforce Council has made significant efforts to recruit maritime talent for the past several years, including people leaving the military. The council received an $11 million grant from the U.S. Administration in 2022 to develop a maritime talent pipeline known as the Regional Workforce Training System, and in 2023 won a $14 million grant to support regional workforce initiatives related to the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base and related industries.

Council CEO Shawn Avery says that as of February, more than 1,740 people have enrolled in maritime job training as part of the initiative, and approximately 1,420 have finished. He said a “big portion” of those who complete training decide to work for NNS.

“The system is really growing to meet that continuing demand of the subs and the aircraft carriers and everything associated with maritime,” Avery says.

There used to be a lack of common knowledge about what types of maritime jobs were available and not enough opportunities to train workers, Avery notes, but the regional training system is making strides to change that. “We still have to continue to make sure that we’re building the pipeline, but I think we’re starting to really put a system in place that’s making a difference.”

New law to reduce Appalachian Power rates


Summary

  • Virginia passes Rate Reduction Act to lower bills.
  • Law freezes disconnect fees and bans winter rate hikes.
  • must file for fuel cost reduction and seasonal .
  • More legislation aimed at further lowering rates expected in 2026.

Relief from skyrocketing monthly electric bills is on the way for Appalachian customers in western Virginia after the General Assembly unanimously passed and Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the APCo Rate Reduction Act, effective July 1.

Intended to make power rates more affordable and championed by Southwest Virginia lawmakers, the law allows for securitization to reduce monthly bills, places a six-month moratorium on interest and late fees, a nine-month freeze on disconnect and reconnect fees, and prohibits rate increases during the winter.

Appalachian also must file for a reduction in fuel costs, which saves customers money on their monthly bills, propose alternatives to current billing practices to reduce the burden of high monthly bills during peak times and propose seasonal rates to minimize the impact of high electricity usage in the winter.

“It’s the most significant electric bill relief for Appalachian customers in years,” says Del. Jason Ballard, R-Giles, the House bill’s primary sponsor. “This is a really big win because people will see relief on their electric bills.”

A subsidiary of Ohio-based American Electric Power Co., Appalachian Power serves about 540,000 Virginia customers. The average bill has risen about $50 over the past three years to about $174 per month, but some customers say their monthly bills have grown by far greater amounts. The situation reached a tipping point following dramatic surges due to higher fuel prices, as well as costs to clean up after Hurricane Helene and other recent storms.

“I have constituents who pay over $1,000 a month for their power. Sometimes, they’re choosing between paying their electric bill and buying groceries or medicine,” says Ballard. “We had to do something.”

Appalachian President and Chief Operating Officer Aaron Walker responded to the legislation with the following statement: “Working with the legislature, we have made significant progress toward finding real solutions that improve affordability for customers while continuing to make investments to enhance reliability.

“We recognize some of our customers are struggling with their bills now and need immediate support,” he added. “We encourage those in need to reach out to us directly.”

Ballard says more bills addressing rate increases are expected to be introduced during the 2026 session: “This is a really good first step in reducing monthly rates, but it doesn’t go far enough. We have to do more to save customers money.”

Navy training center boosts Virginia maritime workforce

  • Navy’s opens new training center in Danville
  • Over 875 graduates trained since program launched in 2021
  • 40,000 and offshore wind workers needed by 2030
  • TCC, VPCC and others expanding training

In January, the Navy’s Danville-based National Training Center opened at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, providing a new, state-of-the-art home for the sea service’s Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program.

A public-private partnership between IALR, Danville Community College, the Navy, the Department of Defense and industry stakeholders, ATDM has produced more than 875 graduates since it started in 2021, with another 90 slated to finish in May. As the program settles into its new home, with plans to expand to as many as 1,000 students annually, its graduates are already having a large impact in Virginia. More than 200 have found work in the state, with about 30 more expected in coming months.

They’re also coming at a critical time in Virginia, helping fill gaps in maritime manufacturing jobs, including in and repair, as well as the state’s growing offshore wind industry, led by Dominion Energy’s $10.7 billion, 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

Workforce Council President and CEO Shawn Avery projects that 40,000 skilled workers will be needed during the next six years to support the needs of the region’s maritime and offshore wind industries, the skills for which, including welding, computer numerical control machining and pipefitting, overlap by about 90%. Multiple efforts are underway to build a regional workforce pipeline.

In November 2023, the workforce council received a $14 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to boost regional workforce training for the defense industrial base. That’s on top of an $11 million grant in 2022 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop a maritime talent pipeline known as the Regional Maritime Training System, or RMTS.

The RMTS initiative includes partnerships with 30 schools, colleges and training programs to train future maritime workers in a variety of necessary skills, and it currently works directly with about 20 companies that make up most of the region’s jobs in and repair, Avery explains.
As of January, nearly 1,700 people have enrolled in maritime training programs through RMTS, and at least 850 graduates are now employed in maritime jobs, Avery says.

With Hampton Roads now “saturated” with information about RMTS, Avery says the council is considering expanding recruitment into Richmond, Petersburg and the Northern Neck, as well as targeting the large military community in Northern Virginia and reaching deeper into North Carolina, to Wilmington.

“Those are similar economies, and maybe there’s an individual that may be willing to move up this way,” Avery says.

The workforce council is also expanding programming with the help of additional federal grants, including $5 million in 2023 to build out a regional infrastructure workforce that is targeting training 350 people through 2028. Last year, the council received a $6 million federal grant to develop an apprenticeship hub, which will include a focus on maritime skills, as well as other industries.

Efforts are also expanding within area schools and community colleges. In September 2024, an expanded Maritime Lab opened at Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Technical and Career Education Center, doubling its capacity to 80 students.

Also in September 2024, expanded its Portsmouth-based skilled trades academy, adding 12,000 square feet to boost accelerated training in programs including maritime trades and wind turbine technology. TCC has trained nearly 2,400 students since opening its marine training program six years ago, and plans are underway to expand training in Virginia Beach and Norfolk. New programming in maritime and offshore wind planned for Virginia Beach in 2026 could train up to 315 students annually, says Laura Hanson, TCC’s associate vice president for workforce solutions.

In Suffolk, Paul D. Camp Community College is transforming a former grocery store into a maritime manufacturing skills training facility that is expected to open by June. The college also partnered with on the Isle Maritime Trades Academy, a state-funded lab school, expected to open in fall 2025, that will offer marine welding and marine electrical industry credentials for area high schoolers.

Virginia Peninsula Community College is also building a 16,000-square-foot facility in Newport News to add classes in welding, marine electrical skills and structural fitting, boosting its ability to train about 380 students annually in maritime-specific work, says Todd Estes, VPCC’s vice president of and innovation. The campus is scheduled to open this fall.

In Danville, the ATDM’s new building has been a game changer for the program, which is eyeing adding additional shifts in additive manufacturing, non-destructive testing and quality assurance, says Jason Wells, IALR’s executive vice president for manufacturing advancement. The 16-week training program also offers welding and CNC training and has attracted students from 45 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and Australia, according to the Navy.

“We’re able to now start to really define, even for the staff, not just students, but define our own culture by having our own defined space,” Wells says. “It’s home.”

New logistics centers boost Virginia’s supply chain edge

SUMMARY:

  • Four new centers opening in Virginia in 2025
  • in Virginia Beach is second part of $350 million project
  • project in expected to support over 9,000 jobs
  • Whitepine Logistics Center in Chesterfield offers 2-day access to 75% of U.S.

This year, four major distribution centers across Virginia are set to open their doors to businesses seeking an East Coast hub for their operations.

Three are situated in the area, reinforcing the region’s position as a key logistics hub. The in Hampton, Port 460 Logistics Center in Suffolk, and ‘s high-tech fulfillment center in Virginia Beach are strategically located near the Port of Virginia, facilitating efficient distribution networks, while the Whitepine Logistics Center in will provide access to 75% of the U.S. population within two days’ drive.

Last summer, two real estate development firms started construction on two Class A industrial warehouses at the Hampton Logistics Center, which are on track for completion by the end of the year, according to Gregg Christoffersen, a JLL managing director who is in charge of leasing the buildings. The $70 million project includes a 230,874-square-foot warehouse expected to be finished in September, and a second, 275,685-square-foot building expected to be done by December or January 2026.

Developers Turnbridge Equities and Manekin say that both buildings will have 185-foot rear-load truck courts and a 36-foot clear height, as well as LEED Gold certification, a first for an industrial development in Hampton Roads. It’s less than 20 minutes away from the Port of Virginia’s ocean terminals.

In Suffolk, the 500-acre Port 460 Logistics Center is on schedule for completion of its first phase by October, according to Christoffersen.

A joint venture between Rockefeller Group and Matan Cos. estimated at about $420 million, Port 460 is set to deliver 2.4 million square feet of industrial space across five buildings in its first phase. A subsequent phase will add an additional 2.6 million square feet, bringing the total development to approximately 5 million square feet. According to a statement by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Port 460 will support over 9,000 jobs when fully built out.

Like the Hampton Logistics Center, Port 460 will offer tenants easy access to all major metropolitan areas of the Eastern Seaboard and direct access to the Port of Virginia, appealing to businesses seeking efficient logistics solutions.

“With what we expect to be an improving coupled with growth of the port, we are seeing good traction for new speculative distribution and logistic centers in the Hampton Roads market,” says Christoffersen, who is also leasing Port 460.

In nearby Virginia Beach, Amazon is finishing work on its 650,000-square-foot fulfillment center, the second part of a $350 million project that includes a 219,000-square-foot delivery station that opened last year. The fulfillment center will be run via robotics — although humans will be employed, Amazon says — and will include five floors with 55 loading docks.

An Amazon regional spokesperson says that robots will move and store items and pick and pack orders for shipment, working alongside human workers to efficiently fulfill orders, like Amazon’s robotics fulfillment center built in Suffolk in 2022.

Meanwhile, Chesterfield County’s 100-acre Whitepine Logistics Center, another Class A industrial project, is also set to welcome tenants by October, according to Muscoe Garnett, a JLL managing director. JLL Capital Markets secured $34 million in construction financing last year for developers Mixson Properties, Frampton Strategy Group and Singerman Real Estate.

Based a few miles off Interstate 95, Whitepine has three buildings totaling 498,000 square feet, including 32-foot clear heights and front-parked, rear-loaded tilt-wall construction.

In addition to these projects, Target announced in March it will build a 1.4 million-square-foot center in New Kent County in the New Kent City Center development, and the 275-acre Staunton Crossing industrial property at the former Western State Hospital site is expected to be ready for full occupancy in 2026, city officials say.

Out and About May 2025

1. Rod Garvin, Ernst & Young’s U.S. advisory services manager, spoke March 19 at the Greater Richmond Partnership’s strategic plan launch, held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. (Photo by Hunter Henkel; courtesy Greater Richmond Partnership) 2. driver Brad Keselowski stands with employees and guests of Lynchburg’s prior to the March 30 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo courtesy BWXT) 3. Chef Torrece “” Gregoire, owner of Bristol restaurant , competes in “Yes, Chef!” a culinary competition TV show from the creators of Bravo’s “Top Chef” that premiered April 28 on NBC and Peacock. Gregoire previously was an all-star contestant on Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and competed on Food Network’s “Big Restaurant Bet.” (Photo by Pief Weyman, courtesy NBC) 4. Mary Washington Hospital employees, along with families of babies treated at the Fredericksburg facility, celebrated the March 25 opening of the Joe and Mary Wilson Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. (Photo courtesy Mary Washington Healthcare) 5. L to R: Kristylea Ojeda, a professor of at Virginia Western Community College, works in a campus lab March 31 with student Raychel Hahn, who had recently passed the Biotechnology Aptitude and Competency Exam, a bioscience industry-recognized credential. Virginia Western received approval in 2024 to be a BACE testing site. (Photo courtesy Virginia Western Community College)

William & Mary earns coveted R1 research status

 

Summary

  • joins 187 national institutions with R1 status.
  • stands out for achieving R1 without an associated medical school.
  • The university processed over $81 million in research expenditures in FY2023.
  • spans over 20 centers and institutes.
  • R1 status expected to boost grant opportunities and national reputation.

William & Mary achieved a landmark achievement in February, the prestigious Research 1 designation, joining five other Virginia universities.

That’s the highest ranking possible, recognizing top research spending and doctorate production; 187 institutions nationally have earned R1 status from the of Institutions of .

What’s a bit unusual is the fact that W&M is smaller than the state’s other R1 schools and doesn’t have an associated medical school. George Mason University, Old Dominion University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech also earned R1 status this year.

“William & Mary’s designation as an R1 research university reflects our longstanding commitment to research that drives innovation and creates meaningful impact,” Provost Peggy Agouris said in a statement. “This designation expands opportunities for our outstanding faculty and students to engage in research of consequence, leading to actionable solutions and addressing pressing global challenges.”

W&M’s research activities involve more than 20 research centers and institutes. According to the university, much of the research is interdisciplinary. The university processed more than $81 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2023, supported by grants. But that total doesn’t include research efforts happening around the campus that are not supported through sponsored programs.

W&M conferred an average of 70 doctoral degrees each year between 2020 and 2023, including doctorates in everything from history to marine science. The nation’s second university, founded in 1693, also has built a reputation recently for its technology research and accompanying entrepreneurial network to bring ideas to market. Leaders hope the R1 classification will elevate its reputation further and allow more grant opportunities and a better ability to attract large-scale competitive funding.

Dennis Manos, vice provost for research and graduate/professional studies, says that the university’s evolution into a major research university has been an ongoing process for decades, requiring a large growth of Ph.D. programs, which he says are the measure of a research university.

W&M worked with partners in experimental physics and applied science and engineering areas and formed partnerships with the major military bases in and around the coastal peninsula region, Manos says. “Our Ph.D. students and their faculty mentors have worked with NASA Langley and Jefferson Laboratory, both flagship topical centers supported by the federal government to promote cutting edge research of economic value.”