McLean-based Fortune 500 global management consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. announced Wednesday it has hired Andrew Turner as an executive vice president and market strategy leader for the firm’s global commercial business.
With two decades of experience, Turner most recently was chief security officer with Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), where he oversaw corporate security and the company’s cyber and identity programs. In his new role, he will report to Bill Phelps, executive vice president and leader of Booz Allen’s global commercial cyber business.
“We are thrilled that Andrew will bring his C-level experience and perspective as a cybersecurity practitioner to our team,” Phelps said in a statement. “As our clients continue to embark on ambitious digital transformation journeys, we know that a successful digital transformation must be done securely to produce the results it purports to deliver.”
Before his time with FIS, Turner served as chief security officer at payment processor Worldpay, where he led the company’s security functions, and also served as head of global cybersecurity with Visa. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Turner in 2014 to serve on the Virginia Cyber Security Commission, which focuses on how the public and private sectors can work together on Virginia’s cybersecurity industry.
“As one of the world’s largest cybersecurity solution providers, Booz Allen is uniquely positioned to solve our clients’ toughest security challenges,” Turner said in a statement. “I am eager to join such a strong team and support the needs of clients through transformative, industry-leading strategies.”
Booz Allen has 27,173 employees, with 10,245 in Virginia.
According to a complaint filed in Henrico County Circuit Court on Dec. 2, 12042 West Broad Street Holdings LLC, the Bethesda, Maryland-based noteholder on the property, alleges a breach of contract, saying Shamin fell behind in its loan payments beginning in April 2020. The 254-room hotel in Short Pump was considered the gem of Shamin’s hotel portfolio when it opened in 2009. Now, Shamin CEO Neil Amin says his company is cooperating with the noteholder to allow them to take control of the hotel through receivership and a possible public auction.
The filing states that Shamin borrowed $45 million from JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association on Oct. 11, 2013. Amin says that the hotel was appraised at $68 million at the time of the loan. As of Dec. 1, 2020, Shamin owed $46.8 million on the loan, including a principal amount of $40.2 million, $1.18 million in accrued interest, $1.19 million in default interest and more than $127,000 in accrued late fees, according to the filing. The filing also requests that the court appoint Fairfax-based Crescent Hotel Management Services LLC to keep the property open and run it while a foreclosure sale is conducted. The plaintiff states that the property may be worth as little as $26 million.
Neil Amin, CEO of Shamin Hotels.
Via email, Amin said that the purpose of the 2013 loan was to refinance the original construction loan.
“This is a unique situation that is affecting all conference hotels nationwide and with our revenue declining by $10 [million] since the start of the pandemic and a noteholder that is not being supportive, we felt that this is the best decision for our company and our organization,” said Amin, who runs the business his father began in 1979.
Amin added that Shamin, one of the largest independent hoteliers in the United States with more than 60 properties, reached out to the noteholder at the beginning of the pandemic to use a portion of its $1.8 million in reserves that were held by the lender to make mortgage payments, stating that the same request was approved by many of Shamin’s other commercial mortgage-backed securities lenders.
After initially seeming cooperative, Amin said the noteholder “demanded significant lender fees and unsuitable guarantees in order to access those funds. We then offered other solutions such as providing a [significant] influx of capital to support the hotel over the next few years or paying off the loan at value significantly higher than the lender’s valuation.”
Amin said they offered making interest-only payments for a time, then pay off the loan in full to avoid foreclosure, as well as pay a significantly higher value than the lenders’ own valuation of the loan. Amin says that his other hotels are performing better than the Short Pump Hilton because they are less dependent on conferences and the revenue gained from them.
Calls and emails to Stephen K. Gallagher and Caleb E. McCallum, the plaintiff’s lawyers listed in the filing, were not immediately returned on Wednesday.
Amin said that new Shamin properties are on schedule to open in 2021, including The Landing at Hampton Marina, a Tapestry Hotel by Hilton in Hampton, as well as a Home2 Suites and a Hampton Inn and Suites in Short Pump.
This article has been corrected since it was published.
The number of initial joblessclaims filed last week stayed close to its Aug. 8 peak, with more than 14,000 Virginians filing new unemployment claims, according to Virginia Employment Commission data released Wednesday.
For the week ending Dec. 19, 14,640 Virginians filed initial claims for unemployment, an increase of 131 claimants from the previous week.
Last week, 67,478 Virginians remained unemployed — 48,041 higher than the 19,437 continued claims from the same period last year. People receiving unemployment benefits through the VEC must file weekly unemployment claims in order to continue receiving benefits.
“This drop indicated a resumption of its recent declining trend and was over 80% lower than its May 16 filing-week peak,” according to the VEC. “The continued claims total is mainly comprised of those recent initial claimants who continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19pandemic.”
The regions of the state that have been most impacted continue to be Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
Below are the top 10 localities, listed by number of initial unemployment claims, for the week ending Dec. 19:
On Tuesday, Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order to hold Virginia businesses harmless for any layoffs made during three months of the pandemic. It protects businesses from paying an additional $200 million in payroll taxes to replenish the VEC Unemployment Insurance Trust, which is predicted to have a record-setting $750 million deficit at the end of 2020. At the start of the year, the trust had $1.45 billion in its coffers. Currently, state unemployment payouts are being funded with federal dollars.
Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for last week was 803,000, a decrease of 89,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. There were 287,243 initial claims during the same week last year.
Eleven projects will receive $6 million in GO Virginia grants, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. The funds are broken into two allocations: statewide and regional business growth programs, and the Economic Resilience and Recovery Program created to help mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19.
The first group of recipients include two statewide and six regional projects, and the resilience recipients include three regional projects, which will also leverage an additional $6.5 million in local and other non-state resources to assist their efforts.
“These projects leverage the assets of each region and forge innovative partnerships that will help tackle some of our most pressing challenges,” Northam said in a statement. “GO Virginia is providing exactly the kind of investment we need to move our economy forward, drive private-sector growth, and continue our progress toward an equitable and sustainable recovery in the months ahead.”
The recipients and grant amounts include:
Virginia Bio Connect, $1,599,653 — a statewide program that will build four new “BioHubs” to support existing and emerging life sciences companies (statewide grant)
Launching a Coastal Resilience and Adaptation Economy, $2,937,163 — a project focused on Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore’s efforts to bring in businesses that will address sea-level rise and resilience (statewide grant)
Wildwood Natural Gas Extension, $527,600 — Project to provide natural gas access to the Wildwood Commerce Park (regional grant; Region 1)
Central Virginia Community College Career and Technical Education Academy, $266,000 — CVCC is partnering with 10 regional high schools in developing four new credentialing programs. (regional grant; Region 2)
LaGrange Industrial Park Master Planning and Preliminary Engineering Report, $76,992 — Improvement of 29 acres in the Essex County industrial park, which will bring it from a Tier 2 to at least a Tier 3 site in the Virginia Business Ready Site program (regional grant; Region 6)
Regional Robotics Innovation Hub, $73,000 — Hampton Roads Alliance will analyze trends and supply chains to focus on manufacturing, digital shipbuilding, water technology and other technology industries. (regional grant; Region 5)
RVA-757 Connects I-64 Corridor Talent Pipeline, $90,000 — A strategy to create jobs for the Hampton Roads and Richmond regional talent pool. (regional grant; Regions 4 and 5)
Venture Central, $300,000 — Program will connect entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to a network of service providers through a partnership with the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce. (regional grant; Region 9)
Economic Resilience and Recovery Grants — recipients include Capital Region Small Business Development Center ($30,500, Region 4); Virginia Virtual Maritime Trades Training ($100,000, Region 5) and Regional Business and Professional Connector Platform ($76,500, Region 9)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected Lynchburg-based nuclear fuel supplier BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) to lead a $106.6 million microreactor development project, the company announced Wednesday.
BWXT will work with two DOE-funded national laboratories to design and develop a small nuclear reactor. The DOE will contribute $85.3 million to the project, and BWXT will provide $21.3 million, according to a company statement.
“Today’s announcement is another contract win that highlights BWXT’s impressive design and engineering capabilities, as well as our fuel manufacturing expertise,” Ken Camplin, president of BWXT Nuclear Services Group Inc., said in a statement. “Innovative solutions like microreactors have the potential to solve a number of critical energy and environmental challenges for a variety of customers.”
As part of the program, BWXT plans to partner with Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
BWXT employs approximately 6,600 people across 12 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada. The company also provides management and operations at the DOE and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that $90,000 in Community Business Launch (CBL) grants, which provide business plan competition funding, will go to the town of Blackstone in Nottoway County and the city of Buena Vista.
CBL funding also offers training for entrepreneurs focused on regional economic development.
“This public health crisis has underscored the value of programs like CBL that prepare entrepreneurs for the rigors of operating in a fast-changing business environment,” Northam said in a statement. “As we respond to the economic devastation this virus has caused and look ahead toward a post-pandemic future, Virginia will continue to use every resource available to support the small businesses that are the heart of our downtown commercial districts and the bedrock of our economy.”
Half of the funding announced Wednesday will go toward the Blackstone Business Launch, an eight-week business competition for retail businesses to address vacancies created by the pandemic. The project is expected to create or expand four businesses and create at least 10 jobs.
The remaining $45,000 will go toward the Buena Vista Community Business Launch, a 10-week business competition focused on Buena Vista’s downtown district. The city would like to see hospitality, small-scale manufacturing and web-based retail in the downtown area. The project is expected to expand three businesses and create at least five jobs.
The program is administered through the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and since 2014, $1.53 million in CBL funds have been awarded to 24 Virginia communities. In total, CBL has gathered more than $2.25 million in private investment, with more than 230 full-time jobs created.
“CBL supports communities in identifying businesses needed in their downtown districts and supporting those businesses beyond the grand opening,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement. “By combining training with a business plan competition, we are creating and nurturing strong local entrepreneurial ecosystems that will support current and future small business growth.”
The Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) announced Wednesday its elected 2021 officers, including a new president, vice president, treasurer and secretary.
The VEDA is a member-based association that works to provide professional services for economic development in Virginia. Founded in 1982, it offers training and networking opportunities and acts as a voice for more than 520 economic development professionals in the state.
For 2021, Steve Harrison of the Hampton Roads Alliance will serve as president, and David Manley, with the Joint Industrial Development Authority of Wythe County, will serve as vice president. Voncile Gilbreath of the Greater Williamsburg Partnership will serve as treasurer, and Christina Winn of the Prince William County Department of Economic Development will serve as secretary.
The VEDA also announced its board of directors for 2021, which includes:
Matt Johnson, city of Newport News Economic Development
Jenna French, Shenandoah County Economic Development & Tourism
Matt Rowe, Pittsylvania County Economic Development
“In a year like no other, VEDA played a critical role in helping Virginia’s economy rebound from the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” VEDA Executive Director Connie Long said in a statement.
Virginia health districts and health care facilities statewide began receiving the newly approved Moderna COVID-19 vaccine this week, Virginia Department of Health announced Tuesday.
About 140,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine were expected to arrive by Wednesday, as well as 50,000 more doses of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine, which will be distributed to 96 sites across the state. Last week, an initial shipment of 72,000 Pfizer vaccine doses was distributed to 18 hospitals in Virginia, with the first shots going to frontline medical workers caring directly for COVID-19 patients.
The additional batch of the Moderna vaccine, which doesn’t require the same special ultra-cold storage as Pfizer, will allow long-term care facility (LTCF) workers and residents to be vaccinated. Most Virginia nursing homes are taking part in the federal LTCF Pharmacy Partnership Program, which brings teams from CVS and Walgreens to administer shots onsite at the facilities, beginning the week of Dec. 28, according to VDH.
The federal vaccine task force, Operation Warp Speed, is expected to send about 100,000 vaccine doses each week (50,000 of each vaccine) to Virginia for the next few weeks, but VDH cautions that the actual amount of vaccine received here is “a moving target and is dependent on when and how quickly vaccination doses are manufactured.” At the start of the month, VDH officials announced that the state would get 480,000 doses by the end of the year, but revised the estimate to 370,650 doses.
Health care providers and workers at hospitals in COVID units, followed by long-term care facility residents and employees, are on the top priority lists for vaccinations in Virginia and in other states; in the commonwealth, the populations number about 500,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance this week from a panel of doctors and public health experts, setting priority vaccinations. After frontline care givers and long-term care facility residents and workers receive the vaccine, the next populations in line for COVID-19 vaccinations would be people ages 75 and older and about 30 million “frontline essential workers,” including grocery store workers, teachers and emergency responders. Others — including people age 65 to 74 and those with serious health conditions — will follow these groups, and Virginia public health officials expect the vaccines to be broadly available by summer 2021.
Roanoke Fire Chief David Hoback gets his COVID-19 vaccine shot on Dec. 23.
“Vaccines are our way out of this pandemic. With Pfizer-BioNTech and now Moderna vaccines available, more Virginians are able to get vaccinated,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said in a statement. “The interest we are seeing from community members on when they can get vaccinated indicates people want this protection. We are working hard to get vaccines to people as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please continue to wear a face mask, practice social distancing and wash your hands frequently.”
The Richmond region — including the Richmond, Henrico, Chickahominy and Chesterfield health districts — received its first shipment of vaccine doses Tuesday. Local health districts will offer closed vaccination events and clinics into the new year, health officials said, but cautioned Virginians to “remain vigilant in COVID-19 prevention practices.”
Roanoke city and Alleghany health districts held their first vaccination event for up to 300 EMS workers in the region, as well as fire chiefs from Allegheny, Botetourt, Craig and Roanoke counties and the cities of Roanoke and Salem. Roanoke Fire Chief David Hoback called it “a monumental day.”
“It’s been hard on not only this community and but on our nation. This is another step in slowing the process and ending the pandemic,” he says. “Fire and EMS personnel are often on the front line.”
VDH announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 dashboard will include data on how many people have been administered the vaccines, as well as which localities have received vaccine doses and how many. According to the Dec. 23 update, 227,425 total doses have been distributed throughout the state, and 19,943 people have been vaccinated with one dose. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are completed with two shots, so no one has yet been fully vaccinated, according to VDH.
Despite vaccines becoming available, Virginia is under increased restrictions due to a significant rise in the number of cases and deaths, especially in Southwest Virginia. As of Wednesday, the state has recorded 314,481 total cases and 4,705 deaths, and the average number of daily new cases is 3,842 per day over the past week, while 610.6 new cases per 100,000 people have been reported in the last two weeks, according to VDH. The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association reported 2,586 people are currently hospitalized with COVID or are awaiting test results throughout the state, while 33% of ventilators are in use and 81% of ICU beds are occupied by people with COVID and without the virus.
Richmond-based pharmaceutical company Kaléo announced Tuesday five executive leadership appointments and promotions.
Joining Kaléo from Boston Scientific, where he served as the senior vice president of corporate compliance and privacy officer, Kevin Espinoza has been hired as chief compliance officer. He will oversee Kaléo’s operations. He has also previously worked with Forest Laboratories, Compliance Implementation Services, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly.
Kaléo’s previous vice president of access and trade, Allison Bridges, has been promoted as vice president and general manager of allergy and pediatrics. She will be responsible for directing channel strategy and execution. She previously worked for Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, Harris Williams & Co. and Merrill Lynch.
In other promotions, T.J. Childress, the company’s former director of finance, has been named as senior director of access and trade. He will oversee product delivery across Kaléo’s brands. He previously worked for Deloitte Consulting, McGuireWoods LLP and Circuit City.
Now responsible for Kaléo’s market access strategy is Tom Assalley, the pharma company’s newly appointed vice president of market access. He previously served as vice president at Eli Lilly, overseeing the national accounts business unit.
Meera Mehta, who previously worked for Endo Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, will oversee training sales representatives as director of sales training.
“We are excited to welcome this new team of leaders to Kaléo,” Kaléo President and CEO Spencer Williamson said in a statement. “Each are highly accomplished in their field and bring unique skills to their roles. We look forward to partnering with them on our mission to provide life-transforming products that empower patients and their families to live fuller, bolder lives.”
Founded in 2005, Kaléo manufactures and markets epinephrine auto-injector AUVI-Q, as well as Evzio, a prescription medicine used to treat opioid emergencies, such as overdoses.
The city of Alexandria announced Tuesday that Inova Health System will build a $1 billion medical campus at the 51-acre site of the former Landmark Mall — anchoring a new 4 million-square-foot mixed-use development in the city’s West End that will also include residential, commercial, retail and entertainment.
The medical campus, which will employ more than 2,000 health care workers, will include a relocated, expanded Inova Alexandria Hospital.
A real estate investment and development joint venture that includes Potomac, Maryland-based Foulger-Pratt, The Howard Hughes Corp. (partial owner of the mall site since 2010) of Texas and New York-based Seritage Growth Properties has reached an initial agreement with the city of Alexandria and Inova Health System to develop the project.
Seritage Growth Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) of Sears Holdings Co., which owns the former Sears department store. The last store that was still open on the mall site, it closed in July 2020.
Landmark Mall opened in 1965 and was once anchored by Sears, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s. The majority of the mall closed in January 2017. The big budget superhero film “Wonder Woman 1984,” which debuts on Dec. 25, filmed inside the empty mall in summer 2018.
“This plan for the future of the Landmark site is exciting, long-awaited news for our community,” Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said of the development that will replace the mall . “This redevelopment [will] bolster our economy, providing mixed-income housing, new municipal facilities and services, and new open space in support of the health, wellness and quality of life of our entire community.”
Construction at the 52-acre former mall site could begin as soon as 2023, with the first buildings ready in 2025, according to an announcement from the city of Alexandria. The companies have yet to release further details about the development.
Inova has been looking at developing the former Landmark site for more than a year, according to a statement from the city of Alexandria. The health system’s new Inova Alexandria Hospital would be one of only three Level II trauma centers in Northern Virginia and is planned to include a larger emergency room, private patient rooms and the Inova Schar Cancer Institute at Alexandria Hospital.
“We are thrilled for the potential to build a new hospital and medical campus, one that would allow us to expand our seamless system of care, increase our services, and elevate the facilities in Alexandria and throughout the region for decades to come,” Inova President and CEO Dr. J. Stephen Jones said in a statement.
The city of Alexandria will issue $54 million in bonds to buy part of the site to use for the new hospital campus, which will be leased to Inova. The city will use an additional $76 million in bonds for infrastructure work along Duke and Van Dorn Streets, according to a statement from the city. The developers will submit plans to be reviewed by Alexandria City Council.
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