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Nottoway chairman elected president of the Virginia Association of Counties

The chairman of the Nottoway County Board of supervisors is the new president of the Virginia Association of Counties.

Stephen W. Bowen was elected 2019-20 president during VACo’s 85th Annual Conference in Bath County.

He succeeds Wythe County Chairman Timothy A. Reeves.

Bowen was first elected to the Nottoway County Board of Supervisors in 2008 to represent the county’s Burkeville area.

He also serves on the Nottoway planning commission, the Piedmont Geriatric Association and the Piedmont Regional Jail Authority.

Other members of the association’s executive committee are:

  • President-elect: Jeff C. McKay, Fairfax County
  • First vice president: Meg Bohmke, Stafford County
  • Second vice president: Jason D. Bellows, Lancaster County
  • Secretary-treasurer: Donald L. Hart Jr., Accomack County

Esports company to relocate its Hampton Roads venue

San Francisco-based GameWorks Inc. plans to move its Chesapeake esports venue to downtown Norfolk's MacArthur Center mall.

The 19,000-square-foot Norfolk site is expected to open next spring at the 1 million-square-foot mall.

The company said its 50 employees at Chesapeake’s Greenbrier Mall will have the opportunity to relocate to the MacArthur Center site, which will employ about 60 people.

GameWorks now operates seven locations across the country. In addition to Chesapeake, the other sites are in Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago and Seattle.

The company is scheduled to open a Silicon Valley site early next year.

Each GameWorks site has an esports lounge is equipped with 20 to 40 computers and a library of about 100 popular video games.

GameWorks also hosts esports tournaments and events, which attract thousands of participants and spectators.

Each location also features a restaurant, called The Works Kitchen at GameWorks.

MacArthur Center, managed by Starwood Retail Partners, has more than 120 stores and restaurants.

Northam unveils Virginia trade plan

Gov. Ralph Northam's administration has adopted an international trade strategic plan aimed at boosting Virginia exports 50% during the next 15 years.

In unveiling the plan at the 71st Virginia Conference on World Trade in Norfolk on Wednesday, the governor said his goal is move the commonwealth into the top 20 states in terms of exports per capita by 2035. Virginia now is No. 41 among the 50 states.

The commonwealth also is ranked 38th in imports as a share of gross state product.

“Maintaining Virginia’s position as the best state to do business and ensuring that all regions of the commonwealth can participate in our economic growth requires that we boost our international trade,” Northam said in a statement.

The strategic plan identifies 26 initiatives in three categories to support existing companies involved in international trade, while attracting and expanding trade-intensive businesses. 

The plan aims to adding nearly $18 billion in annual exports and more than 150,000 jobs.

Hilb Group buys Massachusetts insurance agency

The Hilb Group, a rapidly growing insurance broker based in Henrico County, has acquired a Massachusetts-property and casualty agency.

Hilb said it bought Gould & Naimoli Partners LLC, based in Southborough, Massachusetts, in a deal that closed on Nov. 1.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2010, G&N primarily provides personal lines of insurance to New England real estate owners.

Hilb said G&N will continue to operate out of its Massachusetts location under the leadership of Zack Gould and Matt Naimoli.

Founded in 2009, Hilb now has more than 90 offices in 21 states employing more than 900 people.

The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.,-based global investment firm, announced in late October that it will acquire a majority interest in Hilb by the end of the year.

Hilb has been a portfolio company of Abry Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, since 2015.

When the Carlyle deal was announced, an Abry partner said Hilb had completed for than 60 acquisitions in the past four years.

Arlington real estate firm buys Portsmouth apartments for $43.35M

Arlington-based Blackfin Real Estate Investors has purchased The Myrtles at Olde Towne, a 394-unit multifamily community in Portsmouth, for $43.35 million, the company announced Tuesday.

Adjacent to the Naval Medical Center, the nearly 14-acre Myrtles at Olde Towne includes two separate communities and eight buildings, plus two pools, a clubhouse, fitness center and cyber cafe. Olde Towne-I was built in 2006 and is a garden-style complex with elevators serving 246 apartments with 9-foot ceilings. Built in 1972 and renovated in 2006, Olde Towne-II includes 148 apartments in two eight-story buildings.

“The Myrtles at Olde Towne offers a tremendous opportunity to invest in a stable and growing metropolitan area,” said Leslie Furst, Blackfin's chief operating officer, in a statement. “With the presence of federal agencies, expanding medical services, a strong student population and the growth of data and technology sectors, this property is well positioned to support the growing need for housing.”

Founded by Andrew Buchanan and Doug Root in 2016, Blackfin has assembled a portfolio of nearly 4,500 apartment units along the East Coast.

Virginia Beach-based LifeNet acquires San Diego company

Virginia Beach-based LifeNet Health, a regenerative medicine company, has acquired the assets of Samsara Sciences, a San Diego-based life sciences company.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Samsara specializes in human primary liver and kidney cell isolation. The acquisition includes Samsara's equipment, inventory and associated technology.

“These assets complement our primary cell programs, which provide vital resources for discovering safe, effective new therapies,” Rony Thomas, LifeNet’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We continue to invest in this area and collaborate closely with pharmaceutical and biomedical research organizations to support breakthroughs in patient care.” 

Founded in 1982, LifeNet is the federally-designated organ procurement organization for Virginia. Its services range from organ procurement to new innovations in bio-implant technologies and cellular therapies.

The Samsara assets will be incorporated into LifeNet's San Diego facility, which opened in May. The San Diego location is part of a network that includes research facilities in North Carolina and Virginia where more than 30 scientists and subject-matter experts focus on recovering and isolating a range of human primary cells.

LifeNet said primary cells represent an important resource for advanced biomedical research. These cells, the company said, are a critical means of understanding how therapies affect organs and systems in the human body.

Private school plans to boost graduation in tech fields

While state universities gear up to provide 31,000 additional computer science graduates during the next 20 years, a private, for-profit school has begun its own effort to add to the tech pipeline.

Virginia Beach-based ECPI University has announced a program designed to boost the number of computer science graduates it produces in coming decades by 3,000.

“This means ECPI University will produce more than 18,000 graduates over the next 20 years,” ECPI President Mark Dreyfus said in a statement.

Last week, Gov. Ralph Northam announced an agreement with 11 state universities, which will use $1.1 billion in state funds produce to 31,000 more bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and related fields during the next two decades.

The state plan grew out of Virginia’s successful bid to Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., which is creating its second headquarters in Arlington.

One facet of ECPI’s program is attracting more students by building their confidence in tackling a computer science curriculum.

ECPI plans to begin a series of “IT confidence camps” where prospective students can gain a better understanding of the field.

During these events, students will engage in a series of exercises designed to gauge their aptitude for programs such as cybersecurity, network security and software development.

ECPI said its initiative will include scholarships for students who commit to working in Virginia for at least two years after graduation and subsidized vouchers for students and graduates seeking professional certifications

Five Virginia commercial real estate agents receive CCIM designation

The Mid-Atlantic CCIM chapter recognized five Virginia members who recently earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation from the CCIM Institute. They are among 228 industry professionals who earned the designation during the organization's fall business meetings in San Diego:

Thompson Brown, Colliers International, Norfolk

David Crosby, SunTrust Bank, Glen Allen

Ebony Landon, JBG Smith, Arlington

Jerad Nielsen, Capital Square, Glen Allen

Brian Shahkarami, Long & Foster, Vienna

“Our new designees have shown immense determination and dedication to achieve the CCIM designation, which will pay off throughout their entire commercial real estate career,” Brian Ginter, president of the Mid-Atlantic CCIM chapter, said in a statement.

To earn the designation, commercial real estate professionals must complete more than 160 hours of case-study driven education covering interest-based negotiation, financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, investment analysis and ethics.

Farm Credit of the Virginias buys Staunton building

Farm Credit of the Virginias purchased an 18,750-square-foot building in Staunton for $1.2 million from Atlantic Union Bank. Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced the deal last week.

The building, a former bank operations center on 6 acres at 102 Industry Way, will be used in the operation of Farm Credit’s business. Will McGoogan, Kent Roberts and John Pritzlaff of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations.

Markel buys fire safety and security company

Markel Corp. plans to buy an Ashland-based fire safety and security company.

Glen Allen-based Markel, a diversified financial holding company, has entered a definitive agreement to acquire VSC Fire & Security Inc. by the end of the year. Financial details were not disclosed.

“VSC provides solutions that help minimize damage if something bad happens — a concept we've learned a lot about over our 89 years in the insurance industry,” Tom Gayner, Markel’s co-CEO, said in a statement.

Markel’s primary business is specialty insurance. The company’s Markel Ventures subsidiary invests in businesses outside the insurance industry.

VSC provides fire protection, life safety and low voltage services to customers throughout the Southeast. Founded in in 1958, the company has grown to more than 1,200 employees working from 21 offices in nine states and the District of Columbia.

“When thinking about the next 60 years at VSC, we knew we needed a partner that shared our values and would allow us to continue running VSC the way we have for so long,” Michael Meehan, the CEO of VSC, said in a statement. “We are confident Markel is that partner.”