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Virginia Catalyst announces $500,000 grant for a brain-injury diagnostic method
The Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp., known as the Virginia Catalyst, announced a $500,000 grant award Wednesday for research on brain injury detection.
The collaborative team includes the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, the University of Virginia, Carilion Medical Center, and BRAINBox Solutions Inc., which has its headquarters in Richmond. BRAINBox Solutions will provide a $500,000 funding match.
The funding will support the Virginia Brain Injury Diagnosis and Monitoring Initiative. The project focuses on a multimodality system approach that includes point-of-care device detection of testing for brain injury biomarkers. It also includes integrated neuro-imaging, behavioral and biomarker models for outcome predictions and general brain injury management.
This funding supports efforts to expand upon ongoing collaborative work between the participating institutions. The goal is to set the standard of care for mild traumatic brain injury and demonstrate the clinical utility of the system approach to provide more accurate risk assessment as well as clinical treatment planning for individuals with suspected concussion or mild brain injury from head injuries. The idea is to inform targeted interventions for high-risk patients, reduce disability, and allow low-risk patients to return to work/play sooner.
This grant is part of round seven of funding by Virginia Catalyst.
Virginia Catalyst is a not-for-profit corporation funded by the Virginia General Assembly’s general fund and seven of Virginia’s research universities. The organization has now awarded 28 grants totaling over $11 million, combined with $20.5 million in matching funds, which financed the achievement of meaningful milestones.
PenFed CEO James Schenck recognized for credit union’s philanthropy
PenFed President and CEO James Schenck was recognized Wednesday as the 2018 Large Business Philanthropist of the Year by Volunteer Alexandria.
The award came during the group’s 20th Business Philanthropy Summit, an annual event that recognizes businesses that support charitable organizations, outreach and events throughout the region.
Schenck shares the award with PenFed Credit Union and the PenFed Foundation in recognition of their combined support in the greater Washington D.C. area, with the credit union and its foundation on target to donate $3.5 million to area organizations this year.
“I am extremely humbled and honored to accept this award on behalf of the entire PenFed team: 2,500 employees who give more of themselves each and every day than they ever ask in return,” Schenck said in a statement.
The annual summit, held at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, promotes businesses, nonprofits and government entities working together with Alexandria residents to increase community wellbeing.
PenFed’s recent charitable donations include $300,000 to Serve our Willing Warriors to provide respite for wounded warriors at a retreat in Haymarket; $125,000 to the Kennedy Center to support free concerts for military families; and $100,000 to D.C. Habitat for Humanity to provide affordable first-time homeownership for local veterans.
With its headquarters in Alexandria, the PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization committed to helping members of the military community. Since 2001, it has provided more than $30 million in financial support to veterans, active duty service members, families and caregivers. PenFed is the country’s second-largest federal credit union, serving more than 1.6 million members worldwide with $23 billion in assets.
Schenck, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Harvard Business School, volunteers his time as CEO of the PenFed Foundation without compensation. He also recently chaired the Washington Business Hall of Fame campaign, which raised $1.3 million for Junior Achievement.
Schenck serves on many regional community boards including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Symphony Orchestra, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Northern Virginia Technology Council and Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Jen Walker of the Jen Walker Team of McEnearney Associates Realtors was named the Small Business Philanthropist of the Year.
Provides US Inc. to expand manufacturing operation in Augusta
Provides US Inc., a manufacturer of heat exchangers, will expand its Augusta County operation with an $867,000 investment to expand its facilities to meet increased demand. The project is expected to create 20 new jobs.
The company has secured an additional 50,000 square feet of additional production space and will install new equipment.
Provides US is headquartered in Latina, Italy. The company’s first US.. manufacturing facility was opened in Augusta several years ago, and the new expansion will increase the workforce at the facility by nearly 50 percent.
The job expansion will be supported by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP). The company is eligible under the program to receive $900 per new job, for a total of up to $18,000.
Franco Provenziani, CEO, Provides Metalmeccanica, and Tom Coplai, chief operating officer, Provides US, said in a statement:, “Provides selected Verona, Virginia for its U.S. manufacturing site for the following reasons: the proximity to our customer base on the East Coast of the U.S.; the centralized location and access to the interstate highway system for transport of finished units throughout North America; relatively lower-cost utilities; lower cost-of-living; and highly skilled and motivated workers.”
VIR has $237 million impact in Virginia
VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton contributes $237 million to Virginia’s economy each year, according to a new study.
The study, commissioned by VIR and conducted by the Washington Economics Group, found that $197 million of the economic contributions occurred within the local region.
The raceway adds a total of 3,620 jobs to the state’s economy and generates $99 million in total household income. Regionally, VIR accounts for 3,543 jobs and $80 million in total household income.
According to the report, the raceway generates an estimated $53 million of economic activity in Halifax County, $45 million in Pittsylvania County and over $99 million in Danville. These economic impacts are primarily created by visitors from outside of the region, who often stay in the region for multiple days for events.
The study states that, “Approximately 270,000 visitors attend race and non-race events held at VIR each year with over 90 percent coming from outside the local region, and staying for multiple days within the local region.”
VIR is a multipurpose road course near Danville offering professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing as well as track events. It also is a prominent testing facility for the automotive industry and includes onsite hotel and lodging options.
Sales open for luxury condos at Tysons
The Meridian Group and Kettler announced Wednesday that sales are open for Verse, a new luxury residential tower at The Boro development in Tysons.
The 25-story, 245,502-square-foot condominium building, with 140 residences, is expected to be complete by October 2019. The one-, two- and three-bedroom units are priced from $500,000 to $2 million.
As Tysons continues to transform from a corporate business park with shopping to a mixed-use, live/work/play urban center, residential projects such as Verse are considered key in the metamorphosis. The condominiums will be the first to open since Fairfax County approved a master plan calling for more residences.
“Verse will set a new high-water mark for luxury living in Tysons,” Bob Kettler, founder and CEO of Kettler, said in a statement. “It will be the iconic showpiece of the first fully walkable community in Tysons and the most exciting new downtown environment in Northern Virginia, with every neighborhood amenity right at your fingertips.”
Meridian, a Bethesda, Md.-based real estate investment and development company, and Kettler, a McLean-based development and property management firm, have formed a joint venture to develop the tower, designed by the international architecture firms Shalom Baranes and Cecconi Simone.
The D.C.-based Mayhood Co. is leading the marketing and sales effort for Verse.
According to the developers, residents of Verse will enjoy “breathtaking panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and downtown D.C.” Units will have floor-to-ceiling windows and select homes will be built with outdoor terraces and balconies.
The project’s list of amenities includes: open-plan concepts, walk-in closets, wine refrigerators, spa-inspired master baths with porcelain Calcutta marble floors, an outdoor pool, 24/7 concierge services, a pet spa, fitness studio and one-acre sky park with covered kitchen and bar. Other modern touches are a space for bicycle storage and car-charging stations.
Located within walking distance of the Greensboro Metro station, The Boro will offer a mix of offices, residences, retail stores, restaurants and entertainment. Its first phase of development is expected to be ready by the mid or later half of 2019. It will include the area’s largest Whole Foods Market, a 69,000-square-foot flagship store and a ShowPlace ICON Theatre, with 14 screens and upscale dining.
U.Va. names director of Northern Virginia operations
Professor Gregory B. Fairchild will be the first director of Northern Virginia operations for the University of Virginia.
Fairchild, the Isidore Horween Research Associate Professor of Business Administration at U.Va.’s Darden School of Business, will oversee the university’s programs and facilities in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, including those currently offered by Darden, the McIntire School of Commerce and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and others.
“I have spent the last three years working on the launch of Darden programs in the area,” Fairchild said in a statement. “My excitement at being part of the larger portfolio of U.Va.’s efforts in Northern Virginia is without parallel, and my early conversations with partners across Grounds have only strengthened my sense of the possibilities.”
Fairchild – recently named the Poets & Quants 2017 MBA Professor of the Year – will retain his current academic appointment at Darden throughout his two-year term as director and continue his work in the classroom.
His appointment is indicative of the university’s growing presence in the Washington region.
Darden opened new facilities in Rosslyn last year, which support the school’s executive MBA and executive education program and provide event space for students, faculty members and alumni. Those facilities will serve as Fairchild’s home base.
Also last year, the university announced a partnership with the Inova Health System, a large nonprofit health care system based in Falls Church. The partnership includes a research institute, the Global Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Institute, created by Inova, U.Va. and George Mason University to support work in genetics and genomics, bioengineering and biology.
U.Va. will also establish a U.Va. School of Medicine regional campus, expected to open in March 2021 at Inova Farifax Hospital. The new campus will eventually accommodate up to 72 medical students for their clerkship and post-clerkship rotations in the last 2½ years of medical school.
More than 200 areas in Virginia officially designated ‘opportunity zones’
The U.S. Department of Treasury has officially designated 212 Virginia Qualified Opportunity Zones.
Gov. Ralph Northam submitted 212 nominations in April, which represented the maximum number of zones the governor was able to nominate under the new federal tax tool that targets low-income census tracts.
“I am pleased that all of the 212 nominated Opportunity Zones have been accepted,” Northam said in a statement. “We focused on local, regional, and state priorities, as well as Virginia’s diverse geography and economic opportunities, to strategically select a balance of zones that align with other state and local economic development and revitalization efforts. My administration is committed to maximizing this important federal tool to strengthen our local and state economic development efforts and ensure Virginia is at the forefront of attracting new Opportunity fund investments.”
The Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included provisions for a new revitalization tool, the Opportunity Zone and Opportunity Fund. The zones and funds will allow investors to receive tax benefits on currently unrealized capital gains that are invested through Opportunity Funds in eligible census tracts designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones. The rules associated with qualification of Opportunity Investment Funds and Qualified Opportunity Investments must be written at the federal level and are expected to be formalized later this calendar year.
Click here for a link to the Virginia Opportunity Zone website, and click here for a map of Virginia’s Qualified Opportunity Zones.
VCU to break ground on new engineering research building
The Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Engineering Research Building on Tuesday, June 5, at 9 a.m. on the northeast corner of Cary and Belvidere streets in Richmond.
City and university officials will attend and make remarks, including Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney, Michael Rao, president of VCU; and Barbara D. Boyan dean of the VCU College of Engineering.
The $93 million research building is scheduled to open in 2020. It will significantly expand the college’s laboratory capacity and serve as a collaboration hub for advanced research, economic development initiatives and hands-on approaches to engineering.
Richmond-based architecture firm Baskervill and Boston-based firm Goody Clancy have designed the 133,000-square-foot building, which is being financed by investments from the state, VCU and private support.
Altria donated an additional $1 million to support the Engineering Research Building’s makerspaces to enhance student creativity and experiential learning.
Observation deck atop CEB Tower in Arlington opens June 21
Legends, the firm behind One World Observatory at the World Trade Center in New York City and OUE Skyspace in Los Angeles, announced Tuesday that the Observation Deck at CEB Tower in Arlington will open on June 21.
Located in Rosslyn, at the top of JBG Smith’s all-glass CEB Tower at Central Place, the new public observatory will offer panoramic views of the nation’s Capital and beyond.
Located on the 31st floor of the tallest building inside the Beltway, the deck provides 360-degree views and a chance to see the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia skylines.
In addition to 12,000 square feet of unobstructed observation space, the deck offers technology that leads guests through a self-guided tour, an open-air terrace, a café and private event space.
Guests also will have the chance to learn about some of the area’s most famous local landmarks through a “Windows Into History” exhibit. The exhibit uses interactive digital touch-screen displays and directional audio, drawing parallels to the views seen from each window of the deck.
A daily ticket to the deck costs $22 with discounted tickets available to youth, students, military, and seniors with appropriate identification. Tickets can be purchased online at TheViewofDC.com or at a box office in the building’s lobby.
Photo courtesy Legends