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Daphne Berkowitz has been elected to the Board of Directors with Colliers International | Richmond & Norfolk. Berkowitz is currently a senior vice president as well as the director of brokerage services for the company’s Richmond and Norfolk offices.
State tourism revenue reaches $24 billion in 2016
Virginia’s tourism revenue reached $24 billion in 2016, a 3.3 percent increase over 2015, outpacing the national growth rate of 2.7 percent.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Monday said those figures provide proof that tourism plays an important role in diversifying Virginia economy’s by supporting jobs and injecting millions of dollars into communities.
According to the governor’s office, visitor spending in Virginia supported 230,000 jobs last year, an increase of 2.8 percent, or 6,175 jobs, compared to 2015. The tourism industry also provided $1.7 billion in state and local revenue, an increase of 5.4 percent. Virginia welcomed more than 45 million visitors from across the U.S. last year.
In 2016, domestic travelers spent nearly $65 million per day in the commonwealth. Employees in Virginia’s travel industry earned $5.7 billion in payroll income, representing a 5.9 percent increase over 2015. The largest increase in travel expenditures was in the food and lodging sectors, with a $630 million increase compared to 2015.
“Tourism is one of the five largest industries in Virginia and plays a critical role in our economic vitality,” Todd Haymore, Virginia’s Secretary of Commerce and Trade, said in a statement.
The announcement comes on the heels of an earlier one by McAuliffe in April about the economic impact of the state’s agritourism sector, a growing division of the tourism industry. Conducted by the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business, the study showed that agritourism accounts for $2.2 billion in economic activity.
The report also noted that the economic activity attributed to the commonwealth’s 1,400 agritourism businesses supports 22,000 jobs, contributes $840 million in income and injects $135 million in state and local taxes. The study was the first statewide benchmark report to measure the economic and fiscal impacts of the agritourism industry.
The Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), a state agency, receives its annual economic impact data from the U.S. Travel Association. The information is based on domestic visitor spending (travelers from within the United States) from per-person trips taken 50 miles or more away from home. Detailed economic impact data by locality will be available in the fall.
Industrial facility in Virginia Beach sells for $8.5 million
A local investment group from Hampton Roads has purchased a 400,000-square-foot industrial manufacturing and distribution facility located in Virginia Beach for $8.5 million.
According to Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate, which brokered the deal, the building at 1440 London Bridge Rd. includes two 200,000-square-foot warehouses on 33 acres, with 10 acres reserved for future development. It is the largest industrial facility available in Hampton Roads.
Lindsay W. Himelright of Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate handled the sale negotiations representing the seller, General Foam Plastics Corp. John Lee & Associates represented the buyer.
Tuckahoe Orthopaedics leases space at GreenGate in Henrico County
Tuckahoe Orthopaedics has signed a lease to occupy 14,749 square feet in a new medical office building in Henrico County. Construction will begin this summer on the 45,000-square-foot building at GreenGate, a mixed-use development on Broad Street between Short Pump Town Center and 288 that’s under development by Markel l Eagle Partners.
The building is slated to open in fall of 2018.
Tuckahoe Orthopaedics, based in Richmond, has been providing orthopedic care in Central Virginia for more than 40 years. This will be the company’s fourth location.
”We are very excited about our new location at GreenGate as it gives us the opportunity to better serve our patients in this rapidly growing part of the metropolitan Richmond area” Dr. Jed S. Vanichkachorn, president of Tuckahoe Orthopaedics, said in a statement.
GreenGate is being designed to have the feel of a city street. According to the developers, it will have access to some of the city’s retail and restaurant brands, with the convenience of suburban living.
Popular local restaurateurs that have signed onto the project include The Daily and Coast as well as Red Salt, a new steak and sushi concept from EAT
Restaurant Partners, Mellow Mushroom, and Starbucks.
Retailers Lidl, CarytownBikes, CycleBar, and Polished Nail Lounge also have committed to the project.
Bill Reynolds of CBRE | Richmond represented Tuckahoe Orthopaedics in the transaction.
Dominion to acquire North Carolina solar project
Dominion announced Thursday it plans to purchase a 79-megawatt solar energy facility under construction in Anson County, N.C.
A subsidiary of the Richmond energy company agreed to purchase the facility from Cypress Creek Renewables LLC in the second quarter of 2017.
A power purchase agreement is in place for the offtake from the solar facility.
The solar facility, located on a 550-acre tract of land near Morven, N.C., is being constructed by an affiliate of Cypress Creek Renewables. About 450 workers are expected onsite during the peak of construction.
The acquisition would bring the company’s solar portfolio to 535 megawatts of solar generating capacity under development or in operation in North Carolina and Virginia. That is enough power for about 135,000 homes and businesses at peak use.
Dominion's North Carolina solar fleet also includes the 20-megawatt Morgans Corner array in Pasquotank County and the 60-megawatt Summit Farms facility in Currituck County.
Hampden-Sydney announces center for entrepreneurship and innovation
Hampden-Sydney College has established the Flemming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The center is the result of a $1 million gift from the Flemming Foundation and 1985 alumnus Todd Flemming of Orlando, Fla., a college trustee and chairman of Infrasafe.
The center, which is named in memory of Mr. Flemming’s father, Harry S. Flemming, will incorporate the programming of the college’s former Center for Entrepreneurship and Political Economy.
The college said the new center will encourage student and faculty creativity and strive to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue entrepreneurial ideas.
Plans for the center includes a full-time director, an endowed “entrepreneur-in-residence,” and the establishment of a Tiger Venture Fund. The fund would support student entrepreneurs, enabling them to develop prototypes and explore the commercial viability of their ideas.
The center’s plans also includes the creation of a “flex office” that will provide a professional base for visiting entrepreneurs who accessible to students and faculty.
The center will be housed in the new Brown Student Center at Hampden-Sydney, $11 million project made possible by seven individual gifts of $1 million or more.
In addition to the Flemming Center, the Brown Student Center will house the college post office, the Tiger Inn café, lounge and activity areas, student affairs and student government offices, and the Ferguson Career Education Center.
Claxton Logistics moves offices to Quantico Corporate Center
Claxton Logistics, a government contractor, has opened a 10,000-square-foot office in the Quantico Corporate Center in Stafford County.
Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite (CBCE) reported that Claxton occupies half of the top floor of a two-story, 40,000-square-foot building that was recently completed.
Claxton relocated its operations from Dumfries. The company’s focus at the new facility will be acquisitions and logistics in support of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Also located in the new building are Merrit School and Northern Virginia Dental Arts.
Tegna ready to spin off Cars.com
The board of McLean-based media company Tegna Inc. has approved the spin-off of Cars.com, a move that will create two publicly traded companies.
Cars.com shares are expected to begin trading on June 1.
“This spin-off is the culmination of a multiyear transformation of our company, and the board is confident that both companies are well positioned to execute their strategic plans for growth and create shareholder value,” Gracia Martore, the president and CEO of Tegna, said in a statement. She will retire upon the closing of the spinoff.
Tegna has 46 television stations. Cars.com is a digital automotive marketplace.
The Cars.com spinoff follows the June 2015 separation of the broadcast and newspaper divisions of Gannett Co. Inc. The spun-off newspaper group kept the Gannett name while the broadcast group became Tegna.
Tegna said the Cars.com spinoff will take place through a pro-rata distribution of outstanding Cars.com shares to Tegna stockholders of record at the close of business on May 18.
Stockholders will retain their Tegna shares. They receive one share of Cars.com for every three Tegna shares.
Tegna Media President Dave Lougee will become president and CEO of Tegna upon completion of the separation. Alex Vetter will remain president and CEO of Cars.com.
Sentara Healthcare breaks ground on second medical building in North Suffolk
Construction has begun on a second medical office building on the Sentara BelleHarbour campus in Suffolk.
Officials from Sentara Healthcare, based in Norfolk, and Sentara BelleHarbour held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, May 2, on the $34 million, 85,000-square-foot building.
It will offer an ambulatory surgery center with two operating rooms, an expanded emergency department, 14 observation beds for emergency and surgery patients, new medical office space and a helipad.. The project should be completed in early 2019.
“At 420 square miles, it can take quite a while to drive from one corner of Suffolk to another,” Steve Julian, president of Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk and the Sentara BelleHarbour campus, said in a statement.
“With that reality, Sentara set out to bring our services closer to home for people in North Suffolk. “
The new four-story building will be positioned on what is now a surface parking lot in front of the current three-story building, which opened in 2008. The two buildings will be connected and replacement surface parking will be added.
Sentara BelleHarbour currently includes a 24-hour, ambulance-accessible, emergency department staffed by the same emergency physicians who serve Sentara hospitals. The expansion calls for the emergency department to grow from 17 beds to 23 or 24.
The current campus also offers advanced imaging including MRI and CT scanning, a breast center with 3-D mammography, family and occupational medicine, a certified sleep center, and a community room for health education programs. and group meetings.
A master plan for Sentara BelleHarbour includes long-term potential for up to four medical office buildings, an urgent care center and a parking deck, depending on population growth and demand for services in the area.
The Branch Group announces two executive changes
The Branch Group Inc. of Roanoke has announced it has named a new CFO and senior vice president.
Robert Wills has joined Branch as CFO. Bob was most recently executive vice president and CFO of the America’s region for M&W Group.
Wills received a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University and received his MGA from Regis University in Denver.
The Branch Group also announced this week that it has promoted Melanie F. Wheeler to senior vice president and board member. She will focus on corporate and contract administration, risk management, and IT systems and development.
Wheeler has been with The Branch Group since 1994, holding several positions, including director of accounting, vice president of administration and treasurer.
The Branch Group is a construction company whose subsidiaries include: Branch & Associates, Inc., Branch Civil, Inc., and G. J. Hopkins, Inc.