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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 maritime and 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 Navy and repair, as well as the state’s growing offshore wind industry, led by ‘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. 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 shipbuilding 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, Tidewater Community College expanded its -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 Newport News Shipbuilding 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 logistics centers opening in Virginia in 2025
  • fulfillment center in Virginia Beach is second part of $350 million project
  • project in expected to support over 9,000 jobs
  • 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 Amazon’s high-tech fulfillment center in Virginia Beach are strategically located near the , facilitating efficient distribution networks, while the Whitepine Logistics Center in will provide access to 75% of the U.S. 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 economy 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 ) 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 . 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 to promote cutting edge research of economic value.”

 

Amherst county boosts industrial growth with new shell building


Summary:

  • finishes a $9M, 45,000-square-foot .
  • Building includes room for expansion and natural light features.
  • Development underway at 554-acre and 100-acre Route 210 site.
  • Dillard Site offers rail access, utilities, and potential for large-scale manufacturing.
  • Officials aim to boost and site readiness levels.

Amherst County recently completed one of the largest industrial shell buildings in its region and is readying other industrial sites.

It’s a foundation for the next generation of economic development, county leaders hope.

Amherst’s new shell building — finished in late December in the — is the only publicly owned spec building of its size in the four counties, five towns and one city that the represents, according to , its CEO and chief economic development officer.

The building, which could be occupied by up to four tenants, is 45,000 square feet, with a pad that allows for another 20,000 square feet of expansion. It offers 36-foot ceiling heights and translucent panels that allow natural light to stream inside.

“You don’t feel like you’re in this dark, cavernous building, working away,” says , executive director of the Amherst County Economic Development Authority.

Built by of Gretna, the new building cost $9 million, according to Hanson, who said funding for the project includes a $5.6 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Authority and a $1.25 million loan.

So far, the authority has had a few inquiries about the building, but Hanson expects interest to pick up after manufacturers figure out how new federal tariffs will affect expansion plans.

Additionally, Amherst County is developing the 554-acre property known as the Dillard Site and a 100-acre plot along State Route 210. Both sites sit close to U.S. 29.

The Dillard Site offers rail access, water and gas and high-capacity electrical service. Its largest lot could accommodate a 1 million-square-foot building, according to Hanson.

The county is working to identify environmental issues and prepare grading plans for both properties, hoping to soon have the Dillard Site at Tier 4, the next-to-highest level in Virginia’s scale of industrial site readiness, and the other property at Tier 3.

Work at the Dillard Site has been funded with $189,000 of authority money and a $322,071 state grant, and on Virginia 210 with $56,133 from the authority and $112,267 from the state, Hanson says.

The authority also markets the Town of Amherst’s L. Barnes Brockman Sr. Business and Industrial Park, which in mid-March had about 200 acres available, according to Town Manager Sara McGuffin.

“There’s an opportunity for people to build and grow their businesses,” she says.

Chesterfield County leads Virginia in population growth

 

Summary

  • Chesterfield gained over 30,000 new residents since 2020
  • drawn by affordable homes and new construction
  • Lego’s $1B facility seeks 1,700 employees in growing labor pool
  • County increased by nearly 20,000 since 2020

Northern Virginians, particularly remote workers seeking more affordable housing, are helping fuel a boom in .

The county is gaining about 19 residents daily, reflecting a population swell from 364,548 in April 2020 to 394,825 in July 2024, the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service estimates. The gain of more than 30,000 residents was the largest in the state.
“Chesterfield, in some ways, is becoming a suburb of Northern Virginia,” says Hamilton Lombard, the center’s demographer.

People who don’t need to be in the office every day are attracted by the price difference between housing in Northern Virginia and Chesterfield and the amount of new construction in the county, he says.

“It’s also pulling a lot of people from Henrico [County] and Richmond, so there’s a sort of cascading effect as well. People come into Henrico, prices go up. People come down to Chesterfield,” Lombard says. “The No. 1 thing, I think, is just the construction. They’re building and it’s near enough to D.C.”

Chesterfield currently has more than 30,000 lots approved and has seen more than 14,000 constructed in the last five years, says Kathryn Abelt, Chesterfield ‘s GIS and research director.

The county’s appeal is its quality of life, says Garrett Hart, Chesterfield Economic Development’s director. “That means schools first, public safety, participatory sports, parks and recreation, and then it’s an easy locality to deal with and get around.”

Chesterfield’s growing population is also attracting major corporations such as Lego Group, which is building a 1.7 million-square-foot plant in the county’s .

“Companies that have jobs are chasing talent; talent isn’t chasing jobs,” says Hart. “That’s why one of the first questions Lego asked us was, ‘Where are we going to get our 1,700 employees?’

“We go through our demographic numbers and our growth and our existing workforce and show them how they are going to get that done,” he adds.

“So, it’s important to us that we’re growing and we’re attracting talent.”
The county is at an all-time high for jobs, with more than 7,700 announced over the last six years. Chesterfield’s labor force has also grown from

183,193 in December 2020 to 201,863 in December 2024, Abelt says.
“Workforce continues to be among the most important factors in a business choosing Chesterfield,” she explains. “We share this data often.”

Dominion offshore wind project on track despite hurdles

SUMMARY:

  • CVOW will 660,000 homes by 2026 despite cost hike
  • Trump freezes new leases; CVOW not impacted
  • $233M invested at for offshore wind staging
  • LS GreenLink to build $681M cable plant in

Dominion ‘s project is on track to begin powering 660,000 homes in 2026, despite a cost hike and vociferous opposition to wind energy from President Donald Trump.

The Richmond-based Fortune 500 earlier this year announced the estimated cost to construct the 2.6-gigawatt project had jumped 9%, from $9.8 billion to $10.7 billion. The price increase is due to higher onshore electrical connection costs and network upgrades assigned by regional electric grid operator PJM. New electric generation resources are assigned costs determined necessary to effectively integrate the resources while safeguarding the electric grid’s reliability and stability.

As a result, customer bills will rise by an average of 43 cents per month. The upsurge is the first increase in CVOW’s budget since Dominion submitted plans to the Virginia State Corporation Commission in 2021.

Meanwhile, within hours of beginning his second term in the Oval Office, Trump issued an executive order freezing new offshore wind leases in federal waters and directing the Department of the Interior to review wind projects’ environmental impacts, as well as the economic effects of intermittent electric generation.

The nation’s largest offshore wind farm currently under construction, CVOW completed the federal approval process during the Biden administration and is not impacted by Trump’s order.

However, the president’s opposition to wind energy could impact Hampton Roads’ bid to become the supply chain hub for the offshore wind energy industry. The Virginia Port Authority, which runs the Port of Virginia, invested $233 million to upgrade 72 acres of the Marine Terminal and 1,500 feet of wharf space to stage offshore wind components, which will be transferred onto installation vessels. New York-based construction firm Skanska completed the project in March.

“Virginia makes a very strong case for being the hub for offshore wind and a myriad of other industries,” says Virginia Department of Energy Director Glenn Davis, who notes Hampton Roads’ status as the East Coast’s deepest port.

Last summer, LS GreenLink USA, a subsidiary of a South Korean undersea cable manufacturer, announced it would build a $681 million plant with 330 employees in Chesapeake to produce submarine electrical cables for offshore wind projects. Construction on the facility was set to begin in late April, with completion slated for the third quarter of 2027. The plant is set to be fully operational by 2028.

“We are still moving forward with the project,” says Patrick Y. Shim, the company’s managing director. However, a planned future investment has been put on hold.

“We hope the Trump administration keeps offshore wind going,” he adds. “We like the American workforce and want to do more in Virginia, but we need a better idea of where everything is heading.”

LS GreenLink USA received a $99 million federal tax credit tied to its job creation and money invested from the U.S. Department of Energy in April 2024 under the Biden administration.

Regardless, construction on CVOW is continuing and was halfway finished as of March, with 78 of 176 turbine foundations and the first offshore substation installed. More than half of the deepwater offshore export cables were installed by the end of October 2024. The process was paused until May to avoid disrupting North Atlantic right whale migration.

Wind turbine tower and blade fabrication are also underway, while production of nacelles, the containers used to house turbine working parts, began in March.

In addition, the first turbines are scheduled to be constructed later this year, says Dominion spokesman Jeremy Slayton.

“We’re confident CVOW will be completed on time,” he says. “Bipartisan leaders agree it has been an economic boon for Virginia. It’s creating thousands of jobs, stimulating billions in economic growth and delivering reliable and affordable energy for our customers.”

Dominion has long promoted the project’s environmental and economic benefits, including reduced carbon emissions and an expected $3 billion in customer fuel savings during its first 10 years in operation. The state’s transition to is part of the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act that requires Dominion to supply 100% of electricity from renewable power sources by 2045.

In addition, sea trials for Charybdis, the utility’s vessel and the first built in the U.S., began over the winter. Constructed in Texas, Charybdis will be delivered to Dominion later this year to support CVOW, as well as other offshore wind projects, whose future could now be in doubt under the Trump administration.

Despite offshore wind’s tenuous future, Hampton Roads has an advantage over other areas with similar projects because CVOW falls outside Trump’s executive order, says Katharine Kollins, president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

While Dominion has not established a timeline to develop its other two ocean leases — the 40,000-acre CVOW-South off Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and the 176,505-acre section adjacent to CVOW — the permitting process for those projects would not begin during the Trump administration. The utility says those two plots would not be developed until at least the 2030s.

“Long term, the outlook for Hampton Roads is still very good because those projects are not slated to go through the federal permitting process in the next four years,” Kollins says. “Other work can be done, such as surveys, studies and contract negotiations with suppliers, while waiting on the federal permitting process to move forward.”

Nevertheless, she notes that investments require market and regulatory certainties, which ultimately hinge on Trump’s support for offshore wind: “There are many billions of dollars in investment if the president would provide some more certainty. Easily $20 billion of investment is waiting in the wings throughout the country.”

 

Top Five May 2025

1 | Whistleblowers in Sentara insurance investigation revealed

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia unsealed a whistleblower complaint against Health that accused the health care system of improperly inflating Charlottesville-area insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange in 2018 and 2019. (March 25)

2 | Roanoke ER doc seeks $20M in landmark whistleblower lawsuit

A Valley emergency room doctor’s $20 million lawsuit went to jury trial April 8, with Dr. Thomas Bolton alleging that he was fired for complaining that HCA ‘s emphasis on shorter ER wait times at and its Cave Spring ER had a negative impact on patient safety. (April 7)

3 | Mitre to lay off 442 employees after DOGE cuts contracts

Federal contractor , which has dual headquarters in McLean and Massachusetts, expects to lay off 442 people in Virginia by June 3. (April 3)

4 | Trump appointee fires Freddie Mac CEO

On March 13, the Trump administration’s new Federal Housing Finance Agency director fired Diana Reid, CEO of Freddie Mac, the Tysons-based government-backed mortgage financing provider. (March 24)

5 | Construction of Virginia’s tallest building slated for April

USA announced plans to break ground April 28 in on its $680 million-plus subsea cable manufacturing facility, the first of its kind in the United States. (March 25)

State funding to help revitalize Hampton Roads port properties

SUMMARY:

Earlier this year, received $2.4 million in to support a seafood market in Newport News, vital shipyard improvements in Norfolk and a dual rail transload facility in Portsmouth.

The money, which comes from the Port Host Communities Revitalization fund distributed by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, is meant to be used to revitalize and redevelop port-related properties to further and employment growth. Newport News, Portsmouth and Norfolk received $800,000 each.

The seafood market will be located in the Newport News-owned Seafood Industrial Park, a seafood harbor that is an important part of the city’s economy.

Florence Kingston, director of development for Newport News, describes the seafood market as a “critical community improvement project.” The roughly 7,800-square-foot facility will allow sales of fresh seafood and house a commercial kitchen supporting four food vendors, which may include restaurants or stores where seafood is sold. Kingston says the building will also feature kiosks.

Work Program Architects has almost completed design work on the project, and the city hopes to go to bid this spring, begin construction this summer and have the market ready by the end of summer 2026.

While the $800,000 from the Port Host Communities Revitalization fund will fund some of the $9.1 million seafood market construction, the remainder will come from city bond funds and other grant programs.

“It’s a highly anticipated project, and I think it’s going to draw people and complement some of the other investments,” Kingston says. “We’re really grateful that we’re able to have a program that can help provide resources that help improve the commerce of your port and your community revitalization.”

For the City of Norfolk, $800,000 will go toward removing deteriorated bulkhead and degraded structures at Colonna’s Shipyard while redeveloping existing waterfront infrastructure.

Norfolk EDA spokesperson Mia Byrd Wilson says that the shoreline and landside approaching Colonna’s fabrication shop at 400 E. Indian River Road is in disrepair — including several antiquated and functionally obsolete structures, as well as overhead electrical lines that limit the activities that can be performed on the site.

To address this, the shipyard will demolish existing buildings and prepare the land for ship repair activities. Colonna’s will also take down the existing power lines and replace them with a new underground power system. The shipyard also plans to reconstruct the bulkhead for better water access.
“This project will vital and ship repair capacity on currently underutilized property along the river, increasing commerce and bringing additional jobs to the waterfront,” says Colonna’s Shipyard President Jordan Webb.

The EDA says the improvements are designed to decrease potential safety issues and increase yard productivity. Colonna’s Executive Assistant Ashley Wisniewski says the demolition of deteriorating structures is expected to be completed in the next 16 months. Tony Torres, Colonna’s director of industrial sales, says the project’s projected cost is $1.6 million and that the shipyard will cover any expenses not covered by the grant.

Portsmouth’s funding, meanwhile, will benefit the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad, which plans to use the funds to help construct a $6 million multi-commodity rail transload facility at 1040 Virginia Ave. to provide rail-to-container transloading. Railroad President Cannon Moss says that agricultural products would be loaded from rail cars into containers at the site, then transported to either the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth or Norfolk International Terminals in Norfolk.

According to Moss, CSX and Norfolk Southern trains would use the site. He says construction is set to start this year and hopes it will be completed before the end of 2025.