Newport News
Science and technology hub offers an outstanding quality of life

A strong research and technology base, enviable quality of life, high productivity and moderate costs add up to value for companies locating in Newport News. Information and technology-driven firms find a highly educated workforce and access to advanced scientific and technological research. Firms in the office sector find an exceptional quality of life for their executives and access to a 1.6 million person metropolitan area. Manufacturers find a positive business environment, low operating costs and an aggressive Economic Development Authority (NNEDA).

Location
Newport News, a vibrant city of more than 185,000, is at the mid-point of the Atlantic Coast and at the center of the Hampton Roads area. Newport News is served by interstate highways, rail, the Port of Hampton Roads and three commercial airports. More than 20 international firms have located in the City, including Siemens Automotive, Canon, Muller Martini, Wolseley North America/Ferguson Enterprises and Icelandic USA.

Technology
Two national laboratories, Jefferson Lab and NASA’s Langley Research Center, give the city an impressive technological base. The NNEDA’s Applied Research Center, a 122,000-square-foot, seven-story class-A office/laboratory located at the Jefferson Center for Research and Technology next to Jefferson Lab, provides a venue for synergy to occur between scientists, university faculty and the private sector. Research is ongoing in photonics, nanotechnology, medical imaging, surface modification and plasmas. On the city’s downtown waterfront, the Herbert H. Bateman Virginia Advanced Shipbuilding and Carrier Integration Center, which was also developed by the NNEDA, is where engineers from Northrop Grumman Newport News and other defense contractors team with university researchers to design the next generation of nuclear aircraft carriers and solve other naval systems integration problems. Formerly Newport News Shipbuilding, Northrop Grumman is Virginia’s largest manufacturer and a world leader in naval, nuclear and systems technology. The region’s work force benefits from the region’s seven resident colleges and universities, ten branch campuses, two law schools, a medical college and two community colleges. Five of these institutions offer doctoral degrees and seven more have masters programs.

Work force
Drawing from more than 800,000 workers in the metro area, firms can find productive employees with almost any skill or professional expertise. With a high concentration of scientists, Newport News’ labor market is ideal for technology driven companies. The region’s military bases also pump skilled workers into the labor force. Area businesses give workers high marks for availability and performance. Wage and salary scales are below the national average. Union influence is weak.

Quality of life
Workers and business owners are attracted to the region’s superb lifestyle. The James River, Chesapeake Bay and nearby Atlantic Ocean provide abundant recreation. Waterfront homes are surprisingly affordable and executives can choose among several golf communities. Area attractions include Colonial Williamsburg, along with Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. Culturally, the region is home to the Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Opera, the Virginia Stage Company and the Chrysler Museum of Art.

In the middle of the city are two successful new-urbanist developments. City Center at Oyster Point is a high-density, mixed-use urban center that is a perfect regional or district headquarters location, with a Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, high-end retail and a new office building under construction. Within walking distance, Port Warwick is an urban village built around a series of public squares with much attention to visual design and public art. Site work will soon begin for Asheton, a new traditional neighborhood development on more than 400 acres in the northern part of the City.

Near City Center and Port Warwick, the expanded Virginia Living Museum is now open, while the world-renowned Mariners’ Museum has completed its showcase USS Monitor Exhibit. Riverside Regional Medical Center has also completed a multimillion dollar expansion. Christopher Newport University continues to build on campus and the I.M. Pei- designed Ferguson Center for the Arts is entering its third season.

Office and industrial sites
Oyster Point of Newport News, next to Jefferson Lab and Canon, is the region’s premier business center. Class A office space is available at City Center, in Oyster Point and elsewhere in the City. Oakland Industrial Park has wooded and cleared sites, some with rail service, and available industrial buildings of up to 40,000 square feet. Oakland is in the City’s North Enterprise Zone.

Savings
Incentives are available for firms that create jobs and significantly add to the tax base. The NNEDA can write down occupancy costs, and low-interest loans for machinery and equipment purchases are available for expanding companies. Newport News offers some of the most generous local incentives in Virginia for qualifying companies in its Enterprise Zones, and grants from the state are available to companies that locate in any of the city’s four enterprise zone areas.

The NNEDA is an aggressive and innovative economic development organization. It has developed or redeveloped 1.5 million square feet of industrial and office space for direct sale or lease to a variety of companies, and structured both capital and operating leases. Newport News’ approach to economic development is definitely solution-driven. Whatever the industry, NNEDA staff members are eager to help firms find the right existing industrial or office building for sale or lease.

Florence G. Kingston or Ted Figura
Newport News Economic Development Authority
(800) 274-8348 or (757) 926-8428
Fax (757) 926-3504
Web site: www.newportnewsva.com