Biotech firm moving to new Richmond location, creating 250 jobs
Grenova Inc. plans to invest $10.6 million
Grenova Inc., a Richmond-based sustainable biotech company, plans to move to a larger facility in the city, investing $10.6 million and creating 250 jobs over the next three years, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The company is currently located in the Manchester neighborhood but will move to a larger facility across from The Diamond baseball
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Va. hotel revenues up 12% in March
Rooms sold are up by 25% compared to this month last year
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Virginia hotel revenues for March 2021 increased by 12% compared with March 2020, according to data released Tuesday by STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. During the same period, rooms sold went up by 25%. The average daily rate (ADR) paid for hotel rooms dropped 10%
BWX Technologies lands $2.2B in naval nuclear contracts
Work will support U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program
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Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc. has landed $2.2 billion in U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contracts, the nuclear components and fuel supplier announced Tuesday. Approximately half of the contract was awarded in the first quarter of the year, with the rest as options subject to congressional appropriations, according to the company, which employs approximately 6,600 people
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$59.6M hydroponic operation coming to Va. Beach
One of the East Coast's largest greenhouses, it will create 155 jobs
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Agriculture startup Sunny Farms LLC plans to build a $59.6 million, 32-acre hydroponic operation in Virginia Beach — creating 155 jobs and one of the largest greenhouses on the East Coast, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The facility, which will cover 1.2 million square feet when complete in three years, will be located at
Parsons Corp. names new CEO
President and COO Carey Smith to succeed Chuck Harrington, who retires in June
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Centreville-based defense contractor Parsons Corp. announced Tuesday that CEO Charles “Chuck” Harrington is retiring after nearly 40 years and will be replaced by President and Chief Operating Officer Carey Smith effective July 1. A member of Parsons’ board, Smith joined Parsons in 2016 as president of its federal solutions business and became COO in 2018,
3Pillar Global closes third acquisition within year
Fairfax company's latest purchase expands European regional footprint
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Fairfax-based product lifecycle management company 3Pillar Global Inc. has completed an acquisition of North Carolina-based software firm Software Development Europe, it announced Tuesday. It’s the third acquisition for 3Pillar during the past year — part of a growth strategy fueled by an investment from New York-based private equity investor CIP Capital, according to 3Pillar. The
T-Rextasy: Faux dino finds home at Great Minds’ future Richmond HQ
Replica of world’s priciest dino to be installed Wednesday
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Call it rex appeal. On Wednesday, Washington, D.C.-based education company Great Minds will install a museum-quality replica of Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex’s skeleton at its future headquarters in Richmond. Measuring 13 feet tall and 40 feet long, the actual Stan’s fossilized skeleton sold for $32 million in a Christie’s auction last October, making it the
Central Va. pharma hub strategic plan released
VCU announces strategy to drive business and job growth in region
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On Tuesday, the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering announced its strategy to turn Central Virginia into an advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and development hub. The strategic plan aims to foster business and job growth in the Richmond-Petersburg area while also expanding access to medicines. The creation of the plan was funded by a $100,000
Genworth files for mortgage insurance biz IPO
Genworth Mortgage Holdings Inc. subsidiary may go public by mid-summer
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Henrico County-based Fortune 500 insurer Genworth Financial Inc. filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Monday for a proposed initial public offering of the company’s mortgage insurance business. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC will serve as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering of Genworth Mortgage Holdings Inc. (GMHI), a
COVID roundup: Va. now offering vaccines to everyone age 16+
More than half of all adults in state have gotten a shot
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All Virginians age 16 and up are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, which you may have heard Monday morning in a loud public safety alert sent to smartphones by the Virginia Department of Health. All U.S. states met President Joe Biden’s April 19 deadline to expand vaccine eligibility for all adults, regardless of job,
Virginia Beach office property sells for $1M
Building to serve as future headquarters for Canzell Realty
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CR Assets LLC has purchased a 5,040-square-foot office building in Virginia Beach for $1 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced on Monday. Located at 4598 Broad St., the building will serve as the future corporate headquarters of Canzell Realty. It was sold by Broad Street Associates. The sale closed on April 8. Rob Wright
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People
United Methodist Family Services gets new chief
Nancy Toscano is statewide nonprofit’s first female president, CEO
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Nancy Toscano has become president and CEO of United Methodist Family Services (UMFS), a 121-year-old nonprofit statewide provider of social services programs for high-risk children and parents. Promoted from chief operating officer, Toscano succeeds Greg Peters, who is retiring after more than 20 years leading the Richmond-based nonprofit. Toscano, who was named to the role
Branch Civil appoints new executive VP
Brian J. Quinlan hired for leadership role at Branch Group subsidiary
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Brian J. Quinlan has been appointed to serves as executive vice president of Roanoke-based Branch Civil Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Branch Group specializing in site development, civil construction and heavy highway infrastructure projects. In his new role, Quinlan will be responsible for Branch Civil’s overall financial and operational leadership, as well as
Economic development consultancy taps Roanoke partner
John J. Smolak joins Sanford Holshouser
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Longtime economic development executive John J. Smolak has joined Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting (SHEDC) as a partner, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based consultancy announced this week. Smolak, who will be based in Roanoke, worked for 25 years with Appalachian Power. He’s well known in the Southwest Virginia region, where he will help the firm expand,
GMU Center for Government Contracting taps two fellows
Center adds Stephanie Halcrow, promotes Eric Lofgren
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The Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University has named two senior fellows, it announced this week. The Fairfax-based center added Stephanie Halcrow, who most recently served on the House Armed Services Committee as a professional staff member, and promoted researcher Eric Lofgren. Halcrow is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, who
Opinion
Better times ahead
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Back in the early 1980s, a co-worker of mine and his wife became first-time homeowners. They felt pretty good about getting their new house and signing a mortgage note at a whopping 18% interest rate! By today’s standards, that’s pretty unthinkable. While much time has passed since those days, we’ve had only six new presidents
35 years of storytelling
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My favorite day every month comes when a new issue of Virginia Business lands on my desk. Each magazine tracks emerging economic trends and the ongoing evolution of business leadership in the commonwealth. But for me, the impact is much more than just a good read about important business topics. Each issue of this magazine
The Mailroom: Day of reckoning
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In December, Virginia Business kindly published my letter calling for bipartisan cooperation to seek solutions to key issues facing the commonwealth — COVID, preparing our future workforce, universal broadband and providing better public safety services. I also said business leaders must demand that those seeking political office in 2021 should articulate how they will rise
A moment for change
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Growing up in 1960s and ’70s Virginia, racism was always present, in forms direct and subtle. Each experience carried a message: to “know your place” and stay there. During my years as a student at Dinwiddie County High School, I remember being in the crowd when we hosted majority-Black Petersburg High School for a football