Big deals

Published July 28, 2022 by Kate Andrews

These are some of the state’s biggest economic development announcements in 2021 and 2022, expected to create at least 100 jobs each.

CENTRAL VIRGINIA

Chesterfield County: Lego Group, the manufacturer of the iconic brightly colored interlocking plastic toy bricks, announced in June it will build a $1 billion plant in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park, a deal expected to create more than 1,760 jobs within 10 years. The Danish company’s plans include a 1.7 million-square-foot facility on the 340-acre site. Beginning in 2024, it expects to begin operations from a temporary building, initially hiring 500 workers.

Richmond: CoStar Group Inc. is expanding its footprint in Richmond with a $460 million campus on the James River, a project expected to create 2,000 jobs. The Washington, D.C.-
based commercial real estate data and analytics company also has purchased the former SunTrust office on the southern side
of the James for $20 million, where about
400 employees will be located.

EASTERN VIRGINIA

Accomack County: Rocket Lab USA Inc. selected Wallops Island for a launch site and manufacturing and assembly complex for its Neutron rocket, the company announced in February. The project, which will involve building of a 250,000-square-foot complex on 28 acres next to the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, is expected to create up to 250 jobs. The Neutron rocket is set to be operational in late 2024.

Norfolk: The 111-acre Lambert’s Point Docks is set to become a maritime operations and logistics center for the offshore wind, transportation and defense industries, creating more than 500 jobs and bringing in more than $100 million in capital investment. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. owns the land, which has been leased for the next 30 years by Virginia Beach-based Fairwinds Landing LLC, a special purpose company established in 2021.

Portsmouth: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A., the Spanish wind energy company involved in Dominion Energy Inc.’s $9.8 billion offshore wind project in Virginia Beach, announced plans in October 2021 to build the first U.S. offshore wind blade factory at Portsmouth Marine Terminal. Siemens is investing $200 million to build the factory, which is expected to be completed in early 2023, creating 310 jobs.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Fairfax County: Qualtrics, a data analytics and experience management software company based in Seattle and Provo, Utah, is expanding its presence in Northern Virginia with a new location near the Reston Metro station, part of a development boom in the western part of Fairfax County. The company expects to create 400 jobs in Reston, it announced in December 2021, as Qualtrics closed its $1.13 billion purchase of Reston-based software company Clarabridge Inc.

Loudoun County: Hanley Energy, an Irish energy management company with its U.S. headquarters based in Loudoun, plans to expand its electrical division in Ashburn, creating an expected 343 jobs. Hanley announced the $8 million investment in June, about a year after it said it would base its U.S. headquarters in Virginia, bringing 170 jobs to the commonwealth.

Stafford County: Amazon.com Inc. continued its march across Virginia, with an announcement in November 2021 that it would build a cross-dock fulfillment center in Stafford County that would create an expected 500 jobs. The 630,000-square-foot plant is the first link of a supply chain where products from third-party vendors are sorted, repacked and sent to other Amazon distribution centers.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Augusta County: In February, Amazon announced another big fulfillment center project, this time in Fishersville. The 1 million-square-foot center is expected to create 500 jobs and open in spring 2023. Workers there will pick, pack and ship bulky or larger items like patio furniture, outdoor equipment and rugs, according to the governor’s office. Amazon employs about 27,000 people in Virginia and has more than 30 fulfillment centers and delivery stations in the state.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA

Henry County: Schock GmbH, a German quartz composite sink manufacturer, announced in September 2021 it would invest $85 million into a new manufacturing facility that is expected to produce 355 jobs. Construction at the Patriot Centre Industrial Park is set to start in the first quarter of 2023.

Pittsylvania County: Tyson Foods Inc. broke ground in fall 2021 for its $300 million manufacturing facility in Pittsylvania County’s Cane Creek Centre just outside Danville. With completion scheduled in early 2023, the plant is expected to produce 376 full-time jobs. Tyson has long had a footprint in Virginia’s Eastern Shore and Henrico County.

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

Wythe County: Blue Star NBR LLC, a rubber and nitrile glove manufacturer, is investing $714 million to build a manufacturing facility in Wythe’s Progress Park. The company is expected to create 2,500 jobs by 2028 and establish six glove manufacturing plants total, with the first opening by March 2023. When it’s operating at full capacity, Blue Star expects to produce 20 billion gloves a year.

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