Developments perk up Danville
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Danville City Council members faced a dilemma three years ago. Council members could pay up to $185,000 to demolish a crumbling stucco apartment building on Jefferson Avenue, or they could spend $75,000 in matching funds to augment a $125,000 grant from the Virginia Housing Development Authority to stabilize the property, which was declared unfit for
Virginia Tech aims to fill cybersecurity jobs gaps
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The U.S. Department of Defense in January awarded Virginia Tech a $1.5 million grant to prepare students for careers in cybersecurity — a field facing a critical shortage of skilled professionals. The need for a pipeline of skilled cybersecurity professionals is regularly emphasized whenever a major hack is uncovered. In December 2020, news of the
A new landmark for Alexandria
Shuttered mall will give way to Inova hospital project
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Mark Jinks sees the unoccupied, former site of Landmark Mall as a blemish on Alexandria. “When everybody drives by, they’re like, ‘What’s going on here? It’s closed. Why doesn’t the city do something?’” says Jinks, the city manager of Alexandria. After working for 16 years to see the 52-acre site redeveloped, Jinks feels the city
‘Fauci effect’ spurs med school applicant growth
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It just got even more competitive to win a spot at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, which saw a 48% increase in applications last year. By the Dec. 1, 2020, application deadline, the medical school had received 6,374 applications for the class of 2025, which has a mere 49 openings. Last year, the
Wind industry training catches a Southern breeze
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New College Institute wants to take the lead in building the state’s wind energy workforce. In January, the Martinsville higher education center became the first site in Virginia to offer wind technician training courses, certified by the Global Wind Organisation, a Danish nonprofit that sets international minimum standards for safety and technical training for wind
Roanoke clears path for more downtown development
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Roanoke developer Lucas Thornton hopes to break ground this summer on a multimillion-dollar renovation project that will transform what is now Campbell Court Transportation Center, the city’s rundown bus station, into an office tower and another building with apartments and retail space. Thornton’s $35 million development, tentatively named Randolph Street, inched closer to becoming reality
Va. Tech ups connectivity with broadband block buy
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In an effort to literally expand Virginia Tech’s research bandwidth, the Virginia Tech Foundation bought eight blocks of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the Federal Communications Commission’s auction this summer. As owner of priority access licenses (PALs) for four 10MHz blocks in Montgomery County and four blocks in Craig County, the university will likely
After 30 years, The Free Clinic will shut its doors
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Harrisonburg’s The Free Clinic will go out of business at the end of December after providing medical care to low-income, uninsured adults for more than 30 years. “We’ve taken care of patients. We’ve made our community a healthier place, and we’re happy about that,” says Joshua Hale, president of the clinic’s board of directors. “Even
Stars in their eyes
Roanoke Valley sees robust, diverse economic growth
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When 19th-century movers and shakers picked sleepy Roanoke as the site of the crossroads linking the Shenandoah Valley and Norfolk & Western railroads, the town grew with such force and speed that it earned the now-obscure nickname “Magic City.” Over the decades that followed, thousands of Roanokers toiled for the N&W one way or another.
A healthy outlook
Region’s hospital systems growing through partnerships
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Even as the COVID-19 pandemic stresses Virginia hospitals, Hampton Roads’ health care sector continues to grow. Richmond-based VCU Health System is making inroads in the region through partnerships with Riverside Health System and Sentara Healthcare. In March, VCU Health System announced a formal affiliation with Newport News-based Riverside. The two organizations have identified areas “of