2018
The ultimate guide for doing business in the region
Vol. 1
The ultimate guide for doing business in the region
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8
Business Districts
1
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7 5 7. 4 4 6 . 8 6 0 0 VA N B L A C K L A W. C O M VIRGINIA | NORTH CAROLINA | GERMANY
Development • Acquisitions • Construction • Design • Renovation • Property Management SINGLE FAMILY - MULTIFAMILY - COMMERCIAL - MIXED USE
NEST ON 17 - ISLE OF WIGHT
VILLAGE OF WESTLAKE - RICHMOND
THE MARQ. - VIRGINIA BEACH
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NNEST 1N
The Breeden Company is a nationally recognized real estate services company with over 50 years of expertise in every facet of the industry. Breeden Property Management, Breeden Realty and Breeden Construction are the three major subsidiaries of The Breeden Company. It has a combined portfolio of nearly 12,000 apartments, over 2 million square feet of retail and office space and an additional 1,700 residential homes.
On the cover Photo courtesy of Port of Virginia
CONTENTS
6
26
Overview of Hampton Roads
Industry & Business Research The fastest-growing private companies in the region.
Demographics on the second-most-populated region in the state.
30 Military
8 Executive Insights Local business leaders weigh in on relevant topics.
10 Arts, Recreation & Tourism
18 Education & Workforce Local education resources and statistics.
The economic impact of arts districts and more.
22
15
Largest credit unions and banks.
Construction & Real Estate Major construction projects and commercial real estate firms.
36
Finance
24
A breakdown of the population at local military bases.
31 Ports & Shipping Dredging project receives federal approval, state financial support.
Organizations working to solve some of the world's toughest problems.
38 Residential Real Estate Interview with Long & Foster's Katie Zarpas.
42 Technology Subsea cables open new sector for Virginia Beach.
43 Transportation Major road projects and regional transportation statistics.
Health Care Hospitals by net patient revenue. HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
3
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Introduction
Contributors Amtrak Commercial real estate firms Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance
Norfolk Southern Corp. Port of Virginia Real Estate Information Network Inc. Research and development facilities
Hampton Roads Transit
U.S. Census Bureau
Meeting and convention facilities
Virginia Department of Education
Military bases
Virginia Department of Transportation
National Credit Union Administration Newport News/ Williamsburg International Airport Nonprofit and community colleges Norfolk International Airport
Virginia Economic Development Partnership Virginia Health Information Workforce development organizations
A new look at the region
W
elcome to the first edition of Hampton Roads Business! This in-depth guide examines the people, places and companies shaping the region. It’s also meant to help local firms and newcomers conduct business in the area. In this publication you’ll find vital statistics, formerly included in the Hampton Roads Statistical Digest, as well as enhanced features analyzing the most important aspects of the economy. We kick things off with demographics on the second-mostpopulated region in the commonwealth. You’ll also find insight from local heavy hitters, including Port of Virginia CEO John F. Reinhart and Old Dominion University Economist Vinod Agarwal. We also spoke to the players involved in shaping the area’s colorful arts districts and discussed the districts’ impact on business and tourism. Additionally, we examine the economic implications of subsea cables that are being installed in Virginia Beach and will reach as far as Brazil and South Africa. This is only some of the expanded coverage you’ll find in the inaugural Hampton Roads Business. Is there something you would like to see next year? I’d love to hear your suggestions. Email me at vgarabelli@virginiabusiness.com. — Veronica Garabelli, Special Projects Editor
President & Publisher ........................Bernard A. Niemeier Editor .................................................. Robert C. Powell III Managing Editor .....................................Jessica Sabbath Special Projects Editor ........................Veronica Garabelli Assistant Editor..................................... Michael O'Connor Intern ...............................................................Daniel Berti Art Director ........................................ Adrienne R. Watson Production Manager ..................................... Kevin L. Dick Circulation Manager ................................ Karen Chenault Marketing Services Manager ...................... Lisa Niemeier CENTRAL VIRGINIA 1207 East Main Street, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 225-9262 Fax: (804) 225-0028 Vice President of Advertising .................. Hunter Bendall Account Manager ...................................Lindsey Swain HAMPTON ROADS 4211 Monarch Way, Suite 104, Norfolk, VA 23508 (757) 625-4233 Fax: (757) 627-1709 Sales Manager .................................................. Sara Gray ROANOKE 210 S. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA 24011-1702 (540) 597-2499 Sales Manager ............................................Lynn Williams NATIONAL SALES (973) 464-9969 Sales Manager ........................................ Molly Thompson An annual publication of
VirginiaBusiness.com
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
5
An overview of
HAMPTON ROADS With a population of more than 1.7 million, Hampton Roads is the second most populated region in the state. The region also is home to the largest city in the state, Virginia Beach, which has more than 450,000 residents. Hampton Roads boasts the third-biggest port on the East Coast, one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the U.S., a thriving tourism industry and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
$
Math
ews
Gloucester James City
Median household income1
Williamsburg Yor k
port s
New
%
Poquoson
New
Surry
Hampton
Unemployment rate2
Isle of Wight
City of Franklin
Norfolk
Portsmouth tsm th Chesapeake
Suffolk
Southampton
Virginia Beach
Civilian labor force2
% Source: Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance
Labor force participation rate1
1. U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 estimate of the resident population 2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017 annual average, seasonally adjusted 3. Esri Business Analyst Online
1
Average commute time
6
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Note: Population figure includes Hampton Roads MSA, including Currituck and Gates counties in North Carolina.
Population
1
Population
% 3
Population 18-34
%
%
Male vs. female ratio1
Locality
20171
Population density2
Chesapeake
240,397
652
Franklin
8,176
1,046
Gloucester
37,292
169
Hampton
134,669
2,673
Isle of Wight
36,552
112
James City
75,524
470
Mathews
8,779
105
Newport News
179,388
2,630
Norfolk
244,703
4,486
Poquoson
12,053
793
Portsmouth
94,572
2,839
Southampton
17,750
31
Suffolk
90,237
211
Surry
6,540
25
Virginia Beach
450,435
1,759
Williamsburg
15,031
1,559
York
67,739
625
Virginia
8,470,020
203
United States
325,719,178
1 Estimates as of July 1, 2017
0.10% 3.72%
2 Based on 2010 Census
1.42% 3.86%
0.31%
87 Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Racial diversity White Black/African-American American Indian/Alaska native Asian
Median age1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
30.69%
Some other race
59.90%
% Population with a bachelor’s degree or higher1
Two or more races Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012-2016 American Community Survey, five-year estimates for Hampton Roads MSA, including Currituck and Gates counties in North Carolina.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions? Contact Veronica Garabelli at vgarabelli@virginiabusiness.com. To order additional copies, contact Karen Chenault at kchenault@virginiabusiness.com.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
7
Executive Insights We asked six local leaders for their take on the current and future state of Hampton Roads. Here’s what they had to say.
Vinod Agarwal
Gilbert Bland
professor of economics and deputy director, Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, Old Dominion University, Norfolk
president and CEO, Urban League of Hampton Roads
Question: What do you see as the biggest issue facing the region?
Question: Do you foresee a recession in the near future? How would that impact Hampton Roads?
AAnswer: nswer
My former experiences as a commercial banker, president of a national association representing entrepreneurs and chair of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in addition to my current service as CEO of the local Urban League, shapes my perspectives to identifying the greatest challenges facing our region. A key opportunity is to fully prepare and engage the local African-American population, which represents 33 percent of the Hampton Roads population (over 500,000 residents, and the 13th largest African-American population in America).
AAnswer: We do not expect a recession in 2018 or 2019. Primary reasons for this are the expansionary fiscal policy implemented through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. However, we also are increasingly troubled by the prospects of a global trade war. The imposition of tariffs by the U.S. and counter-tariffs by its trading partners would adversely impact the growth of the national economy. If we have a recession, Hampton Roads' economy will face a much smaller adverse impact compared to the last recession. The primary reason for this is increased national defense spending during fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Historically, about 4 percent of national defense spending occurs in Hampton Roads. We anticipate that defense spending here will increase by $3 billion this fiscal year and $4 billion in fiscal year 2019, and its effects will last through at least 2020.
Chad Matheson director, business intelligence, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance
Question: What major economic development project in the area are you most excited about? Why?
8
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
It's imperative to develop effective educational pathways from pre-K to post-secondary. A great education is a gateway to personal success and economic participation. Regarding growing economic impact, it’s necessary to have an intentional focus on career and leadership advancement for employees; governance opportunities for business leaders; public and private procurement opportunities and targeted programs to allow access to capital for small business.
Answer: Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads are positioning themselves as a leader in the subsea cable ecosystem. Submarine fiber-optic cables encourage opportunities for industry growth and represent a highly valuable long-term infrastructure and business development opportunity for Hampton Roads. To capture these opportunities, Virginia Beach continues to build density by adding the necessary infrastructure to position the region as a competitive and global connectivity hub. In the short-term, benefits will arrive in the most tangible forms – new employment and capital investment. Complementary to these tangibles, investment activity encourages positive market sentiment on the global scale, increased visibility and brand recognition for the region, and an improvement to the overall attractiveness and regional value proposition within the information technology sectors. Over the long-term, employment and establishment growth in related industries could position the region favorably by strengthening the diverse range of high-tech, higher-wage industries within Hampton Roads. Photos By Mark Rhodes
John F. Reinhart CEO, executive director, The Port of Virginia
Question: How does Hampton Roads’ economy drive the economy in the rest of the state?
AAnswer: The Hampton Roads region is home to several important economic engines and one of those is The Port of Virginia, which is Virginia’s – and the Mid-Atlantic’s – maritime global gateway to the world. The cargo flowing across the port has a long-lasting, positive and statewide impact on Virginia’s economy. On an annual basis, the port supports more than 530,000 resident jobs, direct and indirect, throughout the commonwealth and is responsible for generating more than $88 billion in total economic impact. The port’s positive effect on Virginia’s economy will increase as progress continues on the $700 million expansion of its two primary container terminals and a project to deepen the Norfolk Harbor and commercial shipping channels to 55 feet. These initiatives will allow the port to handle even bigger ships and more cargo for decades to come and result in continued job creation and economic investment across the commonwealth.
Bryan Stephens president and CEO, Hampton Roads Chamber
Question: What do you want people in other parts of Virginia to know about Hampton Roads?
James K. Spore president and CEO, Reinvent Hampton Roads
Question: What business sector is growing the most in the region? What do you attribute to that growth?
Answer: The Hampton Roads region continues to see solid growth in the business and professional services sector as well as in the health-care industry. Recent increases in the construction sector have been stimulated by congressional approval of the federal budget with its associated increases in military base construction expenditures. The adoption of the defense budget has also driven strong increases in the shipbuilding and repair sector. Significant momentum also is being generated in the entrepreneurial business startup arena with the founding of 757 Accelerate, [a business acceleration program] and its associated 757 SEED Fund. Another bright spot regionally is the recent announcement by Google of another very high capacity trans-oceanic subsea cable connecting the region to France. This, coupled with the MAREA and BRUSA [subsea cables] is driving data center and related IT/cyber growth opportunities in Southeast Virginia.
Answer: Hampton Roads has it all!
We are a proud region, strong in our military presence with all branches of the service represented and home to the world’s largest naval station. We get to live where other people vacation. Our beautiful oceanfront and vibrant boardwalk, the Chesapeake Bay and other natural waterways, wildlife refuge, national parks, and temperate seasons are an outdoor enthusiast's dream. Our diversity can be seen through our industries and people. The Port of Virginia serves as a global shipping hub and a pillar of our economy. Our world-class educational institutions include two Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs) as well as a STEM-focused primary education as NASA and Jefferson Labs lead the way in research. We are at the heart of the Historic Triangle but also home to modern technology, entrepreneurs and innovators. Hampton Roads is the perfect combination of history with a modern vision and a region where people want to live, work, play and raise their families.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
9
ARTS, RECREATION & TOURISM
Commune Restaurant provides a view of a mural in Norfolk's NEON district.
Tapping creative assets Local arts districts aim to stimulate culture, economy by Daniel Berti olorful murals, coffee shops and green spaces can be seen dotting some urban landscapes of Hampton Roads once marked by vacant storefronts and deteriorating infrastructure. Many of these areas have officially been designated cultural arts districts by local governments with the purpose of stimulating business and generating new sources of revenue and tourism. In the last decade, arts districts have popped up in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Portsmouth and Hampton. In many cases, the
C 10
districts offer financial incentives to attract businesses or have been rezoned to spur commerce. Businesses locating in rehabilitated structures within Virginia Beach’s ViBe Creative District, for example, are eligible to receive partial property tax exemptions. The district has seen an influx of 25 new businesses since its 2015 rezoning, says Executive Director Kate Pittman. According to Washington D.C.based nonprofit Americans for the Arts, businesses involved in the creation or distribution of the arts
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
employed 3.48 million people in the United States as of April 2017, or more than 2 percent of U.S. employees. In Virginia Beach, the arts generated $87.7 million in total expenditures in 2015, supporting 2,875 jobs. The changes have been gradual, but organizers at both the grassroots and governmental level say that the process of creating a vibrant arts district is well worth the wait. “It’s been an effort to beautify, but with purpose,” says Pittman. The following pages offer a glimpse of the region’s arts districts. Photos by Mark Rhodes
Norfolk Norfolk’s NEON district was born in 2013. It is filled with public art projects, restaurants and galleries. The district includes major cultural institutions like the Chrysler Museum of Art and Harrison Opera House as well as projects that showcase local talent and entrepreneurship. That includes the d'Art Center, a nonprofit community art center, which relocated to NEON in 2016. The NEON district is a collaboration by the Downtown Norfolk Council, grassroots volunteers and the City of Norfolk. Rachel McCall, special projects manager at Downtown Norfolk Council, says that these entities have come together in a unique and positive way. “It takes a lot of community effort,” she says. Since its creation, the NEON district has continued to update infrastructure, add public art and create green spaces in the district. “It’s very valuable, especially talking about the growth of our city and the future of it,” says McCall.
Virginia Beach's ViBe Creative District
Hampton Hampton Arts & Cultural District, created at the end of 2015, includes the historic downtown area of Hampton and the Phoebus neighborhood. “The district was created to encourage artsbased businesses and cultural institutions to locate or expand in
the district,” says Alison Eubank, placemaking planner for the City of Hampton. “It is also designed to highlight and strengthen the existing arts and cultural assets in the downtown Hampton and Phoebus areas in a connected way that creates synergy and additional foot traffic.”
Hampton's restored 1920s carousel is located within its arts and cultural district.
Virginia Beach Virginia Beach’s ViBe district spans roughly 15 city blocks near the oceanfront. Prior to its zoning as an arts district in 2015, the area was largely ignored, according to ViBe’s Executive Director Kate Pittman. “People were just driving right by that area and going straight to the oceanfront,” she says. Since its designation as an arts district, the area has seen more foot and vehicle traffic. ViBe now boasts more than two dozen businesses, green spaces and public art. It is also home to Virginia Beach’s first coworking space, a farmers’ market and an art market. Pittman expects the district will be home to more than 30 businesses by the end of 2018. “We see already, year-to-year, an increase in businesses opening, and 2018 will be a landmark year for that,” she says. HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
11
Arts, Recreation & Tourism linked to the establishment of the arts and cultural district.” Businesses locating in the district are eligible for permit fee and event fee waivers. Companies also may be eligible for certain grants.
Williamsburg
Williamsburg's arts district.
The arts district has seen an increasing number of visitors and new businesses since its inception, Eubank says. “While there are economic impacts from the new businesses and patrons, we cannot [quantify] what is
Williamsburg’s arts district, located in the city’s mid-town, provides tax incentives to creative companies and artists who do business in the district. Businesses, for example, can receive a rebate on their business licenses and waivers on fees for building and zoning permits. According to Michele DeWitt, Williamsburg’s economic development director, the district’s commercial vacancy rate has decreased from 22 percent since its inception in 2011 to 6 percent in 2017. Williamsburg City Councilman Benny Zhang says the district is still working to attract more foot traffic, but he’s hopeful the upcoming Midtown Row development, featuring a mix of residential and commercial de-
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business in the region
Vol. 1
Portsmouth Cultural Arts District.
velopment, will draw more people from the city’s downtown to the district. “It’s just a matter of timing and resolving those logistical issues one-by-one,” he says. “It’s going to be a gradual process, it’s not going to be a one [size] fits all remedy.”
Portsmouth Portsmouth’s arts district had been a local and regional hotspot for the arts long before its official designation in 2017. The area now known as The Portsmouth Cultural Arts District was already home to the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, the Children’s Museum of Virginia and several studios and antique shops. “When we decided to get it designated officially, our argument was that we already had an arts district,” says Karen Burgess, a volunteer and member of The Portsmouth Museum and Fine Arts Commission, which spearheaded the project. “Why not get the designation and gain the benefits for attracting tourists to the area?” The city is planning to officially launch its arts district this fall, probably around October, Burgess says. The goal is to “announce to everybody, tourists and residents, that we are an arts district and these are the things we have in downtown Portsmouth.” Photos by Mark Rhodes
Standing out from the pack Experience is key for corporate meetings and conventions by Veronica Garabelli hen meeting planners VisitNorfolk's Sam book space, they’re Rogers says looking for more than traffic generated square footage, banquet caby meetings and the tourism pacity and number of hotel industry generated rooms, though those logisti$785 million in cal details are important too. expenditures in the “They’re thinking about the city in 2016. experience their attendees will have,” says Sam Rogers, interim president and CEO at VisitNorfolk, a nonprofit that markets the waterfront city to travelers. Several properties in the region are capitalizing on that trend by offering distinct experiences and meeting venues, from a glass studio in Norfolk to a distillery at the newly renovated Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach. The historic hotel reopened earlier this year and also includes three restaurants. In Newport News, the former site of the Omni and Magnuson hotels relaunched earlier this year as the
W
Holiday Inn Newport News - City Center. The hotel offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space, including the new “Enterprise” room. The board room, named after the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier built at Newport News Shipbuilding, has a desk fashioned in the hull of a ship. Liz Parker, general manager at the hotel and head of Newport News Hospitality Association, says the city has seen an uptick in meetings in the past two years. “More and more people want to be emotionally connected,” she says. Norfolk also has been successful at attracting meetings but is conducting a survey to help it draw larger corporate meetings and conventions. VisitNorfolk’s Rogers says traffic generated by the meetings and tourism industry generated $785 million in expenditures in the city in 2016 and accounted for 700,900 full-time jobs. Rogers points out the city does host major gatherings, such as Dollar Tree’s annual meeting. “The question is how do we attract more of them?”
Largest meeting and convention facilities Guest rooms
Banquet capacity
Available meeting space (square feet)
N/A
9,400
210,470
Embassy Suites by Hilton Hampton Hotel Convention Center & Spa Hampton
295
4,000
192,384
The Hampton Coliseum Hampton
N/A
N/A
84,827
Norfolk Waterside Marriott Norfolk
405
1,400
68,879
Norfolk Scope Norfolk
N/A
3,000
64,000
Hilton Norfolk The Main Norfolk
300
1,200
50,000
295
1,600
48,000
466
1,200
46,000
Williamsburg Lodge Williamsburg
323
1,000
45,000
Chesapeake Conference Center Chesapeake
N/A
1,300
39,000
Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center Williamsburg
303
500
26,000
240
1,000
25,000
N/A
540
25,000
Facility
Location
Virginia Beach Convention Center Virginia Beach
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Williamsburg Williamsburg Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel Norfolk
Founders Inn and Spa Virginia Beach Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center Norfolk N/A: Not available or not applicable
Note: Sample of facilities with at least 25,000 square feet of meeting space.
Source: Individual facilities
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
13
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CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE
Range of projects underway
by Jessica Sabbath
F
rom a host of mixed-use developments to expanded terminal capacity at the Port of Virginia, many major construction projects are going up in Hampton Roads. (For more projects, see page 16 and 17). Several major headquarters expansion projects are underway, including a new headquarters for Dollar Tree in Chesapeake, Ferguson Enterprise’s new seven-story headquarters building in Newport News and Stihl Inc.’s expansion of its 21,000-square-foot administration building in Virginia Beach to 80,000 square feet. Still, office space remains tight in the region, according to recent market reports from local commercial real estate firms. Rent prices are on the rise, according to reports from Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer and JLL for the second quarter of 2018. Space also is tight in the region for the industrial market. “Due to the shortage of Class A inventory, tenants are forced to make compromises in quality,” says Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Market Beat Industrial report. “As the Port of Virginia increases TEU volumes, demand for warehouse space will not abate. Current low rents coupled with scarcity of industrial land sites will limit new construction.”
Photo by Mark Rhodes
Major commercial real estate firms Company
Number of brokers1
Managed square feet1
Leasable square feet1
Divaris Real Estate
22
9,187,071
17,529,172
CBRE
41
8,789,842
17,198,825
Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer
32
5,222,206
15,455,906
Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate
32
6,883,598
11,046,416
S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.
30
3,025,212
6,027,714
JLL
6
1,884,783
6,011,613
Colliers | Hampton Roads
3
0
3,763,141
Riddle Associates Inc.
8
1,875,000
2,710,000
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust
13
2,535,847
2,371,901
Venture Realty Group
10
2,869,850
2,146,895
Pembroke Commercial Realty LLC
5
2,439,876
2,041,477
The Shopping Center Group
5
552,000
1,300,000
Harbor Group International
0
1,201,552
859,317
The Runnymede Corp.
5
815,700
815,700
Robert Brown & Associates LLC
2
625,295
625,295
Hamner Development Co.
2
870,972
555,163
1 In Hampton Roads
Source: Individual firms
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
15
Const ruuctioon & Rea l Estat e
Under construction Barry Art Museum
A sample of projects under development.
Norfolk The two-story, 24,000square-foot building will house the art collection from Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry. Scheduled to open in mid-November, The Barry Art Museum will include international glass sculptures, 20thcentury American modernist paintings, historic fashion dolls and European automata (sculptures that simulate human movement). The museum also will include gallery space dedicated to educational activities for children and young adults. The Old Dominion University Museum Foundation will operate the museum. The museum is designed by Virginia Beachbased Saunders + Crouse Architects and built in partnership with the ODU Real Estate Foundation.
Element Hotel at Peninsula Town Center Hampton The $17 million Element Hotel at Peninsula Town Center is scheduled to open in fall 2018. The 120-room hotel received support from the Virginia Tourism Corp.’s Tourism Development Financing Program. The upscale hotel is expected to have a local tax benefit of $234,000 in its first full year of operation and have an economic impact of more than $2 million annually.
Global Technical Systems manufacturing center Virginia Beach The company is spending nearly $55 million on a new electro-mechanical storage system manufacturing operation. The 500,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center will be built on 30 acres and will produce 100 percent green energy. The project is expected to create 1,100 new jobs. The center is expected to be operational in 2019.
16
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Renderings courtesy individual companies Photos by Mark Rhodes
Midtown Row Williamsburg Deemed the new “Gateway to Williamsburg”, this mixed-use development includes the redeveloped Williamsburg and Monticello Shopping centers. Health food grocer Earth Fare already is open, and four residential buildings are expected to be completed in 2020. In total, the development will include 242,121 square feet of retail, including 61,000 square feet of new retail and 181,121 square feet of renovated stores. The expansion will include 240 apartments with accommodations for up to 650 new residents and a proposed 135-room hotel. Bethesda, Md.-based Broad Street Realty is developing the project.
Tech Center Research Park Newport News Construction continues on the 80,000-square-foot Building One @ Tech Center at the 50-acre Tech Center Research Park. The project is a partnership involving W.M. Jordan Co., Virginia Tech and the City of Newport News. The research park is adjacent to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), one of 17 national laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The research park is part of a 100-acre development that includes Marketplace at Tech Center and Venture Apartments.
Summit Pointe Chesapeake
S.B. Ballard Stadium Norfolk Old Dominion University is undergoing a construction plan to rebuild and expand its football stadium. The $65 million project is expected to be complete by the home opener of the 2019 football season. It includes a new press box, seating, entrances, concessions, as well as sound and lighting systems. It will be configured for future expansion. ODU’s department of Design and Construction is working with Intercollegiate Athletics and a design and construction management team including Moseley Architects, Populous and S.B. Ballard Construction Co.
The finishing touches are being put on the first phase of the Summit Pointe development in Chesapeake. The 510,000-square-foot headquarters for Dollar Tree Inc. will be the tallest building in the city. Overall, the $300 million development is zoned for 1 million square feet of office space, more than 1,400 residences, up to 500,000 square feet of retail space and 250,000 square feet of hospitality and conference space. A piazza at the heart of the development is expected to serve as a venue for outdoor musical events, festivals and other functions. A boutique hotel also is part of future development plans.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
17
EDUCATION & WORKFORCE
The College of William & Mary kicked off the academic year with a new president: Katherine A. Rowe. Photo by Mark Rhodes
A changing landscape Several projects underway for region’s educational institutions by Veronica Garabelli rom fresh initiatives to new leadership, educational institutions in Hampton Roads continue to evolve. Norfolk-based Old Dominion University, which has the highest enrollment out of the public, four-year universities in the region, has unveiled several new programs. The college launched a master’s program in cybersecurity this fall. In May the college also graduated its first class of students receiving a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity. ODU has created the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which consolidates the school's entrepreneurial organizations. It includes the Center for Enterprise Innovation; the Strome Entrepreneurial Center; and innovation centers in Norfolk and Chesapeake. The institute was born out of a need to better organize the university’s entrepreneurial activities. For example, when Virginia announced the GO Virginia initiative, which awards grants to promote economic development, ODU found itself unprepared. "We had all of these faculty members wanting to go after GO Virginia grants," but the school had no process to help them with the application, Larry “Chip” Filer, the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s new leader, said in a statement earlier this year. “It was the wild, wild west." The College of William & Mary also tapped a new leader after the retirement of W. Taylor Reveley III. Katherine A. Rowe became the college’s first female president in July. She is the former provost at Smith College, one of most prestigious women’s colleges in the United States. In addition to a new president, the campus is getting several new buildings. That includes a new wellness center and a new residence hall that were scheduled to open this fall.
F
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
School enrollment Locality
Fall 2017 enrollment
Graduation rate1
Chesapeake
40,656
92.7%
Franklin
1,119
86.7
Gloucester
5,439
90.4
Hampton
19,911
91.5
Isle of Wight
5,476
93.8
Mathews
1,082
91.6
Newport News
28,684
93.5
Norfolk
30,787
81.3
Poquoson
2,129
94.7
Portsmouth
14,339
86.6
Southampton
2,800
89.2
Suffolk
14,359
87.1
Surry
792
88.1
Virginia Beach
68,986
91.9
Williamsburg/James City
11,853
92.3
York
12,821
95.2
1 On-time graduation rate for class of 2017. The rate represents the percentage of students in a cohort who earned a Board of Education-approved diploma within four years of entering high school for the first time. Source: Virginia Department of Education
Four-year colleges and universities Christopher Newport University Newport News www.cnu.edu More than 90 areas of study President: Paul S. Trible Jr. Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard: $26,214 Student-to-faculty ratio: 15:1 Enrollment: 5,000
Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk www.evms.edu Twenty-two graduate and doctoral degrees and a range of certificate programs President: Dr. Richard V. Homan Tuition and fees2: $31,820 Enrollment3: 1,261
Hampton University Hampton www.hamptonu.edu More than 80 academic programs President: William R. Harvey Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard: $38,230 Total enrollment1: 4,619
Norfolk State University Norfolk www.nsu.edu Five academic colleges and schools Interim president: Melvin T. Stith Sr. Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard: $19,850 Student-to-faculty ratio: 20:1 Enrollment: 5,350
Old Dominion University Norfolk www.odu.edu Eight colleges and a graduate school President: John R. Broderick Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard: $22,567 Student-to-faculty ratio: 18-1 Enrollment1: 24,375
Regent University Virginia Beach www.regent.edu Seven schools and two colleges, undergraduate through doctoral level Founder, chancellor and CEO: M.G. “Pat” Robertson
Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard: $26,460 Student-to-faculty ratio: 20:1 Enrollment: 10,539
Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia Beach www.vwu.edu Five colleges and schools, undergraduate through graduate level President: Scott D. Miller Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard: $45,917 Student-to-faculty ratio: 13:1 Enrollment: 1,500
William & Mary Williamsburg www.wm.edu More than 80 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs President: Katherine A. Rowe Tuition and fees, plus room-andboard4: $35,636 Student-to-faculty ratio: 11:1 Enrollment1: 8,740
Community Colleges Paul D. Camp
Thomas Nelson
Tidewater
Franklin and Suffolk www.pdc.edu Sixty-two programs of study President : Daniel W. Lufkin Tuition and fees: $4,729 Student-to-faculty ration: 17:1 Enrollment1: 1,404
Hampton https://tncc.edu More than 80 areas of study President: John T. Dever Tuition and fees: $4,806 Student-to-faculty ratio: 21:1 Enrollment3: 12,210
Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach www.tcc.edu Nine career pathways with 58 associate degree programs President: Gregory T. DeCinque Tuition and fees: $5,560 Student-to-faculty ratio: 22:1 Enrollment1: 32,982
Sources: State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, colleges and universities Note: Unless noted, tuition reflects most recent tuition for undergraduate, in-state students. Enrollment data are for 2018-2019 academic year unless footnoted. 1 Fall 2017 2 Tuition and fees for in-state students pursuing a Doctor of Medicine degree. 3 For 2017-2018 academic year. 4 This figure is for in-state freshmen. For new students, tuition charged in their freshman year is frozen for all four years of their attendance at the school.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
19
Education & Workforce
Tidewater Community College
The Apprentice School Photo by John Whalen/Newport News Shipbuilding
Photo courtesy Goodwill Industries/Facebook
Photo courtesy Tidewater Community College
Paul D. Camp Community College
Goodwill Industries
Photo courtesy Paul D. Camp Community College
A sample of work force development resources in Hampton Roads The Apprentice School
New Horizons Regional Education Centers
The Newport News Apprentice School of Shipbuilding is managed by Newport News Shipbuilding to augment its workforce of more than 20,000 employees. The company, which builds U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and is one of two providers of U.S. Navy submarines, is a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Apprenticeships are offered in 19 shipbuilding disciplines and eight advanced programs of study, including marine engineering and modeling and simulation program analyst. Online: www.as.edu
The centers serve individuals in Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg and the counties of Gloucester, James City and York. The centers include The Career and Technical Education Center, which trains 1,000 high school students in seven career paths and 22 training programs. The Advanced Technical Careers Academy trains high school juniors and seniors for careers in the automotive, construction and manufacturing fields. Courses include mechatronics, welding and building construction. Online: www.nhrec.org
Goodwill Industries
Opportunity Inc.
Goodwill operates programs that help jobseekers and connect employers with qualified applicants. Those looking for work can use their Community Employment Centers to fine-tune their résumés, prep for interviews and find job leads. It also runs a staffing service for employers looking for temporary or temp-to-permanent employees. Recruitment areas for Goodwill Staffing Solutions’ include customer service, light industrial and administrative. Online: goodwillvirginia.org
Opportunity Inc., operated by the Hampton Roads’ Workforce Development Board, is an employment resource for job seekers, workers and employers in the area. Opportunity Inc.’s Workforce Centers can help employers find qualified workers, provide labor market information and offer interview facilities, for example. Job seekers can stop by the centers to develop their résumés, learn interview skills and find job referrals. Online: www.opp-inc.org
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Paul D. Camp Community College
Thomas Nelson Community College
The Paul D. Camp Community College’s Division of Workforce Development offers a variety of options to meet the needs of employers in western Hampton Roads. The college offers courses for professional development, customized employee training and advice for business startups and expansions. Courses are available for various industries including information technology, manufacturing and transportation. Online: www.pdc.edu/workforce-development
TNCC’s Workforce Development provides workforce training for individuals and employers in the Virginia Peninsula. The college creates customized programs for companies on-site, online or at its locations in Hampton and Williamsburg. Courses and programs cover manufacturing and trade skills, business and entrepreneurship, and technology and health care, among other areas. TNCC is an American Welding Society (AWS) Accredited Testing Facility with Certified Welding Inspectors who can conduct the AWS certification. Online: www.tncc.edu/workforce
Peninsula Council for Workforce Development The Peninsula Council for Workforce Development’s mission is to identify the workforce development needs of jobseekers, youth and employers and develop and implement solutions through partnerships that address these needs. The council’s Peninsula Worklink One-Stop Career Centers assist jobseekers and employers. Job seekers, for example, can use the centers’ resources for career planning or résumé development. Businesses can use the facilities for worker training or to access labor market information. Online: www.pcfwd.org
Tidewater Community College Tidewater Community College’s Center for Workforce Solutions offers the Southside, Peninsula and Western Tidewater communities a variety of workforce training options. The college’s maritime and transportation programs offer courses in maritime logistics and transportation. That includes opportunities to earn a commercial driver’s license or U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license. TCC’s Virginia Beach campus is home to the Advanced Technology Center, which aims to meet employers’ demands for a well-trained workforce. Online: www.tccworkforce.org
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
21
FINANCE
Market leader TowneBank continues to report largest market share
A
locally owned bank continues to have the largest market share in Hampton Roads. Suffolk-based TowneBank held 22 percent of the region’s deposits as of June 30, 2017, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank’s market share increased slightly from the same time period in
2016, when it held 21.5 percent of deposits. TowneBank has 40 offices in Virginia and North Carolina. The bank has local branches in Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and York and James City counties.
Largest regional credit unions Institution
Headquarters
Members
Assets
Langley Federal
Newport News
244,298
$2,620,068,327
Chartway Federal
Virginia Beach
181,676
2,162,139,487
BayPort
Newport News
140,958
1,792,956,772
1st Advantage
Yorktown
62,200
692,167,581
ABNB Federal
Chesapeake
57,140
571,298,013
Bronco Federal
Franklin
18,143
181,736,186
NAE Federal
Chesapeake
18,871
129,897,145
Beach Municipal Federal
Virginia Beach
9,618
119,742,790
PortAlliance Federal
Norfolk
11,530
95,388,403
Virginia Beach Schools Federal
Virginia Beach
7,614
95,112,156
Northern Star
Portsmouth
9,571
86,066,163
Virginia Educators
Newport News
6,141
66,368,417
NMA Federal
Virginia Beach
8,130
59,414,093
Source: National Credit Union Administration Note: Includes largest credit unions based in Hampton Roads. Data are from June 2018 call reports.
Photo by Mark Rhodes
Largest banks in Hampton Roads Institution
Headquarters
Local offices
Deposits ($000)1
TowneBank
Suffolk
26
$5,482,851
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
San Francisco
51
4,733,299
19.00
22.01%
SunTrust Bank
Atlanta
36
4,005,803
16.08
Branch Banking and Trust Co. (BB&T)
Winston-Salem, N.C.
47
3,296,583
13.23
Bank of America, National Association
Charlotte, N.C.
33
3,041,138
12.21
Xenith Bank 2
Richmond
22
994,997
3.99
The Old Point National Bank
Hampton
21
780,438
3.13
Southern Bank and Trust Co.
Mount Olive, N.C.
11
436,698
1.75
PNC Bank, National Association
Pittsburgh
11
379,202
1.52
Chesapeake Bank
Kilmarnock
8
378,562
1.52
Farmers Bank
Windsor
6
308,868
1.24
Fulton Bank, National Association
Lancaster, Pa.
6
232,896
0.93
Citizens and Farmers Bank
West Point
6
218,677
0.88
Union Bank & Trust2
Richmond
5
175,431
0.70
SONABANK
Glen Allen
5
165,497
0.66
1 As of June 30, 2017
22
Market share1
2 Union Bank & Trust acquired Xenith Bank in January 2018.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Expanded team. Deeper expertise.
Bringing Hampton Roads more of the best in commercial banking. Andy Hodge, Regional President, has added even greater scope and expertise to his Hampton Roads commercial banking team. From helping you manage your everyday business banking to lining up and closing complex deals, we’re ready to work for you. See for yourself why MONEY Magazine selected Union as 2018 “Best Bank in Virginia”.
80 0.990. 4828 BA N K AT U N I O N .CO M MONEY is a registered trademark of Time Inc. and is used under license. From MONEY Magazine, November 1, 2017. ©2017 Time Inc. Used under license. MONEY and Time Inc. are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of, Union Bank & Trust.
HEALTH CARE
Health systems, colleges planning health-care ventures Sentara BelleHarbour's new hospital in Suffolk would include 20 inpatient beds.
Rendering courtesy Sentara Health System
by Jessica Sabbath
F
rom new hospitals to expanded education, a wide range of health-care-related developments are underway in Hampton Roads. That includes two health systems that want to build new hospitals in Northern Suffolk. Sentara Healthcare has asked the state to approve its plans to build a 20-bed hospital on its Sentara BelleHarbour campus. The hospital would include 20 inpatient beds, two operating rooms and a CT scanner. Meanwhile, Bon Secours has filed an application for a Certificate of Public Need to build a new hospital at its Harbour View campus in Northern Suffolk. The plan includes transferring up to 25 hospital beds and four operating rooms from Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth. Sentara Healthcare also has begun a multiyear fundraising and development effort to build a $93.5 million cancer center at its Sentara Leigh Hospital campus in Norfolk. Development also is expanding on the Peninsula. Riverside Doctors’ Hospital Williamsburg is in the midst of a hospital expansion that includes a third operating room, new diagnostic space and ad-
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
ditional square footage. The project is expected to be complete in early 2019. In spring 2018, Riverside Health System also broke ground on a $25 million Riverside Rehabilitation Hospital in York County. The 50-bed, 52,000-square-foot hospital is expected to open in summer 2019. It is moving from its current location in Newport News. Higher education institutions also are sparking health-care-related development. Old Dominion University is planning to build a $75 million health sciences building in Norfolk in the next several years. The school also is expanding its health sciences program at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center by an additional 850 students. ODU also expects to open a primary-care clinic, a substanceabuse prevention center and a training center for patient simulation in the city. Regent University opened its College of Healthcare Sciences and School of Nursing this fall, initially offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, master’s degrees in health-care informatics and health-care administration, and a doctorate in nursing practice.
Acute-care general hospitals
1
Hospital
Location
No. of licensed beds
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Norfolk
525
$883,438,377
Riverside Regional Medical Center
Newport News
577
571,359,735
Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center
Portsmouth
346
355,456,126
Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
Virginia Beach
276
327,272,183
Chesapeake Regional Medical Center
Chesapeake
310
314,713,802
Sentara Leigh Hospital
Norfolk
250
313,131,844
Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
Virginia Beach
160
265,612,339
Sentara CarePlex Hospital
Hampton
224
247,634,709
Sentara Obici Hospital
Suffolk
168
209,409,065
Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center
Norfolk
180
188,693,157
Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital
Newport News
123
181,613,868
Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center
Williamsburg
145
164,140,722
Riverside Walter Reed Hospital
Gloucester
67
71,051,332
Southampton Memorial Hospital
Franklin
90
63,107,984
Riverside Doctors' Hospital Williamsburg
Williamsburg
40
36,935,285
For Fiscal Year ended 2016
Net patient revenue1
Source: Virginia Health Information
Specialty hospitals Hospital
Location
Specialty
Licensed beds
Net patient revenue1
Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters
Norfolk
Pediatric
206
319,473,296
Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center
Virginia Beach
Psychiatric
100
21,919,727
Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital
Norfolk
Long-term acute
104
19,025,093
Coastal Virginia Rehab
Newport News
Rehabilitation
50
16,272,128
Kempsville Center for Behavioral Health
Norfolk
Psychiatric
82
14,801,903
The Pavilion at Williamsburg Place
Williamsburg
Psychiatric
57
14,253,204
Hampton Roads Specialty Hospital
Newport News
Long term acute
25
9,595,853
Hospital for Extended Recovery
Norfolk
Long term acute
35
9,459,802
1 For Fiscal Year ended 2016
Source: Virginia Health Information
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
25
INDUSTRY & BUSINESS
INDUSTRY & BUSINESS
Growing economy Expansions include 2,000 new shipbuilding jobs
T
he region is home to many types of businesses, from major corporations to small startups. Some of Virginia’s fastest-growing companies are located in the region as well and are highlighted here. This section also examines the biggest and most recent economic development announcements. That includes
plans from Newport News Shipbuilding to create 2,000 new jobs. The shipyard will need more workers to build new submarines, as well as to construct and maintain aircraft carriers. The company also plans to retrain employees over the next five years and invest $1 billion in its facilities and technology infrastructure.
On the fast track A look at some of the growing companies in the region
H
ampton Roads is home to some rapidly growing firms. Ten local businesses made Virginia Chamber’s 2018 Fantastic 50 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the commonwealth. Dixon Hughes Goodman determined the winners by looking at financial records and comparing the companies’ revenue growth from 2013 to 2016. To be eligible for the list, a company must have recorded revenue of at least $200,000 in 2013. It also must post a profit in 2016 and have revenue of less than $200 million in its most recent fiscal year. Winners were honored at a banquet held in late April at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles hotel in Chantilly. Hampton Roads Business reached out to the local players on this year’s Fantastic 50 list to see how business is going. Here's an update on some of the companies.
Super Systems Inc. (SSi) Virginia Beach Fantastic 50 rank .................................................................. #6 Year established ................................................................1988 No. of employees.................................................................145 2016 revenue ......................................................... $10,621,060 2017 revenue ......................................................... $13,254,490 ’13-’16 revenue growth........................................831.6 percent Super Systems Inc. is a staffing agency serving clients in the health-care, information technology and government sectors. Clients include Leidos, Northrop Grumman, AT&T and IBM. The firm was started in 1988 in Hartford, Conn. It began operations in Virginia around 2013 when it was rebranded by John Renals and his brother-in-law Mike Kreider. The company moved its headquarters to Virginia Beach in 2015. Super Systems Inc. continues to grow by adding employees and contracts. It is aiming to reach $16 million in revenue this year.
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Virginia Foundation Solutions Inc. Virginia Beach Fantastic 50 rank ................................................................ #23 Year established ................................................................2012 No. of employees.................................................................. 31 2016 revenue ........................................................... $3,171,607 2017 revenue ............................................... Would not disclose ’13-’16 revenue growth........................................421.4 percent Founded in 2012 by U.S. Navy veteran Daniel Farris, Virginia Foundation Solutions provides foundation, structural and crawlspace repair; encapsulation systems and waterproofing services. In September, the company is moving within Virginia Beach, from a 1,500-square-foot office on Seahawk Circle to a facility on Lynnhaven Parkway with 25,000 square feet of office and warehouse space. The company says the new space will allow it to hire additional employees.
SOLitude Lake Management Virginia Beach Fantastic 50 rank ................................................................ #31 Year established ................................................................1998 No. of employees................................................................ 263 2016 revenue ............................................... Would not disclose 2017 revenue ......................................................... $26,475,954 ’13-’16 revenue growth....................................... 362.2 percent SOLitude Lake Management manages lakes, ponds, wetlands and fisheries. Clients range from colleges and universities to golf courses and hotels. The company was started in 1998 by Kevin Tucker, a former landscaper who wanted to provide freshwater management solutions to improve water quality, enhance beauty and protect natural resources. The company has grown an average of more
than 20 percent per year, including several acquisitions.
ITA International LLC Yorktown Fantastic 50 rank ........................... #39 Year established .......................... 2005 No. of employees......................... 350+ 2016 revenue ..........Would not disclose 2017 revenue ..........Would not disclose ’13-’16 revenue growth... 312.1 percent ITA International started as a marine business in 2000 and then shifted to government contracting in 2003. “I had always wanted to own my own business,” says Mike Melo, ITA International’s founder and CEO. “After I retired from the Navy in 2002, I worked at Old Dominion University as director of troops to teachers for three years as I transitioned from the Navy and pursued that first government contract.” The company was awarded its first government contract in August 2005. Today, ITA International serves customers in the public and private sectors. It offers analysis, planning, training, acquisition management, cyber/intelligence,
engineering, logistics and maritime support. The company expects its revenue to grow more gradually this year, about 15 percent, compared to its 2017 revenue.
Divurgent LLC Virginia Beach Year established .......................... 2007 Fantastic 50 rank ............................#43 No. of employees............................192 2016 revenue .......... Would not disclose 2017 revenue .................... $44,000,000 ’13-’16 revenue growth......... Would not disclose Divurgent is a health-care consulting firm with services ranging from cybersecurity to financial advising. The firm expects to continue to grow organically and achieve 25 percent year-over-year revenue growth.
JES Foundation Repair, a Groundworks company Virginia Beach Fantastic 50 rank ............................#50 Year established ............................1993 Current no. of employees ...............287 2016 revenue ........... Would not disclose
2017 gross revenue ............$61,387,118 ’13-’16 revenue growth....216.4 percent JES Foundation Repair provides foundation repair, underpinning, crawl space encapsulation and moisture management, basement waterproofing and concrete lifting and leveling services. The company was founded in 1993 by Professional Engineer and VMI graduate Jesse Waltz and his wife, Stella. It rapidly grew throughout the Mid-Atlantic and by 2016 included offices in Virginia Beach, Richmond, Manassas, Lynchburg and Indianapolis. In May of 2016, Matt Malone and his private equity firm, Succession Capital Partners, acquired 60 percent controlling shares of JES. Malone took over as CEO. In 2018, the Groundworks companies was created as the umbrella entity that now included five brands – JES Foundation Repair, Tar Heel Basement Systems, Mount Valley Foundation Services, Foundation Recovery Systems and Indiana Foundation Service. Virginia Beach-based Groundworks operates out of 15 offices that serve Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Largest new operations Investment (in millions)1
Jobs1
Company
Location
Primary product/service
Atlantic Core Building Products
Chesapeake
Manufacturer of steel commercial construction materials
$3.0
50
U-Play
Virginia Beach
Manufacturer of wet wipes, incontinence pads, and puppy training pads
4.9
38
Assured Communications Advisors International
Virginia Beach
Headquarters: Tier III data center
52.0
30
TQ Systeme
Chesapeake
Design and engineering firm for electronic subsystems and systems
0.0
20
Welspun USA Inc.
Suffolk
Company distributes linens and towels for its retail and hospitality customers
1.0
16
Atarfil SL
Suffolk
Manufacturer of thermoplastic geomembranes
5.1
15
Seigler Reels
Virginia Beach
Headquarters; manufactures fishing reels
0.98
12
AGF Machining
Chesapeake
Canadian manufacturer; vendor for TDIKriss
0.5
10
1 Projected at time of announcement.
Source: Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Note: Includes announcements made between 2017 and up until Aug. 17, 2018. Includes only publicly released announcements.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
27
Industry & Business Largest expansions Investment (in millions)1
Jobs1
Company
Location
Primary product/service
Newport News Shipbuilding (HII)
Newport News
Shipbuilding and repair
$8.7
2,000
Global Technical Systems
Virginia Beach
Electromechanical energy storage system manufacturing
54.7
1,110
Geico Corp.
Virginia Beach
Finance and insurance
0.0
500
Ferguson Enterprises
Newport News
Largest U.S. plumbing wholesaler
82.8
434
Ferguson Enterprises
Hampton
Warehouse/distribution of plumbing supplies
1.3
364
LifeNet Health
Virginia Beach
Regenerative medicine company expanding its HQ, R&D and warehouse facilities
12.3
321
Tegra Global
Norfolk
Apparel manufacturer and supply chain provider
4.0
300
Maximus
Hampton
Call center to support federal government contracts
0.6
230
Standard Calibrations Inc.
Chesapeake
Sensor and instrumentation calibration, repair, and configuration
0.5
150
J&F Alliance Group
Hampton
Augmented reality and integrated logisitcs
0.1
119
1 Projected at time of announcement Note: Includes announcements made between in 2017 and up until Aug. 17, 2018. Includes only publicly released announcements.
Source: Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Startup Resources – Hampton Roads The entrepreneurial spirit is growing in Hampton Roads, and there are several organizations, incubators and private companies that exist to help startup businesses thrive. Following is a sample of the many resources. Hampton University Business Incubator hubi.hamptonu.edu
REaKTOR Business Technology Innovation Center reaktoraccelerator.org
Hatch www.startwithhatch.com
ReInvent Hampton Roads reinventhr.org
Ignition ignitioncenter.com
StartWheel startwheel.org
Ernest M. Hodge Institute for Entrepreneurship nsu.edu
Innovation Research Park @ ODU irpodu.com
Strome Entrepreneurial Center odu.edu/univ-impact/entrepreneurship/ strome# W31rui2ZNp9
Franklin Business Incubator downtownfranklinva.org/page/franklinbusiness-incubator
Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship odu.edu/univ-impact/entrepreneurship
Hampton Roads Innovation Collaborative technologyhamptonroads.com
Launchpad, Greater Williamsburg Business Incubator gwlaunchpad.com
Hampton Roads SCORE hamptonroads.score.org
ODU Center for Enterprise Innovation odu.edu/cei#.WNlpTmT1CM8
757 Accelerate 757accelerate.org 757 Angels 757angelsgroup.com 757 Makerspace 757makerspace.com
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
The Arsenal buildthearsenal.com Tidewater Business Financing Corp. tidewaterbusinessfinancing.com Virginia SBDC – Hampton Roads hrsbdc.org hrsmallbizloans.com Williamsburg SCORE williamsburg.score.org
Local economic development offices Chesapeake Economic Development (757) 382-8040 http://chesapeakeva.biz
Gloucester Economic Development (804) 693-1414 www.gloucesterva.info/217/ economic-development
Poquoson Economic Development (757) 868-3000 www.poquoson-va.gov/253/ economic-development
Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc. (757) 562-1958 www.franklinsouthamptonva.com
Greater Williamsburg Partnership (844) 497-2020 www.gwpva.com
Portsmouth Economic Development (757) 393-8804 www.accessportsmouthva.com
James City County Office of Economic Development (757) 253-6607 www.yesjamescitycountyva.com
YesSuffolk (757) 514-4040 www.yessuffolk.com
Hampton Economic Development (757) 727-6237 http://hampton.gov/241/economicdevelopment Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (757) 627-2315 www.hreda.com Isle of Wight Economic Development (757) 356-1962 http://insidetheisle.com
Middle Peninsula Alliance (804) 399-8297 www.mpava.com
Virginia Beach Economic Development (757) 385-6464 www.yesvirginiabeach.com
Newport News Department of Development (757) 926-8428 http://newportnewsva.com
Williamsburg Economic Development (757) 220-6120 www.yeswilliamsburg.com
Norfolk Economic Development (757) 664-4338 www.norfolkdevelopment.com
York County Economic Development (757) 890-3317 www.yesyorkcounty.com
Hometown friendly. Multi-state strong. Scott Fleming, CIC PORTSMOUTH
Mark Sidwell, CIC PORTSMOUTH
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William Brown PORTSMOUTH
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457 Court Street Portsmouth, VA 23704 Phone: (757)397-2311
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
29
MILITARY Sailors aboard the USS George H.W. Bush. Newport News Shipbuilding is the sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy.
Increase in military spending expected to benefit region
T
Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brooke Macchietto/courtesy United States Navy
he year 2018 brought positive news for the region’s military community. This summer, President Trump approved $717 billion in defense spending for fiscal year 2019, which includes a 2.6 percent raise for activeduty troops. Through the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act, Trump also approved $24.1 billion for new Navy ships, including a fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier and three Littoral Combat Ships. “We will replace aging
Hampton Roads military bases
tanks, aging planes and ships with the most advanced and lethal technology ever developed,” Trump said in August when the law was signed. The money provides more work for Newport News Shipbuilding, whose more than 20,000 employees help build the Navy’s massive aircraft carriers and submarines. The act only outlines a plan for defense spending, but Congress must still decide to allocate the funds.
Active-duty personnel
Civilian personnel1
Total
Naval Station Norfolk
55,131
20,672
75,803
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story
16,009
3,779
19,788
Naval Air Station Oceana/Dam Neck Annex
11,067
6,299
17,366
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
317
12,589
12,906
Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads/Northwest Annex/ Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
6,235
5,189
11,424
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown-Cheatham Annex
1,648
1,433
3,081
Training Center Yorktown
576
245
821
Coast Guard Base-Portsmouth
N/A
N/A
550
Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Air Force)
8,055
3,109
11,164
Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Army)
5,585
2,875
8,460
NAVY
COAST GUARD
ARMY/AIR FORCE
1 Civilian personnel may include contractors N/A: No Answer
30
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Source: Military bases, Navy and Joint Base Langley-Eustis' economic impact reports for Fiscal Year 2016
PORTS & SHIPPING
Deeper water Dredging project receives federal approval, state financial support
I
n a few years, the Port of Virginia will regain its status as the deepest port on the U.S. East Coast. The port has received approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and widen its channels to support the massive container ships visiting the port’s marine terminals. Now when ultra-large container vessels — which are longer than the length of three football fields — visit the port, the U.S. Coast Guard must close the channels to one-way traffic. That can create quite a bottleneck for a busy thoroughfare of commercial and Naval vessels. The project will open the channels to two-way traffic, even when these colossal container ships call on the port. It also will allow these large ships to come in heavier, which could mean increased container volume for the port. The Port of Virginia had the deepest channels for several years, until many ports began to dredge as ocean carriers began deploying larger and larger ships. The Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Miami now match Virgin-
Photo courtesy Port of Virginia
ia’s 50-foot water depth. The Port of Charleston is currently dredging to 52 feet. The Port of Virginia project, which the state agreed to support with $350 million, will deepen channels to 55 feet. Design and engineering work began this summer, and construction should begin in 2020 and be complete by 2024. But the deepening project is only part of the story. The Port of Virginia currently is undergoing projects worth almost $700 million to expand its two largest terminals. It is spending $320 million to expand the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth. The project, on schedule to be complete in June 2019, has about half of its new container stacks in service. By January its four new ship-to-shore cranes could be ready for use. In addition, the port is expanding its largest terminal — Norfolk International Terminals. The first new container stacks are in service and additional container stacks will continue to be added until the project’s completion in June 2020. Altogether, the two projects will expand the port’s capacity by 40 percent.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
31
Ports & Shipping Top 5 commodities by value EXPORTS1
IMPORTS1
1
Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery
$3,572
Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery
$9,830
2
Pharmaceutical products
2,066
Electrical machinery
3,937
3
Plastics
1,845
Vehicles, not railway
2,976
4
Vehicles, not railway
1,819
Furniture and bedding
2,718
5
Organic chemicals
1,187
Pharmaceutical products
2,548
1 In millions of U.S. dollars for 2017 at the Port of Virginia Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau; Virginia Maritime Association; Port of Virginia
Top 5 trading partners by total value EXPORTS1
IMPORTS1
1
China
$3,065
China
$11,193
2
Brazil
2,212
Germany
6,189
3
Belgium
1,947
India
2,845
4
United Kingdom
1,542
Italy
2,432
5
Germany
1,510
Japan
2,124
1 In millions of U.S. dollars for 2017 at the Port of Virginia Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; Census Bureau; Virginia Maritime Association; Port of Virginia Photo by Mark Rhodes
32
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Ports & Shipping
Ports & Shipping Air cargo handled at Hampton Roads airports1 Year
NIA
NNW
2017
66,508,335
95,512
2016
64,810,117
160,762
2015
59,408,676
28,835
2014
55,637,623
29,121
2013
58,113,441
34,042
1 In pounds
Source: Individual airports
East Coast market share Ports
TEUs1
1
New York/New Jersey
6,710,817
32.3%
2
Savannah, Ga.
4,046,216
19.5
3
Port of Virginia
2,841,020
13.7
4
Charleston, S.C.
2,177,557
10.5
5
Jacksonville, Fla.
1,107,551
5.3
6
Port Everglades, Fla.
1,068,335
5.1
7
Miami
1,047,304
5.0
8
Baltimore
962,484
4.6
9
Philadelphia
545,408
2.6
10
Wilmington, N.C.
259,819
1.3
NIA: Norfolk International Airport NNW: Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
Market share
1 TEU: 20-foot equivalent unit Photo courtesy Norfolk International Airport
34
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau; Virginia Maritime Association; American Association of Port Authorities; The Port of Virginia
Export/import TEUs handled at Port of Virginia Export
Import
Total empties
Total TEUs
2017
1,014,570
1,276,335
550,112
2,841,016
2016
1,006,119
1,174,893
474,694
2,655,705
2015
997,828
1,082,520
468,922
2,549,270
2014
1,034,526
1,017,879
340,633
2,393,038
2013
998,843
934,119
290,571
2,223,532
Year
TEU: 20-foot equivalent unit.
Source: Port of Virginia
MAREA
BILBAO, SPAIN
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA
THIS PORT CITY IS NOW
A DIGITAL PORT CITY, TOO. PUERTO RICO
BR
US A
FORTALEZA, BRAZIL
Photo courtesy Norfolk Southern
Train delivery times
SA
Ex
(from Norfolk) Destination
Hours
Chicago 60
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL SOUTH AFRICA
Cincinnati 67
WELCOME TO THE ONLY DATA CENTER IN THE CENTER OF THE EAST COAST. Columbus, Ohio 44 Our world-class telecom system, anchored by the world’s fastest and
Detroit 67
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Front Royal 23
available sites, certified power requirements, fiber access hubs, and reduced tax rates on data center equipment. This means businesses
Greensboro, N.C. 50
in Virginia Beach can connect more quickly and efficiently than from anywhere else in the world.
Harrisburg, Pa. 41 Kansas City, Mo. 96 Louisville, Ky. 67 St. Louis 93
(757)385.6464 | YesVirginiaBeach.com
Source: Norfolk Southern Corp.
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
35
RESEARCH
Innovation station by Daniel Berti
W
ith eight nonprofit universities, three community colleges and several major research institutions, Hampton Roads is known as much for innovation as sandy beaches. Below is a sample of research initiatives and institutions based in the area. These organizations are working to solve some of the world’s toughest problems, ranging from sea-level rise to cancer.
The Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (CCRFR) The center, created in 2016, aims to help localities and entities in the commonwealth deal with coastal and riverine flooding. CCRFR’s work is statewide, but much of its work takes place in Hampton Roads, where sea levels are some of the highest in the country. “We are a hotspot on the East Coast for sea level rise,” says Emily Steinhilber, research assistant professor at Old Dominion University, who is partnering on the center with the College of William & Mary’s Virginia Coastal Policy Center and Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute The institute helps treat cancer with proton therapy, which uses a precision-focused radiation beam to target and treat benign and malignant tumors. When the facility opened in 2010 it was the fourth institute dedicated to proton therapy in the United States, though others have opened since then. Patients receive daily treatment for a number of weeks depending on the type, size and location of the tumor. “Unlike traditional radiation, which has a more generalized path that sends radiation through the tumor, proton radiation utilizes specific frequencies to help dial in the intended point of treatment,” the institute explains on its website.
Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School The Norfolk-based institute is credited with producing the first baby born through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in the United States in 1981. The institute’s clinical and research staff is made up of scientists whose goal is to help diagnose and treat infertility-related diseases.
Norfolk State University’s Center for Materials Research The organization conducts research in materials science and engineering. The center focuses on four research areas — optics, plasmonics and metamaterials; nanomaterials and nanotechnology; advanced functional materials and devices; and semiconductor materials and devices. 36
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
The organization also educates students at the master’s and doctoral levels. Its outreach also extends to children. In April, for example, it hosted NanoDays at the Children’s Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. The event allowed children to dress up like nanoscientists, experiment with heat transfer and explore polarized light.
Riverside Center for Excellence in Aging and Lifelong Health (CEALH) The Williamsburg organization seeks to better meet the needs of aging adults. Research projects at the center explore dementia, behavioral health and caregiver support and education. In 2018, the center won a Best Practices Award from the Southern Gerontological Society for the Williamsburg Memory Café, which works to provide an informal environment where people with memory loss and their caregivers can socialize and engage with others experiencing the same issues. The café is led by volunteers and created through a partnership between CEALH and the Peninsula Agency on Aging.
NASA Langley Research Center The massive complex in Hampton focuses on research related to aviation, the Earth's atmosphere and space exploration. It is made up of nearly 200 facilities on 764 acres. Roughly 3,400 people work at the center. Current research ranges from how to help NASA safely land on Mars to developing technology to make airplanes safer and environmentally friendly. “Even now when you fly on an airplane, it’s likely that NASA-inspired technology is onboard,” NASA Langley Director Dave Bowles said in the organization’s most recent annual report. Last year, NASA Langley celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The National Institute of Aerospace The National Institute of Aerospace is a nonprofit institute focused on aerospace and atmospheric research. Its programs involve more than 200 people on projects sponsored by NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation and the commercial aerospace industry. The institute was formed by a consortium of research universities. Members in Virginia include Hampton University, the University of Virginia,
Photo courtesy Hampton University
Virginia Tech, Old Dominion University, the College of William & Mary and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation.
Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab)
Photo courtesy Jeffeson Lab
Scientists from around the world use the lab’s particle accelerator, known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), to understand the most basic building blocks of matter. The Newport News-based lab is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory. The lab, founded in 1984, also teams up with industry and university partners on research and works to teach the younger generations about science and technology. The campus, located in Newport News, spans 169 acres and has almost 70 buildings. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab)
The Suffolk facility conducts modeling and simulations to support training, decision-making and problem solving. The center was established in 1997 to help the Department of Defense with military training. Today projects have expanded to digital shipbuilding, medical simulation, cybersecurity and human behavior modeling. "We know in the past 20 years, VMASC has been responsible for $100 million in research,” U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said in a statement earlier this year celebrating the organization's 20th-year-anniversary. Earlier this year, VMASC served as the site for summer camps aimed at stimulating kids’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Topics range from robotics to game development and 3D Modeling.
Photo courtesy ODU Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center/Facebook
Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC)
ODU Virginia Modeling Analysis & Simulation Center
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
37
Monthly
Regional Views Central Virginia Eastern Virginia Northern Virginia Roanoke/New River Valley Shenandoah Valley Southern Virginia Southwest Virginia
Target your advertising message in any one of our seven Regional Views published each month in Virginia Business. Place your ad in or adjacent to the editorial report of your desired region. REGIONAL VIEW
REGIONAL VIEW
eastern virginia Cavalier Hotel reopens after $81 million renovation by Paula C. Squires
H
ospitality executive Bruce L. Thompson once told the Virginia Beach City Council that he didn’t want to be “the guy who tore the hotel down.” These days, Thompson and his business partners are being praised as the group that saved the iconic Cavalier Hotel. After nearly five years and $81 million in renovaThe Raleigh Room, tions, the historic Virginia a space for cocktails Beach hotel officially and tea, is off the main reopened March 7. lobby of the hotel. “It could have had 3,200 units on it,” Thompson, CEO of Gold Key| aimed at resolving a lawsuit PHR, a Virginia Beach-based over minority shareholder hospitality company, told a rights that had been filed large gathering that attended by warring factions of the the property’s ribbon-cutting Disthene Group, the hotel’s celebration. owner at the time. Thompson was referThompson’s group, Cavaring to other developers who lier Associates LLC, which wanted to demolish the hotel includes Frank Reidy, George and put up high-density resiMetzger, Bart Frye, Ed Ruffin dential projects after a judge and John Lawson, wanted ordered that the property be to renovate the seven-story sold in 2012. The order was hotel at 4200 Atlantic Ave. FOR THE RECORD Chesapeake Square Mall has a new lease on life. Virginia Beach-based Kotarides Holdings purchased the 29-year-old mall for $12.9 million and wants to revive its reputation as a destination regional mall. The 613,809-square-foot enclosed mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Burlington Coat Factory and Target stores and Cinemark Chesapeake Square cinemas. Target and Cinemark own their spaces. With a current occupancy rate of 58 percent, the mall has about 100 stores and kiosks. (VirginiaBusiness.com) CBRE|Charlottesville said the Crossways Shopping
12
Center at 1589-1593 Crossways Boulevard in Chesapeake was bought by Ultimate Retail Realty LLC. An affiliate of Harbor Group International LLC was the seller. Financial details of the deal were not released. Crossways is a 152,564-square-foot regional shopping center anchored by a 45,000-square-foot Grand Furniture store and a 45,000-square-foot Ashley HomeStore. Other tenants include a 42,697-square-foot U.S. Coast Guard Exchange and a 19,564-square-foot Jo-Ann Fabrics store. (VirginiaBusiness.com) At Fort Monroe, all roads lead to 2019. To that end, the Fort Monroe Authority unveiled
APRIL 2018
because it had been a beloved landmark for weddings and meetings since its opening in 1927. With the property in a state of deterioration, the renovation took much longer than expected. Along the way, an entire village got on board. The Virginia Beach City Council designated nearly $25 million in money and incentives to help finance the reno-
in February the preliminary details of a proposed nearly $8 million project, which the authority hopes will culminate with a new Visitor and Education Center by August 2019. The goal is to have the new center launch coincide with the 400th anniversary and commemoration of the arrival of the first Africans in 1619 to English North America at Old Point Comfort. The plan is vital to the mission and future identity of Fort Monroe, says Executive Director Glenn Oder. (Daily Press) If you’re interested in installing a few solar panels on your roof, Hampton Roads Solar Co-op is ready to provide a helping hand. The regional co-op, which
vation, which also qualified for state historic tax credits. Julie Langan, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, calls the renovation “a gift to the commonwealth,” because it showcases the importance historic tax credits have in saving old structures. Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms also praised the renovated 85-room Cavalier. The hotel’s reopening created more than 200 year-round jobs and is expected to generate $41 million to $52 million in new tax revenue in the first 20 years. Thompson, who got his start in timeshare properties, is happy with the outcome, too. “I’d like to be known, with respect to this property, as someone who deeply cared about not only restoring the hotel but bringing it back to grace and grandeur — doing it in a way that the entire community could be proud,” he says.
stretches from Virginia Beach to Williamsburg, is part of Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and small businesses harness solar energy. Founded in 2007, the nonprofit operates in 10 states and the District of Columbia. “Our job is to help communities address some of the barriers to go solar,” said Aaron Sutch, program director for Solar United Neighbors of Virginia. The nonprofit has done 650 installations in Virginia. (The Virginia Gazette)
Oakland Industrial Park in Newport News. The space adds a showroom for product demonstrations and training, as well as additional assembly capacity. Before the expansion, the German company was operating out of 33,100 square feet of office and assembly space. It produces personalized ID cards and other cardrelated security documents, as well as smart labels for access control, supply chain management and tracking of textiles, and applications for retail. (Inside Business)
Muhlbauer International has opened its Smart Factory Competence Center that added 51,200 square feet to its U.S. headquarters in
The first building in the Newport News Tech Center Research Park near Jefferson Lab is on track to complete construction this
Photo by Mark Rhodes
fall, and its committed anchor tenant expects to employ about 200 workers there, leaders confirmed. Medical device firm ivWatch signed a letter of intent for more than 25,000 square feet of space and plans to consolidate and relocate its Hampton and James City County offices in the building, where the company would have more room to grow, said ivWatch President and CEO Gary Warren. (Daily Press) The Port of Virginia in early March launched the initial phase of a trucker reservation system (TRS) at its largest terminal. TRS is an effort to manage truck flow volume at Norfolk International Terminals, the port’s largest marine terminal. In the first phase, motor carriers calling between 5 and 7 a.m. Monday through Friday at the terminal will be required to have a reservation. Reservations also will be required for truckers visiting NIT between 7 and 9 a.m. on Saturday. TRS will be added to the port’s Virginia International Gateway terminal in Portsmouth this summer. (VirginiaBusiness.com) Norfolk-based S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. has joined forces with another local company, Atlantic Dominion Distributors, on a $35 million apartment community in Virginia Beach. Work began in December on the 282-unit Mezzo Apartment Homes, a gated community on
Virginia Beach Boulevard that will offer multiple floor plans and upscale amenities. One-, two- and threebedroom units are planned with lake views, along with studio apartments. According to Nusbaum, rents will range from $1,075 to $1,750. (VirginiaBusiness.com) Summit Pointe Realty LLC has unveiled plans for continued development of Summit Pointe in Chesapeake. Summit Pointe is presently zoned to develop 1 million square feet of office space, more than 1,400 residences, up to 500,000 square feet of retail space and 250,000 square feet of hospitality and conference space. The project, which represents an investment of more than $300 million, will be developed in a number of phases. (VirginiaBusiness.com) A proposed unmanned-systems facility for testing drones in York County is getting some money to get off the ground. The idea is to turn a 192-acre former state fuel farm off Penniman Road into a place for businesses to test drones, possibly leading to an industrial park for those businesses and a park for drone hobbyists. The land is now unused and is an approved Federal Aviation Administration fly zone. GO Virginia awarded $150,000 to the project, which is sponsored by all localities on the Peninsula. The localities will
also put up $150,000 to match the award. That pool of money will go to preliminary work for the project, like forming a regional industrial facilities authority and consulting with an engineering firm to determine the project’s feasibility, according to Jim Noel, York County’s economic development director. (Daily Press)
PEOPLE CBRE|Hampton Roads has promoted Perry Frazer to executive vice president. He also will continue as the managing director of CBRE’s regional office. (VirginiaBusiness. com) Vandeventer Black LLP partner Arlene F. Klinedinst has been elected chair of the Virginia Bar Association Labor Relations & Employment Law Section. Klinedinst also served as chair of Vandeventer Black’s Labor and Employment Department. (News release) Portsmouth-based TowneBank has promoted William B. Littreal to senior vice president and chief financial officer. Littreal, a certified public accountant, succeeded Clyde E. McFarland Jr., the bank’s founding CFO. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
Robert S. McKenna is the new president and CEO of the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Selected from more than 185 applicants, McKenna is a retired U.S. Navy captain. (News release)
MOVA plans to recycle components from exhaust by Tim Thornton
The College of William & Mary has named its first woman president. Katherine A. Rowe will succeed retiring president W. Taylor Reveley III on July 1. Rowe is provost and dean of the faculty at Smith College in Massachusetts. At Smith, Rowe leads a nine-person senior team managing more than 600 employees. She has also served as Smith’s interim vice president for inclusion, diversity and equity. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
S
teve Critchfield didn’t expect to be the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council Entrepreneur of the Year. “I was surprised,” he says. “I really was. I’m not saying that because that’s what you’re supposed to say in Hollywood. “I really did not think much about it because I’ve been doing this since ’86 and probably before that. I didn’t know what the word ‘entrepreneur’ meant until recently, but I enjoy doing this stuff.” What Critchfield has been doing is creating companies and solving problems. In 1986, he founded Tele-Works, a company that enabled electronic payments to local governments across the United States and beyond. Since selling the company in 2014, he has helped other startups get organized and succeed, helped start a Virginia Tech program offering graduate-level training for aspiring local govern-
Virginia Beach-based Armada Hoffler has promoted Eric Smith from chief investment officer to chief operating officer. Since joining Armada Hoffler in 2005, Smith’s roles have spanned finance, investments, development, operations and asset management. (News release) Edward D. Whitmore has been named chairman of the board of the Mariners’ Museum and Park. Whitmore owns many marine-related companies, including US Waterways Transportation LLC, Norfolk Tug Co. and Buchanan Marine LP. (News release)
FOR THE RECORD Appalachian Power Co. plans to build a 138-kilovolt substation and three miles of distribution line at the Greenfield Industrial Park in Botetourt County. The substation is expected to improve power reliability in the county and decrease the time needed for restorations during power outages, the company says. If the plans are approved by the county’s Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, construction would start in summer 2019. (The Roanoke Times) GE Power announced in early June a tentative plan to end more than 60 years of manufacturing at its Salem plant next year, a union official said. A local mainstay of high-tech manufacturing would
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
VIRGINIA BUSINESS
13
Photo by Don Petersen
Steve Critchfield was surprised at being named Entrepreneur of the Year by the RoanokeBlacksburg Technology Council.
ment officials and assisted in establishing scholarships and awards at Tech. Critchfield’s initial vision and motivation of Tele-Works was not so grand. “I didn’t start the company to be an entrepreneur or even sell it,” he says. “I started the company because I needed a job.” Critchfield’s current company, MOVA Technologies, aims a little higher. The goal of the Pulaski-based business is to turn toxic and climatechanging air pollution into commodities with a market of $500 billion or more.
be reduced to an engineering center and more than 250 people would lose their jobs, if sluggish business conditions in the power sector cause the company to mothball the plant’s manufacturing equipment. GE would continue to employ more than 200 professionals in its Power, Renewable Energy and Baker Hughes businesses based at the plant, which opened in 1955. (The Roanoke Times) The Virginia Tech Carilion health sciences campus in Roanoke is expected to have a substantial economic impact on the state’s economy within eight years. According to an economist from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, the impact will grow from $214 million today to $465.2
MOVA uses technology developed by the late Arthur Squires, a Virginia Tech professor who began his career working on the Manhattan Project that developed the first nuclear bomb. MOVA intends to capture the components of the exhaust from burning fossil fuels. Those components — including mercury, lead, arsenic and carbon — then would be recycled. Many organizations have attempted to capture and store carbon, including American Electric Power’s Mountaineer Plant project that closed in
million annually by 2026. The addition of a second building for the research institute will create 828 jobs and generate $150 million in additional spending. The economist described the study as “conservative,” since it did not consider the impact that additional undergraduate spending might have on Roanoke. (The Roanoke Times) The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport continues to see traffic increase this year. April traffic was up 10.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, with 52,957 passengers compared with 47,860 in April 2017. Yearto-date 2018 traffic is up 5.5 percent. At this pace, the airport says it is on track to have its busiest year since 2011. (News release)
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
2012, the same year Squires died. None of those attempts have managed to accomplish the task in a way that is economically feasible, Critchfield says. “Everybody can capture carbon, or at least they think they can,” he says. “But what they’ve been trying to do is sequester it.” MOVA means to market it. The next step toward that end is building and testing a prototype of the pollutant-capturing apparatus. Once that’s done, Critchfield plans to market the technology to chemical companies that can manufacture the sorbents used to capture the components. Four-year-old MOVA is “probably two years away from that point,” he says. The patents for the process are owned by a trust, Critchfield says, and 25 percent of any profits will support Virginia Tech engineering and agriculture programs and art programs across Southwest Virginia.
AAA recently awarded The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center and its restaurant, The Regency Room - a Four Diamond rating. The renovated historic property is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, a global portfolio of upscale hotels and resorts known for their individuality. According to Michael Quonce, the hotel’s public relations and advertising manager, this is the first time the property has received the four-diamond designation in 20 years, since requirements from AAA to gain the ranking changed in the 1990s. (VirginiaBusiness.com)
PEOPLE Dwayne Pinkney starts work as the new senior vice president for operations and administration at Virginia
Tech on Aug. 1. Pinkney will oversee the university’s financial and operational enterprises. He comes to Tech from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration. (News release) Lynne Doughtie, chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP, is this year’s recipient of Virginia Tech’s University Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2015 Doughtie became the first female top executive at KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional service firms. She began working at KPMG soon after graduating from Virginia Tech in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. (News release)
VIRGINIA BUSINESS
OUR READERSHIP SURVEY SHOWS THAT: 42 PERCENT of our readers occupy C-suite or higher positions in their companies. 64 PERCENT have an annual household income of more than $100,000. 35 PERCENT have a net worth in excess of $1 million. Take advantage of this opportunity to have an ad presence for a statewide audience! Please contact: Sara Gray - 757.625.4233 sgray@va-business.com
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21
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE Real estate taxes Locality
Chesapeake 2
Assessment ratio1
Nominal tax rate1
Effective tax rate1
95.2%
$1.04
$0.99
2
100.0
0.99
0.99
Gloucester 2
97.5
0.70
0.68
Hampton 2
99.7
1.24
1.24
Isle of Wight County
100.0
0.85
0.85
James City County
94.9
0.84
0.80
Mathews
100.0
0.58
0.58
Newport News
97.8
1.22
1.19
2
97.4
1.15
1.12
Franklin
Norfolk
Poquoson
99.4
1.07
1.06
Portsmouth
100.0
1.30
1.30
Southampton County
92.1
0.85
0.78
2
98.3
1.03
1.01
Surry
100.0
0.71
0.71
2
90.1
1.00
0.90
Williamsburg
96.9
0.57
0.55
York
98.1
0.80
0.78
Suffolk
Virginia Beach
1 For fiscal year 2017-2018
2 District levies are imposed in addition to the basic county or city levy.
Source: Virginia Economic Development Partnership Notes: • Assessment ratio: percentage of fair market value • Nominal tax rate: rate per $100 of assessed value • Effective tax rate: assessment ratio X nominal tax rate
Median sales prices of residential properties Locality
2016
2017
Percent change
Hampton Roads
$225,000
$230,000
2.22%
Chesapeake
260,000
266,055
2.33
Suffolk
241,750
253,085
4.69
Virginia Beach
249,900
253,000
1.24
Norfolk
185,000
195,500
5.68
Newport News
173,000
174,000
0.58
Hampton
155,000
161,500
4.19
Portsmouth
140,000
149,999
7.14
Source: Real Estate Information Network Inc., the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the Hampton Roads region. Note: Includes resale and new construction sales. New construction sales are based on REIN member listings and may not represent total number of sales.
Behind the numbers Residential sales prices continue to rise
Photo by Mark Rhodes
H
ome values are rising in Hampton Roads. According to the latest available data from the Real Estate Information Network Inc., the Multiple Listing Service for the region, the median price of buying a house in Hampton Roads was $230,000 last year. That’s 2.2 percent higher than the year before. When examining the region’s seven major cities — Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach — the median sales price of homes in Portsmouth increased by the highest percentage from 2016 to 2017. The cost of residential property in the city increased 7.1 percent from $140,000 to just under $150,000. On the flip side, sales values increased only slightly in Newport News over that time period. The median sales price rose from $173,000 to $174,000, an increase of roughly six-tenths of a percentage point. Properties in Chesapeake had the highest sales price. Transactions in the city amounted to a median sales price of $266,055 last year and $260,000 the year before. Although the median sales price increased the most in Portsmouth between 2016 and 2017, the locality still had the lowest median sales price in the area.
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Reesidentt ial Real Esstat e
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HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
Photo by Mark Rhodes
Residential Real Estate Review with
Katie Zarpas Realtor, Long & Foster Real Estate and Christie’s Luxury Property Specialist
K
atie Zarpas left the glow of Hollywood for Hampton Roads nearly two decades ago after a career in the film industry working with directors like Woody Allen and Irwin Winkler. She found a second calling as a Realtor in 2005, selling $4.9 million in real estate during her first year in business. Last year, she logged more than $20 million in sales, earning Long & Foster Master’s Club designation and the Hampton Roads Realtor Association’s Diamond Circle of Excellence Award. Hampton Roads Business asked Zarpas about the perks and challenges of living in the region, as well as industry trends.
Cities and counties served: Southside Hampton Roads, including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Portsmouth Family: Two sons and an extended family that stretches from here to Northern Virginia and beyond. Hobbies: The water! I love the beach, going out on the boat, and now I’m learning to paddle board. What part of Hampton Roads do you live in? What’s your favorite part about living there? I live in Birdneck Point in Virginia Beach. I love it because many of the homes are on the water, I’m close to the beach and the interstate, and my office is only a half-mile away. What types of customers do you work with? Do you specialize in a specific area of real estate? I sell a lot of beach homes and waterfront homes in Virginia Beach. About half of my business is families that want to downsize; the other half is helping people find the home of their dreams. What top local trend have you noticed in residential real estate this year? We are definitely in a seller’s market. Low inventory means sellers can set a price and expect a full price offer. Buyers are not able to get the same kinds of concessions they could get two years ago: items like closing costs
assistance, aggressive lower offers, extended home warranties, etc. What region or neighborhood in Hampton Roads is the next hot spot for residential real estate development? Why? We’re still seeing a lot of new construction in the Kellam High School district and in the corridor along Princess Anne Road near the Courthouse [in Virginia Beach.] The Kellam area is attractive because people like the highquality schools paired with new construction. The area by the Courthouse is appealing because it’s convenient to [Naval Air Station Oceana], shopping, and interstates, and it’s usually very affordable. What’s the biggest hurdle to buying a house in Hampton Roads? How about the biggest benefit? Right now, there are two hurdles: shrinking inventory and rising interest rates. The smaller number of available homes has driven median prices up 10 percent over last year. Pair that with higher mortgage rates, and a person’s buying power can really diminish. The biggest benefit of home ownership is locking down your house payment. Rent can go up with no warning. Your mortgage will be the same over the long term, so you can plan for the future. What’s your take on millennials and homeownership? Are most of them buying homes or opting out because they can’t afford it or don’t want to? They can’t afford it, and even for those that can afford it, they are deeply suspicious of the process. Think about the environment millennials came of age in. They were graduating from college in the middle of a housing crisis. They may have seen their parents or families lose their homes — that alone means that millennials are going to be more worried about home ownership. Also, consider the pressures in our economy that squeeze them out of home ownership: they have huge student loans, companies are laying off workers all the time or paying them entry level salaries for skilled jobs; plus rent, health care, basic utilities are all more expensive than they were 20 or 30 years ago.
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TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Subsea cables open new sector for Virginia Beach City officials believe cables could attract new industries
Graphic courtesy Virginia Beach Economic Development
by Jessica Sabbath ata from around the world are coming ashore in Virginia Beach. By 2020 at least four subsea cables carrying thin, hair-like fibers that can transfer data millions of times faster than an average home internet speed will reach the city. The investments already are having a major effect on the city’s economy, transforming Virginia Beach into a digital port. “These subsea cables certainly have given Virginia Beach the opportunity to pursue another targeted industry sector to help diversify our economy and certainly to look for other forms of capital investment and job creation,” says Warren Harris, economic development director of Virginia Beach. Additional cables are in the pipeline. “We have another four to six that are currently in the development stages that could land in Virginia Beach,” says Rob Hudome, senior project development manager for Virginia Beach Economic Development. City officials believe these cables could attract a host of new industries needing high-speed data, including data processing, international trade financing, architectural and engineering services and computer systems design.
D
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The city has seen a series of followup investments since it announced in spring 2016 that Microsoft, Facebook and internet infrastructure company Telxius would build a 4,000-mile long subsea cable from Bilbao, Spain to Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach offered a number of advantages for cables. It diversified the location of these data-rich cables that previously mostly connected to New York or Miami. The city also is about 200 miles from Loudoun County, home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world. More than 70 percent of the world’s interest traffic passes through Loudoun’s digital infrastructure. The first cable, named Marea, Spanish for the word “tide,” was complete in late 2017. A second cable, called BRUSA, owned and operated by Telxius, will connect Virginia Beach with Puerto Rico and Brazil. That should be complete by the end of 2018. Two additional cables are in the planning stages. Google announced this summer its plan to build a 4,000-mile long subsea cable connecting France and Virginia Beach. Just a few months earlier, ACA International LLC announced a partnership
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
with South Atlantic Express International Ltd. to a build a subsea cable connecting South Africa and Virginia Beach. ACA International is building a landing station for its cable and a 130,000-square-foot data center that will house its new corporate headquarters in Corporate Landing Business Park. The company is moving its headquarters from Northern Virginia. The subsea cable connectivity has breathed new life into the 325-acre Corporate Landing Business Park, which is located on the southwest side of Naval Air Station Oceana. The park, which is the only Dominion Energy-certified data center site in Southeastern Virginia, also is home to the 24,000-square-foot cable landing station for the BRUSA and Marea cables. Virginia Beach-based Globalinx Data Centers is building a 150,000-square-foot data center campus in the business park as well. The data center will be the first in the city to offer networks and other businesses direct access to the subsea cables through what is called a carrier hotel. But it’s not just the futuristic cables that are making an impact. Virginia Beach has been capitalizing on its newfound status as a digital port and providing incentives to encourage data center investment. The city lowered its tax rate on data center equipment from $4 per $100 of investment to 40 cents per $100 and is offering rebates on business taxes and reimbursements for water and sewer fees. The city also is in the planning stages of building a conduit duct system at the corporate park, allowing tenants to tie directly into the fiber and the power of the subsea cables. Data centers likely will expand beyond Corporate Landing’s borders. NxtVn has proposed spending $1.5 billion to $2 billion to build a new data center near Corporate Landing for companies needing high-speed connectivity. That could include as much as 1.4 million square feet of buildings.
TRANSPORTATION
TRANSPORTATION
From dream to reality Regional funds make big highway projects possible by Jessica Sabbath decade ago, highway projects like a new High Rise Bridge or the expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel were merely a dream. Now, both are a reality — along with a host of other major projects — thanks to dedicated regional transportation money. (For information on these projects, see the following page.) Legislation from 2013 allowed the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) to collect revenue from regional sales and gas taxes to be used for highway projects. In fiscal year 2017, those taxes brought in $156 million. A new law passed in 2018 should provide an additional boost in revenue. SB 896 adds a floor to the 2.1 percent motor fuels tax so collections won’t be harmed by low gas prices. The change could mean an additional $20 million annually for the region. Hampton Roads projects also have received funds from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale program, which dedicates money to regional projects based on a funding formula. In August, HRTAC submitted a $200 million request for Smart Scale funding for the expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Roads certainly aren’t the only way to get around the Hampton Roads region. Since 2017, Norfolk International Airport has welcomed two discount airlines: Allegiant and Frontier airlines. Both are offering new destinations from the airport. Frontier Airlines will begin offering nonstop air service from Norfolk to Phoenix and Tampa., Fla., beginning in November. The seasonal service will be offered to these loca-
A
Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Transportation
tions twice a week. This summer, the airline began offering service to Denver and Orlando, Fla., twice a week. Frontier also provides the only direct flight from the airport to Las Vegas. In October 2017, Allegiant Air began nonstop service to several Florida airports, including the only direct connection from Norfolk to Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which fly twice weekly. In addition to flight options, peo-
ple traveling to and from Hampton Roads also can opt for passenger rail. The regional Amtrak service to Norfolk celebrated its fifth anniversary in December 2017 with record ridership for the Washington, D.C.Norfolk service. Hampton Roads Transit also celebrated a host of new buses in its fleet. The public transit agency purchased 28 new buses for a total of $13.6 million.
Year-to-date passenger share at Norfolk International Airport Airline
Total Passengers1
Market Share
Allegiant Air2
14,343
0.4%
American Airlines
1,143,322
33.8%
Delta Air Lines
1,010,396
29.9%
Southwest Airlines
663,014
19.6%
United Airlines
549,827
16.3%
Total
3,380,902
1 Total passengers is enplaned and deplaned passengers. Source: Norfolk International Airport 2 Allegiant Air began service in October 2017. Frontier Airlines had not begun service yet.
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Transportation
Major road projects There are several projects underway aimed at alleviating congestion in Hampton Roads and repairing roads and bridges. Below are major initiatives. Interstate 64 is being widened on the Peninsula in three phases.
Photo by Trevor Wrayton/Virginia Department of Transportation
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) provides a 23-mile link from Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore. The CCBT commission is currently building a $756 million parallel tunnel under the Thimble Shoal Channel in the Chesapeake Bay. The new tunnel eventually will carry two lanes of southbound traffic. The existing lanes will carry two lanes of traffic northbound. Construction should be complete in October 2022.The CBBT currently carries more than 4 million vehicles each year.
Interstate 64 Widening The widening of Interstate 64 on the Peninsula has been considered one of the most vital projects in Hampton Roads. The project includes widening the highway from four to six lanes on a 21-mile stretch through Newport News and York and James City counties. The project is being built in three phases. The first segment, which runs 5.6 miles in Newport News, already is complete. The Virginia Department of Transportation is using environmentally friendly processes and 44
recycled materials on segments two and three. The recycling project is expected to save $15 million and is one of the largest pavement recycling projects in the U.S. Construction is ongoing on the second phase, and construction began on the third phase of the project in August 2018. The final phase is expected to be complete in fall 2021.
Interstate 64 Southside – High Rise Bridge VDOT awarded its largest designbuild contract — $410 million — for the project. It includes the expansion of Interstate 64 for eight miles in Chesapeake and the building of an additional two-lane bridge to the south of the existing High Rise Bridge. I-64 will be widened from four to six lanes. Construction began this summer and is expected to be complete by summer 2021. After the new bridge is complete, the existing bridge will convert to eastbound traffic, while the new bridge will include westbound traffic. The widening will add one High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane in each direction. The project is expected to improve safety along the corridor, increase capacity and enhance an evacuation route for the region. It will tie into a second phase
HAMPTON ROADS BUSINESS - 2018
of the project, which will expand the corridor to eight lanes and replace the existing High Rise Bridge.
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion More than 100,000 cars travel the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel each day during the summer tourist season, and that has created congestion at the water crossing that can stretch for miles in both directions. Now the state is moving forward with a project expected to add a parallel bridge-tunnel that is estimated to cost between $3.3 billion and $3.8 billion. Two contractors are bidding on the project, which is expected to be awarded in early 2019. The Virginia Department of Transportation chose to use the bored-tunnel construction method, which is the same technology being used to build the Thimble Shoal Tunnel on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The technology uses a massive tunnel-boring machine to excavate the soil. The method will include significantly less impact to marine life and will reduce disruption to commercial and Navy vessel traffic. Construction is expected to begin in 2019 with an estimated completion in 2024.
Transportation Nonstop destinations and daily departures from local airports Destination
NIA
NNW
Atlanta
8
4
Baltimore
5
N/A
Boston
1
N/A
Charlotte, N.C.
8
6
Chicago (MDW)
2
N/A
Chicago (ORD)
7
N/A
Dallas
2
N/A
1.7
N/A
4
N/A
0.3
N/A
2
N/A
0.4
N/A
Denver
1
Detroit Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
2
Houston (IAH) Las Vegas
3
Miami
3
N/A
Minneapolis
1
N/A
New York (JFK)
5
N/A
New York (LGA)
9
N/A
Newark, N.J.
5
N/A
1.7
N/A
6
3
0.3
N/A
Washington (IAD)
4
N/A
Washington (DCA)
3
N/A
Orlando, Fla.
4
Philadelphia Tampa
5
NIA: Norfolk International Airport Source: Airports NNW: Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
Passengers at Hampton Roads airports Year
NIA
NNW
2017
3,380,902
410,058
2016
3,209,185
411,641
2015
3,034,407
418,889
2014
2,965,306
532,655
2013
3,112,355
544,031
NIA: Norfolk International Airport NNW: Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport Source: Individual airports
N/A: Not available
Photo courtesy Amtrak
Amtrak fiscal year 2017 ridership
1 United Airlines offers a daily flight to Denver from NIA, while Southwest Airlines offers direct flights twice a week and Frontier Airlines offers departures three times per week.
RIDERSHIP FY17
FY16
% change
Newport News
106,692
107,894
-1.1
Norfolk
47,493
44,316
7.2
2 Allegiant Air offers flights twice a week to Ft. Lauderdale from NIA. 3 Frontier Airlines offers departures to Las Vegas from NIA three times a week. 4 Southwest Airlines offers daily departures to Orlando from NIA, while Allegiant Air offers two departures a week and Frontier Airlines offers departures three times a week. 5 Allegiant Air offers departures from NIA to Tampa twice a week.
Source: Amtrak
Note: Boardings and debarcations for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
Note: Includes departures offered as of the week of Aug.19.
Local transportation
RIDERSHIP1 FY 2015
FY 2016
FY 2017
FY 2018
Bus transit
14,217,879
13,241,512
12,586,719
11,644,377
The Tide (light rail)
1,403,976
1,330,375
1,342,330
1,429,978
Ferry
283,211
246,943
295,983
327,661
Paratransit
324,510
351,654
365,610
372,286
System total
16,229,576
15,170,484
14,590,642
13,774,302
1 Ridership is the number of times a passenger boards a Hampton Roads Transit vehicle, including transfers from one bus to another. Source: Hampton Roads Transit
FY: Fiscal year
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