Virginia Beach

WE ARE: VIRGINIA BEACH

Announcements In 2017, the City of Virginia Beach had 41 announcements which led to: 2,508 new jobs created 5,382 jobs retained 1.5M square feet absorbed $240M in capital investment Some highlights include: Virginia Beach-based technology company, Mythics moving its headquarters from Great Neck Road to 39,000 SF of office space in Town Center. In addition to relocating and retaining its 143 employees, Mythics added 30 full-time positions. The capital investment in real estate improvements, business property, and machinery and tools exceeds $7.5M. GEICO, one of Virginia Beach’s largest employers added to their economic blueprint with their December 2017 expansion. The company plans to add 500 new jobs in claims, sales, service, auto damage and management.

Advanced Manufacturing With the elimination of its machinery and tools tax in 2011, Virginia Beach maintains its position as a city hosting a pro-business environment for capital intensive manufacturers. Thirteen of the city’s 2017 announcements occurred within the manufacturing sector. The largest announcement in 2017 came from Global Technical Systems (GTS). In December, Global Technical Systems announced its plans to invest $54.7M to build a 500,000 SF green energy facility. This facility will specialize in the production of electro-mechanical energy storage systems and will create 1,110 new jobs.

International Business The city’s international business activity continued its strong growth in 2017. Germany’s STIHL, Inc. announced two expansions this year. In February, the company announced plans to invest $2.8M to improve its North American Headquarters and in October, plans for a $25M expansion to construct an 80,000 SF, state-of-the-art administration facility. The new building will combine the Finance & Controlling, Sales & Marketing, Legal, Customer & Technical Service teams under one roof, as well as add a new museum and brand experience center. In February 2017, China’s U-Play Corporation announced the opening of its first North American manufacturing operation. With capital investment of $4.9M, U-Play will lease 200,000 SF of space and employ 38 people for the production of its disposable absorbent products such as incontinence supplies, wet wipes and puppy pads.

Connectability Virginia Beach has become the landing spot for the two fastest and highest bandwidth subsea cables in the world – MAREA and BRUSA. Telxius, the infrastructure arm of Spanish telecom company Telefónica, has constructed a 24,000 SF cable landing station in Corporate Landing to support the two newest transatlantic fiber optic telecommunication cables. The first, MAREA, in a partnership among Microsoft, Facebook and Telefónica, brought the first ultra-high-speed 160 terabit fiber optic cable from Bilbao, Spain to Corporate Landing and will serve Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The second cable, BRUSA, owned by Telefónica, will connect Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Virginia Beach in early 2018. Each of these subsea cables have the capacity to transmit information 16 million times faster than an average home internet connection. Additionally, in a business-friendly approach to this growing industry sector, the City of Virginia Beach has reduced the tax rate for data center equipment. The new tax rate decreases the tax on computers and peripherals used in data centers to $0.40 per $100 of assessed value, with a depreciation schedule of 40% of original cost. This decrease is one of many new initiatives Virginia Beach is embracing to welcome data centers to the city.

Bioscience In August 2017, LifeNet Health, the top organ procurement organization and tissue processor in the world, announced plans to invest $12.25M to expand its global headquarters operation in Virginia Beach and open three new facilities. This expansion will create 321 new jobs and add a combined total of 138,000 SF across three campuses bringing LifeNet’s total investment in Virginia Beach to $70M. LifeNet Health is a leader in the fields of tissue and organ research and regenerative medicine and has been credited with saving over 6,000 lives and healing more than two million people. The City of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development have partnered with the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) to launch the VABeachBio Innovation Challenge. VABeachBio will create 20 start-ups using federally funded inventions from federal labs and universities. Virginia Beach Economic Development also announced its plans to create the VABeachBio Research park at Princess Anne Commons. This 150 acre Biomedical Research and Development Park will be adjacent to numerous healthcare higher education assets.

For the 2nd consecutive year, Virginia Beach has been ranked the Most Technologically Advanced City among cities with a population of 250,000 to 499,999.

Livability Living the good life in Virginia Beach is almost effortless. As Virginia’s largest city, this vibrant coastal hub has much to offer the 15 million tourists who are drawn to its moderate climate, 38 miles of beautiful beaches, great restaurants and world-renowned attractions each year. Combined with a host of recreational and cultural opportunities, an affordable cost of living and robust infrastructure, it’s easy to see why Virginia Beach is touted as one of the best places to live in America. Virginia Beach has quickly become a destination for craft beer and wine lovers. As the East Coast home of San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing Company, Virginia Beach can satisfy your taste for sun and suds infused with coastal flavors, be it east or west. Other notable wineries and breweries include Mermaid Winery, Vibrant Shore Brewing Co., Smartmouth Brewing Co. and Back Bay’s Farmhouse Brewing Co.

Population:

Prime-Age Population (Aged 25-54) Civilian Labor Force:

Prime-Age Labor Force Participation Rate

Largest Employment by Industry

EMPLOYEES

Government Accommodation & Food Services Retail Trade Healthcare & Social Assistance Professional, Scientific & Technical Administrative Support 28,090 24,730 23,780 22,800 12,890 11,130 452,600 192,320 228,790 85%

% OF WORKFORCE

15.9% 14.0% 13.4% 12.9% 7.3% 6.3%

Key Employers

GEICO STIHL, Inc. Amerigroup (WellPoint) Gold Key/PHR LifeNet Health Global Technical Systems NEXCOM

Contact

WWW.YESVIRGINIABEACH.COM

Mr. Warren D. Harris, Director Virginia Beach Economic Development (757) 385-6464 • wharris@vbgov.com