Category: Economic Development
By Danielle Walker
danielle.walker@insidebiz.com
Virginia Beach received almost half a million dollars to examine alternative transportation between the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and more populated areas of the city.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
Members of the Norfolk City Council said they haven't picked a favorite out of the five Waterside revitalization plans developers recently gave the city, and they won't make a decision until the developers show them the money - or, more specifically, how much money they want from the city to kick-start their projects.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
The Downtown Norfolk Council plans to transform the site of a proposed Westin Hotel into a temporary pedestrian plaza and park that features reused and recycled materials.
Slated to open last year, the Westin was going to be one of the most ambitious projects downtown Norfolk had seen in years. It would have stood 26 stories and included a conference center. The city of Norfolk spent $10 million acquiring three properties for the hotel and conference center.
The region's economy should see slight improvement in 2012, but its growth rate will stay below the national average, an area economist said.
Vinod Agarwal, director of Old Dominion University's Economic Forecasting Project, presented that annual economic forecast for Hampton Roads last week.
He said the region can expect to see economic growth of 1.9 percent, below the 50-year annual average of 3.2 percent. He expects the nation's economy to grow 2.4 percent.
A Norfolk company has renewed its efforts to build a sports complex in Hampton Roads, this time at Waterside Festival Marketplace in downtown Norfolk.
Drakkar America's proposal to build a 22,000-seat arena where Waterside now stands at the Elizabeth River waterfront is one of five proposals Norfolk City Council is pondering in the hopes of reviving the struggling complex.
The city has attempted for years to figure out what to do with Waterside, which had its heyday in the 1980s but is now a shell of what it once was.
January is the month when economic forecasts proliferate. The latest crystal-ball gazing comes from the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
The commission's regional forecast is marked by phrases like "Hampton Roads is entrenched in the process of recovery" and "very modest growth."
Greg Grootendorst, chief economist for the commission, predicts that the region's economy will expand by 1.8 percent this year, as compared to the 2.3 percent growth forecast for the nation's economy.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Old Dominion University has discontinued its Global Executive Master's of Business Administration degree program, which was launched two years ago.
The web site, http://bpa.odu.edu/gemba/, says the GEMBA has been postponed indefinitely.
"The GEMBA was put on hold due to the economy," said Larry "Chip" Filer, director of ODU's MBA program, and associate professor of economics.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
Norfolk's Bureau of Community Enrichment is targeting "mom and pop" landlords and property managers who want answers to questions regarding landlord-tenant law.
For the third time, the bureau is holding a free Landlord Relations Workshop that will give landlords the chance to ask reps from the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia questions about fair housing.
By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Regent University is beginning a multiyear expansion to attract more undergraduate students to its Virginia Beach campus and create a collegial atmosphere in the Indian River Road corridor.
The newest projects include a 22,164-square-foot chapel and a 36,645-square-foot school of divinity, an investment valued at $17 million.
Both are part of the university's long-range plans.
By Bill Cresenzo
bill.cresenzo@insidebiz.com
A group of Hampton Roads businesspeople met with President Obama and administration officials at the White House to talk about the federal government's role in job creation and the policies that affect Hampton Roads businesses.
The White House Business Council and Business Forward, a Washington-based consortium of businesses that works for pro-business polices, hosted the event.
