Summer has arrived in Virginia's Gateway Region but even the heat can't slow us down. We at VGR have been busy promoting the region as the "hot" spot for growth and development. Continue reading to learn more about VGR's global marketing missions and
project activity since our last update. Also, congratulations are in order for Williams Mullen - see our "Partner Spotlight" for details.
VGR Fosters Inter-State Cooperation Among Economic Development Colleagues
In late April, VGR led a delegation of local officials and business leaders to Fayetteville, NC for a BRAC Summit.
Start-up defense contractor operations located at gates of Fort Bragg The summit included representatives from three southeastern regions where military installations are expanding. Economic development colleagues from these three states spent two days exchanging information on their defense contractor recruitment programs, best practices and current challenges.
 Presentation by Georgia delegates at BRAC Summit
- Chicago, IL Marketing Mission
- Southwest Marketing Mission
- Dallas Marketing Mission/Wind Power Conference
- Southeast Marketing Mission
Partner Spotlight: Williams Mullen
Congratulations to VGR partner, Williams Mullen, as they not only celebrate their 101st year in business but do so by christening their new downtown Richmond headquarters.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, about 150 attorneys and community members were on hand to attend an outdoor dedication during the June 22nd ceremony and then rode elevators to the 16th floor for a reception and a look at the newest panoramic views of the city. We at VGR wish Williams Mullen much success in their new headquarters location.
Started in 1909 by two Richmond attorneys, Williams Mullen has 300 lawyers, 50 practice groups and 10 offices in Virginia and North Carolina, an office in Washington and one in London. |
VSU Gets Biggest Grant in the School's 128-year history, new name for business school
Progress Index staff writer, Michael Buettner reported on Tuesday, June 29th, the The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation presented VSU's Board of Visitors with the first installment of a $1.5 million grant that will endow scholarships, student and faculty travel, and an academic achievement prize. In recognition of the grant, VSU will rename its business school the Reginald F. Lewis School of
Business.
"Lewis was a 1965 VSU graduate. He attended the university on an athletic scholarship and went on to graduate from Harvard Law School. As a successful investor and entrepreneur, he became the first African American to build a billion-dollar company and was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the nation's 400 wealthiest people", Buettner reported.
Beverly A. Cooper, vice president of the foundation, said Lewis made support of education a priority for the foundation from the beginning, and in particular that "he wanted to make sure we celebrated his life at the schools he attended" because they had made his success possible. Click here to
read the entire article published in the June 30th edition of the Progress Index. Virginia Business Reports Gateway’s Wow Factor
Referencing Fort Lee, writer Gary Kranz reported in the June edition of Virginia Business Magazine that with “nearly 40 separate BRAC-related construction projects... planned or under way” and “$1.2 billion in BRAC contracts... 24,000 jobs were either created or retained from April 2007 through March 2010.” Referring to Fort Lee as the “preverbal Golden Goose for the region,” Kranz writes that nearly $2 billion in economic
activity is anticipated “during the next several years”.
With Fort Lee’s population slated to grow from 17,000 to more than 42,000, Renee Chapline, Executive Director of Virginia’s Gateway Region was quoted as asking, “Where else can companies find explosive population growth like that, and a captive audience to boot”?
Fort Lee was not the only focus for Kranz as he also reported on Rolls-Royce and their new Crosspointe site in Prince George County. Situated on more than 1,000 acres and eventually employing up to 500 people, Rolls-Royce Crosspointe will become the largest Rolls-Royce facility in terms of area in North America, Kranz writes. In the article, Rolls-Royce executive Paul McCoy, states that the region provides Rolls-Royce with potential employees that have the skills they
need.
Kranz reports that Rolls-Royce has also set aside 120 acres for the numerous suppliers needed to support their operation. Although supplier demand was initially slow, inquires to Virginia’s Gateway Region have picked up in 2010. With Rolls-Royce also comes the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) and the Commonwealth Center for Aerospace Propulsion Systems (CCAPS), both true research assets for the region.
As another example of the region’s exciting growth and development opportunities, Kranz concluded his article by referencing the recent sale of the Brown and Williamson cigarette factory in Petersburg to Richmond-based Franklin Development Group for a reported $3.5 million, a deal that Chapline was quoted as saying will further revive Petersburg’s downtown. To visit Virginia Business online and read the article in its entirety click here.
Translating the human genome into new business opportunities
This June marked the 10th anniversary of the sequencing of the human genome. However, the promises of rapid, individualized drug treatment and disease cures have fallen short. Though this is not a failed endeavor; now more than ever genomics is poised to be at the forefront of biotech growth with an array of applications and innovations under development spanning pharmaceuticals, medical
equipment, biofuels, and the cosmetic industry as well as the information sciences.
The Economist’s special report on the human genome details the industry growth that is taking shape, building on the discoveries over the past ten years and the realization that the human genome is much more complex and varying than previously thought. Click here to read more… |
