BizBeat Roundup is sponsored by Synctivate.
- The Megamart Supermarket at 515 Emancipation Highway in Fredericksburg opened last week. There used to be a Weis Markets store in that space. The grocer has 12 other locations in Maryland and Virginia. According to its website: “‘Los Megamart’ as they are popularly known, are the preferred stores of the Hispanic community.”
- There were 98 homes sold this past week in the Fredericksburg area, including five for more than $1 million, according to the weekly sales list from the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors (FAAR). Check back weekly for the new list.
- A full renovation is planned at the Massad Family YMCA’s wellness center. The wellness area will be closed Dec. 15-22 for the project, which will include new equipment, flooring and paint.
- The Embrey Mill Town Center in Stafford, and the mural program at the center, is the subject of this week’s Biz Beat Clips video.
- The guest on this week’s edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast is Seth Silber, whose many hats include being president of the Fredericksburg Nationals, co-chairman of the Fredericksburg Free Press’ Board of Directors, and a prominent Washington-area anti-trust attorney.
- The University of Mary Washington recently announced the lineup of lecturers for its 23rd-annual Great Lives Series, which will run Jan. 20 through March 19. Lectures are held at 7:30 p.m. on most Tuesdays and Thursdays in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium.
- The famed restaurant at the Inn at Little Washington in Rappahannock County has lost one of its three Michelin stars. The Inn had been the only Michelin-rated three-star restaurant in the Washington area.
- Construction is under way on the 2,200-square-foot Kilwins shop at 721 Caroline St. in downtown Fredericksburg. Wack General Contractor is spearheading the project for the popular national franchise specializing in chocolate, fudge and ice cream. Sisters Jenna Bowen and Sandra Duff, who will own the shop, are planning a late February opening.
- A grand-opening celebration was held earlier this month for the Books-A-Million store at 1240 Stafford Market Place in North Stafford.
- A rezoning is proposed that could lead to 17 single-family detached homes and 117 townhouses being built on the 37-acre “Hill Farm” property just north of the State Route 3 and Bragg Road intersection in Spotsylvania County. The applicant is Integrity Homes of Metro Washington LLC. The property is on the west side of Bragg Road. A future inter-parcel connection to Ventura Lane within the Heritage Hills subdivision is proposed as part of the project.
- The Rey Azteca Mexican Restaurant & Bar in Fredericksburg’s Eagle Village shopping center closed this past weekend. The Rey Azteca location in Central Park will remain open. The space where Rey Azteca had been in Eagle Village is owned by the University of Mary Washington, which has expressed the intent to use spaces in that building for University needs as commercial leases are completed.
-
2300 Fall Hill Ave. Photo courtesy Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite
Mary Washington Healthcare (MWHC) has closed on the sale of the former hospital at 2300 Fall Hill Ave. in Fredericksburg, according to Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite. FXBG Opportunity Zone LLC purchased the property for $4 million. Richmond-based Rebkee plans to renovate the space into 242 apartment units along with some small commercial spaces for a daycare center and coffee shop. MWHC, which had been using the former hospital as office space, has relocated employees to an office in the Central Park Corporate Center that was formerly home to The Free Lance-Star (which is now in a significantly smaller space near the former office). MWHC had previously sold the parking lots and Medical Arts Building across the street from the former hospital, and new residential construction activity is under way there.
- Kickshaws Gulten-free Bakery has relocated from Central Park to 3631 Plank Road in Spotsylvania.
- A 2.76-acre property at 5070-5090 Gateway Blvd. in Spotsylvania recently sold for $1.15 million, according to Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite. The purchaser, an affiliate of C.C. Carpentry Inc., plans to expand its residential-framing company there. The seller was Tricord Inc. A Lifepoint Church has been built in that Gateway Business Park development. Another 1.5-acre lot at that project is under contract and expected to close by the end of the year.
- River & Roots Collective, a gift and coffee shop at 107 Carter St. in Falmouth, recently opened.
- The Blessings Boutique Thrift Store recently opened at 4521 Plank Road in Spotsylvania.
- Cody DeRosett has been named executive chef at The Publisher Hotel’s Five Chophouse. Before joining The Publisher, DeRosett served as executive chef at Hotel 1928 in Waco, Texas.
Biz Beat Roundup runs every Wednesday and includes a roundup of business news from around the Fredericksburg region. Send submissions to: bill.freehling@fredericksburgfreepress.com
