Biz Beat Roundup: Local marina changes hands

BUSINESS ACTIVITY

• Stella Marinas this week purchased the 14-acre Hope Springs Marina in Stafford County, which had been owned for decades by local men Jimmy Franklin, Berkley Mitchell and Stan Dameron. Stella Marinas describes itself as a boutique investment platform specializing in premier marina assets across the Chesapeake.” The company owns three Maryland marinas — South River Marina, Sassafras Harbor Marina and Swan Creek Marina. Financial terms of the Hope Springs Marina deal were not disclosed. Stella Marinas owner Ryan Comisky said in an email: “We see tremendous potential in Hope Springs Marina as more than just a place to store your boat. Our vision is to create a destination where boaters and their families want to spend time — even when they’re not out on the water. We’ve already engaged an engineer to begin exploring some initial concepts for the property, and we’ll also be surveying our boaters to better understand what amenities, experiences, and improvements they’d like to see at the marina.”
• Haverty’s Furniture is taking over the space previously occupied by Value City Furniture at 1731 Carl D. Silver Parkway in Fredericksburg. Value City closed all stores following a bankruptcy filing. Separately, Floor & Decor is taking over the space that Value City had moved from at 3545 Plank Road in the Spotsylvania Crossing shopping center. The Value City bankruptcy also led to the closing of the company’s former 360,000-square-foot distribution center at 11266 Enterprise Parkway in Caroline County.
• Einstein Bros. Bagels is now open at 3500 Plank Road in Spotsylvania County. This is the only Einstein location in the region.
• Jarrell Properties is holding a hiring event from 1-4 p.m. Thursday (May 21) for people interested in working at Goolrick’s Pharmacy Ice Cream & Soda Fountain in downtown Fredericksburg. The event will be held at Jarrell’s office at 1300 Princess Anne St. Jarrell has been thoroughly renovating the historic Goolrick’s property at 901 Caroline St. and plans to re-open the eatery this summer.
• The former BB&T bank branch at 375 Chatham Heights Road in Stafford is being renovated and will become a Chase Bank branch. Chase Bank has been aggressively adding branches in the market and already has locations in Central Park, Cosner’s Corner, Celebrate Virginia North and Stafford Marketplace.
• Virginia Business: Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility Dominion Energy has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Fortune 200 Florida energy company NextEra Energy in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $66.8 billion.
• The Panda Express restaurant at 750 Warren Road in Stafford is expected to open soon.
• Sippin’ Pop, which has a store in downtown Fredericksburg, plans to open a second location at 7991 Kings Highway in King George County. An opening date has not yet been announced.
• FFP report: Stafford’s Board of Supervisors last night on a 5-2 vote approved the proposed Buc-ee’s project off Interstate 95 at the Courthouse Road interchange.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

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  Carrie O’Malley

  Carrie O’Malley, a Fredericksburg resident and partner at the Hirschler law firm, has been selected as a Fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). O’Malley is the fifth Hirschler attorney to be named an ACREL Fellow, following Michael Terry, James Theobald, Jay Weinberg and Edward Hirschler.

• Ramona Settle, who is one of the owners of Carl’s Ice Cream in Fredericksburg, is the guest on this week’s edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast.
• Reclaimed Gaming, which repairs and trades classic arcade games, is the subject of this week’s Biz Beat Clips video.
• Northwestern Mutual held a grand opening this week at its new office at 100 Riverside Parkway, Suite 201, in Stafford.
• The James Monroe High School Alumni Association was recently founded “to enhance the experience of each and every high school student in Fredericksburg.” Local financial advisor and 1989 James Monroe graduate Glen Lanford is leading the effort. Earlier this month, the association provided lunch for the James Monroe staff to cap off Teacher Appreciation Week, and honored math teacher Jermaine Mason with the teacher of the year award.
• Longtime Dog Krazy team member and franchise owner Ella Vanbenschoten will open her second Dog Krazy location, in the former E.M. Dodger’s Pet Supply & Bath House space at 17453 U.S. Route 1 in Ruther Glen, by July 1. Vanbenschoten also owns the Cosner’s Corner location, which is Dog Krazy’s largest and busiest store, and is a professional groomer. She started working for Dog Krazy at the age of 16 and became a franchise owner at age 24. Dog Krazy has a total of eight locations in the Richmond and Fredericksburg areas.
• The Chick-fil-A restaurant at 930 Garrisonville Road in North Stafford will open Thursday (May 21). The location will be locally owned and operated by Mike Lindblom, a Marine Corps veteran who was previously stationed at Quantico Marine Corps Base. Guests of all ages who arrive dressed in cow spots or sporting a cow-spotted accessory on opening day can redeem one free entrée or kid’s meal inside the restaurant or in the drive-through.

REAL ESTATE REVIEW

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  This Lake Anna house sold last week for $1.65 million, topping the list of weekly sales in the region.

  There were 100 home sales in the Fredericksburg region last week, including two for more than $1 million, according to this week’s report from the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors (FAAR). Check back weekly for the past-week data.

• The 9.74-acre property fronting Interstate 95 at Exit 126 in Spotsylvania’s Southpoint Landing development sold in October for $9 million, according to the deed of conveyance in Spotsylvania. Southpoint Landing Blvd LLC bought the parcel, which is adjacent to The Vakos Companies headquarters building, from Southpoint Landing LLC (a Vakos affiliate). No information has been released on plans for the property, but, according to the deed, it will be “used for office (including without limitation, medical office) use and/or ambulatory surgery use only.”
• FFP report: Spotsylvania officials are moving forward with the plan to transfer the Marshall Center to the school division. The school division is planning to use the facility, which served as a gathering place for seniors and teens until this past January, as a center for special education.
• The 6,600-square-foot Lafayette Station property at 307 Lafayette Blvd. in Fredericksburg sold May 11 for $1.525 million, according to broker Vakos Real Estate Services. Thujone Enterprises LLC bought it from Kenmore Crossing II LLC.
• Fredericksburg-based Total Comfort has submitted a major site plan for review by the City of Fredericksburg to add parking, an outdoor storage area and related infrastructure at 2403 Airport Ave.

Biz Beat Roundup runs every Wednesday and includes a roundup of business news from around the Fredericksburg region. Send submissions to: [email protected]