- A facility that would seek to elevate the travel-sports experience for families is in the works for Stafford County. The developers of The Colosseum Sports Resort are currently raising money from investors, looking at Stafford land, and honing their vision for the facility. Colosseum President and CEO Farshid Hakimyar said the idea for the facility came from the experience that he and associates have had going to travel-sports tournaments (his two daughters have played travel volleyball). He said the sports facilities where they play are usually glorified warehouses, and hotels and restaurants are distant from the competition site. Colosseum wants to build a $140 million facility with about 100,000-150,000 square feet of indoor competition space, outdoor fields, a 200-room hotel and a shopping and dining facility. The complex could cater to tournaments for baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, pickleball and football, as well as events such as graduations, conventions and more. Hakimyar, whose background is in wealth management, said his team is looking for sites of at least 35 acres (he noted that these have been harder to come by due to the influx of data center and housing projects in the region). They would like to be in Stafford but might consider adjacent localities as well. Hakimyar said Colosseum has a vision to create a brand with additional U.S. travel-sport complexes, which he hopes will have a memorable architectural look (hence the name they chose for the venture). They hope to open locally by 2029.
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Mill Race Commons
The 28,330-square-foot Mill Race Commons office building (and former textile factory) at 701 Kenmore Ave. in Fredericksburg is on the market for $4.4 million. It’s listed with Johnson Realty Advisors.
- The regional median home price was up again in June, with all but two localities in the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors (FAAR) footprint seeing increases. The median sold price was at $480,000 in June, up 1 percent year-over-year. There were 539 homes sold in June compared to 537 the year prior. Homes spent an average of 24 days on the market before moving to contract. There were 1,190 homes on the market at the end of June, compared to 877 in June 2024.
- Here are locality-by-locality sales data for June for the FAAR territory:
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213 Caroline St.
There were 382 homes sold in the past three weeks (since Biz Beat Roundup last ran July 9) in the Fredericksburg region, according to the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors, including a $2.95 million sale of the home at 213 Caroline St. that ranks as the second-highest sales price in Fredericksburg history (the first was for $3.75 million and closed in late June). There were 17 home sales for more than $1 million during that three-week stretch. Check back weekly for the new list.
- The University of Mary Washington has started construction on its new theatre facility for its theatre and dance departments. Demolition of Brent House started this month, with Marshall and Russell Halls to follow after completion. The Marshall Hill roadway and nearby parking lots (Marshall and Russell) will be closed throughout the project.
- Mary Washington Hospital was the ninth-ranked hospital in Virginia in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Hospitals edition. The hospital was also listed as providing “high performing” care for diabetes, heart arrhythmia, heart attack, heart failure, hip fracture, hip replacement, kidney failure, knee replacement, lung cancer surgery, pacemaker implantation, pneumonia, prostate cancer surgery, stroke and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The eight highest-ranking Virginia hospitals in the report were, in order, Inova Fairfax Hospital, VCU Medical Center, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, VHC Health, Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals, University of Virginia Medical Center, Winchester Medical Center and Carillon Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
- The Novel bookstore in downtown Fredericksburg is the focus of this week’s Biz Beat Clips video.
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- Longtime Fredericksburg-area real estate investor and broker Neil Sullivan is the guest on this week’s edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast.
- Both the Fredericksburg Summer Restaurant Week and the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair started Friday and will go until Sunday, Aug. 3.
- A Crunch Fitness location is expected to open in August inside the roughly 31,000-square-foot space at 3101 Plank Road in Fredericksburg. East Coast Appliance closed its location there at the end of 2024 (the previous tenant was Toys “R” Us).
- The Lester Group recently broke ground on its new truss plant for the Fortress brand. The 58,750-square-foot facility will be located on Joseph Mills Drive in the Spotsylvania Office and Industrial Park. The Fortress Truss plant is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2026.
- A Friday ribbon-cutting is planned for the Fredericksburg Fitness Studio‘s new location at 541 William St. downtown. The business’ other location is at 2541 Cowan Blvd. in Fredericksburg.
- Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer reports the following recent lease transactions in the Fredericksburg area:
- Pinnacle Software Consulting Inc., 5,164 square feet of office space at 1701 Fall Hill Ave. in Fredericksburg
- Classy Touch Soul Food LLC, 3,771 square feet of retail space at Cosner’s Corner Retail, 10141 Patriot Highway, in Spotsylvania
- Gilma Iglesias and Nilson Garcia, 2,100 square feet of retail space at Tidewater Trail, 11513 Tidewater Trail, in Spotsylvania
- Creative Game Technologies LLC, 2,000 square feet of industrial space at Airport Center, 3509 Shannon Park Drive, in Spotsylvania
- Rose Germam-Dorcely & Woody Dorcely, 1,800 square feet of retail space at Ferry Farm Shopping Center, 201-207 Kings Highway, in Stafford
- Moldova Store LLC, 1,755 square feet of retail space at 3500 Plank Road in Spotsylvania
- Fresh Mart LLC, 1,700 square feet of retail space at Breezewood Shopping Center, 10600-10697 Courthouse Road, in Spotsylvania
- Abby Jarrett, 1,050 square feet of retail space at 1715 Princess Anne St. in Fredericksburg
Biz Beat Roundup runs every Wednesday morning and includes a roundup of business news from around the Fredericksburg region. Send submissions to: [email protected]
