BUSINESS ACTIVITY
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A crane places a signed beam at the first data center building at the Stafford Technology Campus.
STACK Infrastructure on Friday celebrated progress on its 500-acre Stafford County data center campus with a “topping-out ceremony” on the first building being constructed at the site. A white construction beam that had been signed by the people in attendance was lifted onto a roughly 200,000-square-foot building at the site off U.S. 1 and Eskimo Hill Road near the regional landfill. Thus far, according to project developers, 3 million cubic yards of earth have been moved on the site, and 4,000 linear feet of retaining walls have been built. While Friday’s ceremony celebrated progress on the first building, there are many more structures to follow. A total of 19 data center buildings are expected on the campus at full buildout, which the company says is excepted to someday generate $80 million in annual tax revenue for Stafford and hundreds of full-time jobs. STACK is partnering with Amazon Web Services on the project, which is called the Stafford Technology Campus.
- Manny’s Moon Pizza Rant has closed its restaurant at 1924 Richmond Highway in Stafford.
- Four local tourism-oriented businesses/organizations/festivals this year received matching-grant money from a Virginia Tourism Corporation marketing program announced last week. The local recipients were: the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce for the annual Virginia Black Expo ($20,000), the Bloomia Tulip Festival in King George County ($5,650), the Dominion Raceway for a racing and concert series ($20,000) and the Virginia Renaissance Faire in Spotsylvania County ($20,000).
- Hyperion Espresso in downtown Fredericksburg has completed the renovation on the upper level of the coffee shop, and work has now shifted to the lower level. The shop remains open during the renovation, which will result in a new bar featuring coffee tasting flights, new seating and paint.The project is expected to be completed in July.
- Fredericksburg is getting its first cat cafe. The Cozy Paws Cafe, which is owned by Catrina Slade and Alana Robinson, has leased about 3,200 square feet in a Jarrell Properties building at 410 Amaret St. next to Fredericksburg Auto Parts. According to a Jarrell Properties news release, “The Cozy Paws Café will offer a warm, welcoming space where guests can enjoy coffee, tea, and snacks, while meeting, playing with, and potentially adopting available cats.” Inside Out Construction will renovate the space for the business, and an opening timeframe has not been announced. Additional space is available for lease in the building.
- Elephant’s Nest Thai and Sushi Bar opened earlier this month at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre next to X-Golf.
- The owners of the Planet Novak “clawcade” at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre (Clint Novak and Nathan Hise) are opening a 1,200-square-foot retro arcade directly next door this summer. The arcade, called Planet Novak Rewind, will have 24 arcade games from the 1980s and 1990s including Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Plant Novak was recently featured on Biz Beat Clips (the business was called Cosmic Clawcade at the time and has since changed its name).
- The Square Vendor Marketplace is set to open in June at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre. The 2,600-square-foot marketplace near the interior entrance to Macy’s will have vendors offering handmade jewelry, fashion, accessories, art, beauty products, home decor and more.
- The Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce’s charitable arm (the Virginia Alliance for Business, Commerce and Communities Foundation) recently received a $25,000 grant from the Stafford Economic Development Authority to support an initiative designed to “strengthen minority-owned and small businesses through business education, workforce development, leadership training, contracting readiness, advocacy, and strategic convening opportunities.” The Stafford Board of Supervisors also recently presented a proclamation to the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce for its role in “advancing economic empowerment … fostering entrepreneurship, strengthening minority-owned businesses, and creating pathways for success through education, networking, mentorship, and community engagement.”
- Zadran’s Kitchen, an Afghan restaurant, opened this week in downtown Fredericksburg. The restaurant serves dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays.
- Amazon recently opened an office building in Louisa County’s Lake Anna Tech Campus that will be a permanent base for the team that keeps the company’s local data centers running. It is designed to seat up to 350 full-time Amazon employees, providing a centralized hub for operations such as design engineering, human resources, security and safety. Not including construction jobs, there are about 50 full-time employees there now, and Amazon plans to be at 100 by the end of the year. It has conference rooms, a co-working space, a cafeteria, and training space for people without prior data-center experience. It’s the first of its kind for Amazon, which is investing heavily in the region in both data and distribution centers.
- Littlepage Animal Hospital has expanded into the adjacent space from its original location at 712 Littlepage St. in Fredericksburg. There are now cat-only and dog-only spaces.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
The regional economic development organization that has been called the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance will now be called Virginia’s Innovation Crossroads. The new name and brand was unveiled Wednesday at a luncheon at the Virginia Credit Union Stadium. A news release announcing the change states: “In order for the region to accelerate the ability to compete for high-value projects and corporate relocations, it was deemed necessary to present a clear and unified regional identity so companies could evaluate the full picture of the region, not separate jurisdictions. By harnessing the region’s unmatched connectivity — between Northern Virginia and Richmond, across interstates, rail lines, and data networks — Virginia’s Innovation Crossroads creates a powerful environment where high-tech businesses, skilled talent, and forward-thinking communities can thrive.” Target industries will include cybertechnology, defense and aerospace, engineering and life sciences. Tom Scott recently became president of the organization and will be a guest on an upcoming edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast. Curry Roberts, who recently stepped down as president, was instrumental in the rebranding.- Sam Thomas has been selected as the Fredericksburg Country Club’s next Head Golf Professional. Thomas previously worked at the Cutalong Golf Club in Lake Anna and the Kenmure Country Club in North Carolina. Former Head Golf Professional Brian Walker is now the club’s general manager.
- Longtime area financial advisor Don Newlin is the guest on this week’s edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast.
- Stafford-based Cyber Bytes Foundation is the subject of this week’s Biz Beat Clips video.
- Chase Lopez, a financial advisor with ILG Financial in Stafford, recently received his Certified Financial Planner certification.
- NAMI Rappahannock is starting a Peer Recovery Specialist (PRS) Intern Program to help people complete the required hours to become a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS), expand access to recovery support services across the region, and create employment opportunities. The program is made possible by a grant from the Mary Washington and Stafford Hospital Foundation Community Benefit Funds.
- Sen. Tim Kaine visited Virginia Career Works and Rappahannock Goodwill Industries last week in Spotsylvania to learn more about Goodwill’s CareerPath Accelerator program, the state’s first AI-enabled job placement program.
- King George High School DECA members last month attended the annual DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta.
- Mary Washington Healthcare announced that it has expanded its advanced cardiovascular services with the introduction of the mitral valve transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) using the next‑generation MitraClip system, a minimally invasive treatment option for select patients with mitral valve regurgitation. The procedure will be performed at Mary Washington Hospital by Drs. Arijit Chanda and John Cardone.
REAL ESTATE REVIEW
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This recently renovated Washington Avenue home in Fredericksburg sold last week for $1.615 million, topping the list of weekly sales in the region.
There were 97 home sales in the Fredericksburg region last week, including two for more than $1 million (one in downtown Fredericksburg and one on Lake Anna), according to this week’s report from the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors (FAAR). Check back weekly for the past-week data.
- The median sales price of the 505 homes sold in April in the Fredericksburg area rose 4 percent year-over-year to $479,820, according to FAAR data released this week. Home spent an average of 32 days on the market before going to contract, and there was a 2.7-month supply of homes available at the end of April. Stafford had the highest median at $552,500, followed by Fredericksburg ($489,000), King George ($486,347), Spotsylvania ($442,500), Orange ($437,390), Caroline ($382,000) and Colonial Beach ($342,450). Here are locality-by-locality data for April:
- A 199-foot-tall monopole telecommunications tower is proposed on a 14.7-acre wooded property on the east side of Leeland Road near the road’s end in Stafford (807 Leeland Road). The pole would be between Leeland and Brooke roads near Potomac Creek. A conditional-use permit and Comprehensive Plan Compliance Review from the Stafford Board of Supervisors are required for the project.
Biz Beat Roundup runs every Wednesday and includes a roundup of business news from around the Fredericksburg region. Send submissions to: [email protected]
