John Berotti – Whiting Turner
- Whiting Turner won the casino bid in Danville Virginia.?A half billion-dollar job.
- Healthcare is still strong in the market.
- Whiting Turner is currently at about 60 offices and 60 regions around the country.
- They are seeing a continued growth of industrial work around the country.
- Workforce still continues to be a problem.
?Dan Shelton – Whiting Turner
- Still seeing a lot of healthcare work with RFPs are still rolling in.?Higher-ed is starting to rear its head here and there.
- Materials are still an issue especially with electrical.
- It is a lot of the same song, warehousing, distribution?and multifamily is still very strong.
- No real slow down at the moment.
- There is some positive commentary surrounding office.
- Retail and redevelopment world still very strong.
- They are in discussions with a higher-ed institution about some development.
- We are seeing the NET 0 trend rev up.
- Soon the state requirements will be mandatory for providing a compliance path.
?Greg Schmitt – Kimley Horn
- They are seeing a lot of people be cost conscious up front, but no sign of slowdown in doing business.
- They are currently sitting on 10 months of backlog.
- There is a big focus on finding properties to develop multi-family.
- There is a lot of focus currently in Isle of Wright County.?Lot of retail focused development in the Smithfield area.
- Rates are pushing up and local lenders are getting a bit more stringent.
- Things are strong retail and office from the brokerage aspect.?
Ashton Williamson – Colliers
- Market is red hot at the moment.
- Rent has gone up about 42 percent in the last 40 years.
- There is a challenge right now with declining inventory.
- There is a problem right now with appropriate zoning.?Rezoning is becoming an issue as sites are primarily going towards multifamily and retail.
?Steven Wright – City of Chesapeake
- Things are strong in Chesapeake even through COVID, they are having some of their better years.
- Economic Development for the City of Chesapeake is a combination and implementation of strategies that really center around job creation, capital investment and ultimately an improved quality of life for each of our citizens.
- They understand that in Chesapeake it is the economic development revenue that leads to our citizens being able to have great schools, safe communities, etc.
- Chesapeake is the second largest city in the state when it comes to landmass.
- Chesapeake target industries
- Logistics and supply chain management
- Defense and security technologies
- Advanced manufacturing
- Professional business services
- Healthcare technologies and services
- They are a very diverse economy.?There is not one company nor industry that dominates the city.
- They promote themselves as part of Hampton Roads.?But their location is key.?Their position and the roads that surround them allows them to act as a hub for Hampton Roads.
- Strengths for the city of Chesapeake:
- Diverse economy
- Workforce
- Abundant land
- Transportation hub
- Triple A?rated
- Quality of life
- Access to ports
- Product development is one of the most important things done in the City of Chesapeake.?They?have spent the last 6 to 7 years making product and site development important.
