economic development

Monday Q&A: Best. Year. Ever.

Sabra groundbreaking

Chesterfield Economic Development Director Will Davis describes the county’s wildly successful fiscal 2012.

Local Cuban Americans mixed on Obama gesture

Cuban American business owners and professionals in Richmond are not on the fence about President Obama reaching out to the island that the United States has kept an embargo on almost five decades. They either love the gesture or they hate it. “It’s pretty much anybody over 50 is for the embargo and pretty much anybody under… Read more »

Richmond Marriott gets $14 million makeover

The newly opened Hilton Garden Inn has been getting the headlines as the latest jewel along Broad Street but its downtown neighbor, the Richmond Marriott, is quietly making its own contributions. It is in the midst of a $14 million renovation that will give it a new look from top to bottom and inside and… Read more »

An outsider’s view of Richmond

Last month Richmond received 140 visitors from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The city was selected for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s annual canvassing trip. Julio Melara, president of BusinessReport.com, was on the trip and shared some of his observations on his website. The site is to Baton Rouge as BizSense is to Richmond. Below are a… Read more »

Richmond gets tossed from the Top Ten

Harsh. Forbes’ new list of best metro areas for business and careers is out, and Richmond is ranked 39. That isn’t terrible considering there are 200 cities on the list, but it is quite a tumble from last year’s number seven spot that has been touted by local economic development agencies. Richmond’s descent into the rankings… Read more »

The Monday Q&A: Why a new insurance company chose Richmond

Wales-based auto insurer Admiral announced last week that it was locating its U.S. headquarters in Richmond. The company was founded in 1993 and is third largest insurer in the United Kingdom. Andrew Rose, president and chief executive of Admiral Americas, is a Virginia Tech engineering graduate. Several years ago, he got married and made his… Read more »

Richmond lands headquarters for UK-insurer

UK-based car insurance firm, Admiral, announced plans this week that they have chosen Richmond as headquarters for their newly formed subsidiary Admiral Americas. The company will start doing business across the pond sometime this year. They will hire up to 50 people by the third quarter, and employ as many as 200 by the end of next… Read more »

‘Small businesses really drive the train,’ says mayor-elect

As Mayor-elect Dwight Jones prepares to transition from the pulpit back to public office, Richmond BizSense sat down with him to find out his plans for economic development and fostering business growth. Jones, a Philadelphia native with a deliberate delivery, is no stranger to doing business in Richmond. He chaired the downtown development group Richmond… Read more »