Governor Ralph Northam made multiple announcements on Tuesday with economic impacts on localities across Virginia. View the highlights below:
Governor Northam Announces Grants to Improve Menchville Marina in Newport News, Redevelop Willis Building in Norfolk and Lovett Point in Portsmouth
Governor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that $1 million in grants from the Port Host Communities Revitalization Fund (PHCRF) will help Virginia’s oyster industry by making upgrades to the Menchville Marina in Newport News, revitalize the vacant and obsolete 57,792-square-foot Willis Building in Norfolk, and stimulate the local economy by redeveloping the derelict and abandoned 51-acre Lovett Point property in Portsmouth for industrial use.
“With these three projects, we are making important investments that will help ensure our global economy continues to flow through Hampton Roads,” said Governor Northam. “Transforming poorly functioning and unused structures not only promotes job growth and new opportunities, it will also improve the quality of life for all those who visit, live, and work in these communities.”
The General Assembly allocated $1 million in PHCRF grants for fiscal year 2021 to assist with removing, renovating, or modernizing port-related buildings and facilities in Virginia’s five port host communities, which are the town of Front Royal and the cities of Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development administers the funding, which requires a 100 percent match from public or private sources, leveraging diverse resources for the redevelopment of derelict structures, spurring long-term employment opportunities, and ongoing physical and economic revitalization. Financial barriers often block the timely redevelopment of these structures, which require more than local resources to attract private-sector investment, and this is especially true in distressed commercial corridors. Eligible properties may be redeveloped for any market-driven purpose (including mixed-use), regardless of the original use.
Virginia Selected for $725,000 Lumina Foundation Grant to Advance Equitable College Degree Attainment
Governor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) was awarded a grant of $725,000 from Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation to support efforts to advance equitable postsecondary outcomes across the Commonwealth’s institutions of higher education. This Equity Institutions grant complements a $500,000 Talent, Innovation, and Equity (TIE) Partnership grant that Virginia received from Lumina in 2019.
Governor Northam set a target of increasing educational achievement for students of color by 5 percentage points by 2024 and making Virginia the best-educated state in the nation by 2030 with 70 percent of working-age adults earning a degree or credential.
“This new funding will help Virginia further align our equity agenda with the promising efforts underway at six of our public institutions of higher education,” said Governor Northam. “The disruptive impacts of the pandemic on our education system have exposed an urgent need to address achievement gaps that have long persisted in historically underserved communities. We are grateful for our partnership with Lumina and remain steadfast in our ongoing work to build a more inclusive Commonwealth where every student has equitable access to quality, affordable postsecondary opportunities.”
Governor Northam Announces Vytal Studios to Establish Corporate Headquarters in Richmond, Creating 155 New Jobs
overnor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that Vytal Studios, a technology-based education and training content developer and producer, will invest $6.8 million to relocate its corporate headquarters from Austin, Texas to the City of Richmond. The company will renovate the facility at 1802 Semmes Avenue to include studio space for filming content and office space for development and post-production functions. Virginia successfully competed with Florida and North Carolina for the project, which will create 155 new jobs.
“With one of the largest skilled tech workforces in the nation, Virginia continues to attract creative, forward-thinking businesses like Vytal Studios,” said Governor Northam. “Central Virginia’s strong education system, talent pipeline, and quality of life have helped make our Commonwealth an epicenter of entrepreneurial activity and technology growth. We are thrilled to welcome Vytal Studios to the City of Richmond and thank this innovative company for bringing new jobs and opportunity to our capital city.”
Established in 2018, Vytal Studios is a technology company that builds and delivers custom employee and online training through immersive learning on a proprietary platform. Vytal Studios leverages the power of its state-of-the-art LED Video Wall production, Virtual Studio, combined with Epic Games Unreal Engine technology to create custom learning and development content. Vytal Studios can create any environment or simulation its clients desire to resemble a learner’s work experience and maximize training effectiveness. With a team of learning specialists and best-in-class production managers, Vytal provides everything a company needs to create and deliver high-quality, engaging learning content, from script to finished product.
In addition to content creation, The Vytal App incorporates patented methods and processes to assess the aptitude, attitude, and interest of employees or potential employees for a particular job and then provides training and mentors specifically to their identified needs. Vytal intends to engage the local community and collaborate with Virginia Commonwealth University and local stakeholders to develop an extended reality cluster in Richmond through a nonprofit organization called One Vytal Difference.
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