REGIONAL VIEW northern virginia
Springfield complex creates venues for a variety of sports by Joan Tupponce
M
ore than 7,000 people, includ- ing Alex Ovechkin, captain of the NHL champion
Washington Capitals, turned out for the September grand opening of The St. James in Springfield. The turnout bodes well for the 450,000-square-foot sports and wellness complex, which expects to employ more than 300 people during its first year. The 20-acre campus is the first proj- ect of co-founders Kendrick Ashton and Craig Dixon. They plan to open a similar complex in the Chicago suburbs in 2021. “We are actively pursuing expansion across the country,” says Dixon. The cost of the Springfield complex
wasn’t disclosed. Its financial backers include Cain Internation al, a real estate investment firm. The St. James was inspired by child-
hood experiences of Ashton and Dixon who were involved in a variety of sports. “We had a clear recollection of times in the car just trying to get from place to place,” Dixon says.
The founders wanted to create a des- tination that would consolidate a number of sports venues. “We started working on the idea in earnest in 2013,” says Ashton “We tried to approach the business in a very analytical way.”
FOR THE RECORD
Nearly 10 months after learning that Amazon was searching for a new location for its second head- quarters, a geographical website has predicted that the best location would be in Oatlands in Loudoun County. Reasons for Loudoun County’s selection included its proximity to Wash- ington and location in a politically friendly state. (WUSA9)
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Assisted Living Locators has launched a franchise in Fredericksburg. Franchise owners Eunice and Kwesi Thompson offer seniors and their families advice at no cost on short- and long-term care options, including in-home care, independent living, assisted living, memory care and retire-
They decided the Northern Virginia
area was an “extraordinary market to build a destination based on people passionate about being active,” Ashton says. “There was a lack of supply of comparable offerings in the region. The cherry on top was the fact that Craig and I grew up in this region. We have deep and broad networks here that would help us be successful.” St. James’ facilities range from
two ice rinks to a 10,000-square-foot gymnastics center, a soccer field, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a
ment apartments throughout the greater Fredericksburg and central Virginia area. The fran- chise generates revenue from the referral fees paid by the facilities. (The Free Lance-Star)
Health-care information technol- ogy company Cerner Corp. will locate in the same Arlington building as Nestlé and its subsidiary, Gerber. North Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner will lease 38,075 square feet of space at 1812 N. Moore St. in the Rosslyn area of Arlington. This will be the company’s first Virginia office. The company did not provide a timeline or number of employees that will occupy the space. (Vir-
giniaBusiness.com)
McLean-based GTT Com- munications Inc., a major
14 NOVEMBER 2018
cloud networking provider, has acquired Access Point, a North Carolina-based communication services company. GTT paid $40 million in the Access Point acqui- sition. That amount includes $35 million in cash and 115,194 GTT shares valued at $5 million. GTT said Access Point, which has its headquarters in Cary, N.C., brings a roster of strategic U.S. clients, improving GTT’s presence in a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing and energy. GTT also said Access Point’s broadband, internet and voice capabilities would enhance GTT’s market position in cloud network- ing. (
VirginiaBusiness.com)
Solar power generation is coming to Culpeper. The county’s Board of Supervisors approved a con- ditional use permit request from
With the opening of The St. James in Springfi eld, its owners are making plans for a second sports complex in the Chicago suburbs.
50,000-square-foot health club. An active-entertainment center has a 6,000-square-foot water park that opened in September. Opening in November are a 25,000-square-foot area housing obstacle courses, virtual-reality studios and party rooms plus a retail area with a restaurant and café. The company’s health-care partner,
MedStar, is scheduled to open an on-site health and sports medicine center next spring. “We think we have something for everybody,” Ashton says.
Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources to operate a utility scale solar farm on up to 1,000 acres near Stevensburg. NextEra, which bills itself as the world’s largest generator of renewable energy, recently acquired the project from Texas-based Greenwood Energy. (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
Its completion is five years away at the earliest, but planning efforts continue for construction of a new Virginia Railway Express station in Crystal City. Despite the progress, “We have a long way to go,” acknowledged Sonali Soneji, VRE’s planning program admin- istrator, in September. There is no funding yet identified to construct the station, but planning dollars are in hand and the concept design has been completed. The
existing Crystal City platform is 400 feet long and serves one track. Officials aim to provide a two-track facility (with boarding in the middle) with longer platforms to handle 10-car trains, up from a maximum of eight cars today. (Inside NOVA)
PEOPLE
Darren Conner has been promoted to president of Dewberry Engineers Inc., the Fairfax-based firm’s engineer- ing practice. He previously was president of the firm’s southeast division, directing approximately 500 people in 24 offices. Conner succeeds Dan M. Pleasant in the new role. Pleasant will continue as chief operating officer of Dewberry. (
VirginiaBusiness.com)
Photo courtesy The Pinkston Group
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