SHENANDOAH VALLEY | REGIONAL VIEW FOR THE RECORD


The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton has canceled its fall slate of in-person productions. In an email sent in September offering refund information, the troupe notified ticket holders that it was eliminating the season. Along with the runs of “Macbeth,” “Henry V” and “All’s Well That Ends Well,” and the world premiere of “Keene” by Anchuli Felicia King, it canceled the 2021 Blackfriars Conference, a three-day gathering of classical scholars originally scheduled for October. Company members say the cancellations were caused by internal strife over how the company is run, and its treatment of women and people of color. (The Washington Post)


Peter Denbigh co-founded the Staunton Innovation Hub, a coworking space attracting entrepreneurs.


Inspiration strikes in coworking space by Maria Howard


I


t’s ironic that the Staunton Innovation Hub, a coworking center, opened its larg- est phase amid a global pandemic that sent many workers home, away from shared workspaces.


“The pandemic certainly created its own set of challenges in terms of opening a coworking space,” says Peter Denbigh, who founded the hub with his ex-wife, Alison Denbigh.


The first phase of the Staunton Innovation Hub, about 4,500 square feet on Augusta Street, opened a few years ago. The second phase is about 25,000 square feet located in the News Leader building on Central Avenue. The city newspaper’s offices are still located in the building in a smaller space. The renovated coworking space opened in October 2020 and was largely filled a year later. “We have a verbal commitment on the last remaining space,” Denbigh says. In October 2022, he plans to add another coworking space at the 25,000-square-foot Wetsel Seed building in Harrisonburg.


The pandemic “forced us to react quickly… to really listen to what our members needed,” Denbigh says. The hub’s second phase includes conference equip- ment, a game room and a wellness room for meditation or nursing mothers. The rooftop is available for socializing and networking,


Photo by Norm Shafer


and an outdoor plaza will be completed in early 2022.


The renovation took a “100-year-old build- ing and launched it into the 21st century,” Denbigh says. He’s pleased with the way the space has filled up, especially given that “this is in Staunton in the Shenandoah Valley, not in the middle of Reston or Fairfax.” An entrepreneur, Denbigh co-owns Skyler Innovations, which created the “Watch Ya Mouth” party game that was a top seller on Amazon in 2016. He appreciates the “variety and quantity” of businesses represented at the hub, where nonprofits, CPAs, freelance con- tractors, mental health professionals, lawyers and tech companies can share ideas. Mary Baldwin University’s College of Education also has offices there. Debbie Irwin, executive director of the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, says the space serves as “a physical convening space for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Valley.” Startup companies have access to amenities and get the opportunity to talk to others who are taking risks. “Having an entrepreneur support organization as well as a university and other great subject matter experts in one space really allows entrepreneurs to navigate through the startup process and get the support they need to keep moving forward,” Irwin says. ■


www.VirginiaBusiness.com


Williamsport, Maryland-based developer Elevate Homes has proposed a high-end 74-home subdivision for active seniors in Winchester that would occupy a 28-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and the Emil and Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center. Each house would include a two-car garage and be priced at least $500,000. Taxes from the development, The Preserve at Meadow Branch, are projected to add approximately $425,580 to the city’s coffers each year. A public hearing on the development was set to be held on Oct. 19. (The Winchester Star)


The Shenandoah Community Capital Fund (SCCF) has received $1.5 million in federal grant funding to support innovation in the region, Director Debbie Irwin said on Oct. 7. The fund will use a three-pronged approach to spend the grant money: expanding the Startup Shenandoah Valley program to support entrepreneurs with scalable tech ideas in agriculture, cybersecurity and software from this October to September 2024; creating a digital platform connecting investors, business resource groups and higher education institutions; and centralizing and expanding the storytelling of the valley to draw new businesses. (Daily News-Record)


Italian cured meats manufacturer Veronesi Holding S.p.A., a Gruppo Veronesi company, will invest approximately $100 million to establish its first U.S. production facility in Rockingham County, creating an estimated 150 jobs over the next four years, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Sept. 30. The facility will sit on 75.8 acres in the Innovation Village @ Rockingham and will be used to age, process and package the company’s products. A privately traded company, Veronesi Holding S.p.A. reported more than €3.1 billion in sales in 2020. The company is headquartered in Verona and has 9,000 employees. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


Plastic thermoforming and fabrication company Virginia Industrial Plastics Inc. will invest more than $6.5 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Rockingham County, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Sept. 23. The expansion is expected to add 92 jobs and allow the company to increase capacity for its product lines, Cabinet Savers and VIP Golf Cars. Virginia Industrial Plastics makes products designed to serve markets such as meat processing, leisure, medical, commercial, transportation, industrial, heavy equipment and agriculture. The company’s services include tooling and mold creation using wood, synthetics, composites, or aluminum, thermoforming and vacuum forming, CNC operations, value-add assembly, and just-in-time inventory. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


PEOPLE


Charlie King, the senior vice president of administration and finance for James Madison University for the past 25 years, has announced that he will retire in December. King’s tenure included assisting with capital projects on campus, including building out the school’s East Campus and growing JMU’s athletic programs. In 2019, the university’s endowment grew to $111 million, a 42% increase over the past five years, and JMU’s $200 million fundraising campaign launched in 2018 reached its goal more than a year early. King will work on a temporary, part-time basis with JMU’s government relations staff through the next General Assembly session. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 13


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