Chesapeake Economic Development Department:
Chesapeake, Virginia – Thinking locally, acting globally

Chesapeake Mayor Dalton Edge’s State of the City address in March of this year set the stage for a year-long celebration based on the City’s global business standing. “City of Nations” salutes Chesapeake’s position as a national leader in attracting foreign business investment. Chesapeake is now home to more than 70 foreign firms from at least 21 countries. More than 35 companies operate their U.S., North American, or corporate headquarters in the City.
In May of this year, the City added another star to its constellation of foreign manufacturers when INIT Innovations in Traffic Systems AG officially opened its North American headquarters. INIT, a leading international supplier of Telematics and electronic fare management systems for public transit, is located at 1420 Kristina Way in Chesapeake’s Greenbrier Business District. The new 26,000-square-foot facility will house sales and manufacturing opera¬tions for both INIT and its primary vendor, Total Quality Assembly LLC.
Foreign business investment in Chesapeake is just part of what makes the City so attractive to U.S. firms as well as small businesses and woman-owned businesses.

Business climate
Chesapeake’s tremendous natural advantages of strategic location and abundant land combine with its strong pro-business leadership to optimize the city’s business environment. The City’s office vacancy rate for 2006 was only 6.8 percent, well below the regional rate of 9.3 percent. Industrial vacancies in the Greenbrier Business District of Chesapeake were almost non-existent for 2006, standing at 1.13 percent (according to the 2006 ODU Real Estate Market Survey).

This exceptional commercial real estate performance has been one of the driving factors in the success of Chesapeake’s Oakbrooke Business & Technology Center during the past year. Oakbrooke, a 115-acre municipally developed business campus, is an extension of the Greenbrier Business District, the largest and most successful mixed-use district in the Hampton Roads MSA. The park’s location near the heart of the largest business district in the MSA, its exceptional access and affordable land prices have combined to make it one of the most dynamic business locations in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
For more information, contact the Chesapeake Economic Development Department at 757.382.8040.