Reporter's Notebook

Virginia Business
May 2006

Virginia is attracting more interest from outside developers. States that can offer population growth, a strong business foundation and affordable land are in demand, according to Leonard Bayer, director of acquisitions for New York-based Goodstein Development Corp. He was in Richmond recently as the keynote speaker at a luncheon meeting of the Richmond chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women. His company is developing Centennial Towers, a new skyscraper for downtown Richmond, which will include office, retail, a 125-room hotel and luxury condos. “There’s a lot of people watching this area. Bankers are watching. Retailers up and down the East Coast are watching,” says Bayer.

Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell is putting together a statewide task force that will look at easing regulatory burdens on business and government. “Some of the regulations put in place 30 years ago are stagnant and need to be changed in an electronic age,” McDonnell told real estate professionals during a recent luncheon in Richmond. Members of the business community will be appointed to the task force, which McDonnell, who took office in January, hopes to have up and running in 30 to 60 days.

We knew port security was tight, but are large guns really necessary? When two Virginia Business staff members recently arrived at the security check-in at Norfolk International Terminals to take a tour of the Virginia Port Authority’s largest terminal, they were greeted by a desert-camouflaged soldier holding an automatic weapon. Even the VPA spokesman was surprised. Turns out a military branch was only conducting a drill. But the VPA certainly hasn’t been lax on security. After 9/11, the port invested $22 million in police headquarters, surveillance cameras and radiation detectors at the port’s terminals. It’s just that a uniformed police officer normally would have greeted visitors.