Virginia Beach was surfing on good news Tuesday. Hill Investment Group LLC is expanding in Virginia Beach while two other companies are relocating their corporate headquarters to the resort city.
Taste, a family-owned specialty food retailer with seven locations in Hampton Roads, has purchased a 27,766-square foot, light industrial building that will be used for a corporate headquarters office, catering kitchen and warehouse. Located at 1391 Air Rail Ave., the building is scheduled to open by November. The company’s current office and warehouse is located in Norfolk.
The new location will support the company’s seven locations at Bayville Farms, Hilltop and the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Greenbrier in Chesapeake, City Center in Newport News, Harbour View in Suffolk and Larchmont in Norfolk where the company also operates Borjo Coffeehouse in the Old Dominion University Village. New TASTE locations are planned for 21st Street in Norfolk in the spring of 2017 and at Libbie and Grove in Richmond in the spring of 2018.
“Peter Coe founded our company in Virginia Beach in 1973, so this really feels like coming home again. The new headquarters location offers us much needed room for growth and a location that is central to our existing footprint. We’re excited about all the opportunities this brings for our business and employees,” TASTE President Jon Pruden said in a statement.
The relocation will bring about 40 jobs to the city of Virginia Beach, at least eight of which will be new, including company executives and a culinary staff with a $1.25 million plus payroll.
The Virginia Beach Development Authority has approved a grant in the amount of $85,000 based on the company’s capital investment of $4.1 million that includes real estate, improvements and business property.
The capital investment will allow TASTE to embark on a seven-year growth plan that includes nearly doubling the number of existing store locations, including two more stores in Virginia Beach, doubling company revenues and increasing the company’s total number of employees to nearly 500.
BN Media Associates LLC also is moving its corporate headquarters from Norfolk to Virginia Beach. The company has purchased a 10,056-square-foot building on 1.4 acres at 2037 Laskin Road for $1.8 million. According to a city press release, the company plans to make a capital investment of $553,000 in business property at the new location.
BN Media is a for profit online media company with two divisions. Beliefnet.com, which was acquired from Fox in 2010, is a lifestyle site dedicated to faith and inspiration. Affinity4 is the company’s sales portal for a variety of products such as phone service, gift cards, restaurant and grocery coupons, health products and services and insurance. Affinity4 donates 10 percent of the proceeds back to a customer’s favorite charity or ministry. To date, the company has donated nearly $100 million through its GiveBack Program.
Currently BN Media has more than 40 employees. The expansion will create 15 new positions in Virginia Beach, including management, web and software developers.
The Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority has approved a grant in the amount of $45,000 based on BN Media’s capital investment of $2.3 million in real estate and business property. "BN Media brings very valuable high-tech jobs to the city of Virginia Beach,” Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Warren D. Harris, said in a statement.
Hill Investment Group LLC, established in 2015, has purchased an additional 14,000 square feet of space at 1253 Jensen Drive in Virginia Beach to expand its corporate headquarters. The expansion will allow the company to hire 30 new positions for the two companies that operate at the location, ProLog and Top Ink, LLC.
ProLog, currently has 315 employees and plans to add 20 with the expansion. A nationwide technical services provider, its clients include Naval Station Norfolk, Naval Air Station Oceana and Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Top Ink LLC is a newly formed t-shirt and custom printed apparel company that will create 10 new jobs."We are so pleased to see another small business expand in Virginia Beach,” said Harris. “Small businesses are a significant part of our success in creating new jobs and investment.
The Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority approved a grant in the amount of $20,000 based on Hill Investment’s capital investment of $1.4 million in real estate, furniture and equipment.