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Old Town Alexandria hotel trades hands for $30M, gets new flag
Old Town Alexandria’s Lorien Hotel & Spa has traded hands for $30 million — and is now under a new flag. <\p> Orlando’s Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: XHR) said Tuesday it had sold the 107-key property at 1600 King St. for $30 million, or roughly $280,000 per key. The buyer is LodgeWorks Partners LP, who is placing the property in its Archer Hotel collection and unveiled it as the Archer Hotel Old Town Alexandria on Tuesday. <\p>
Kroger to sell 6 D.C-area Harris Teeter stores. Here's where.
We now know which D.C.-area stores supermarket giant Kroger Co. intends to sell off in a bid to win regulators’ approval for its planned $24.6 billion acquisition of rival Albertsons Cos. Inc.<\p> On Tuesday, Kroger and Albertsons made public the 579 stores they intend to divest as a condition of their deal, disclosing that six are Kroger-owned Harris Teeter stores in Greater Washington. Three are in Northern Virginia, two are in Montgomery County and the other is in Southeast D.C. <\p>
Popular cookie chain headed to D.C.'s Navy Yard area
Philadelphia-based Insomnia Cookies is headed to the Navy Yard area.<\p> The popular cookie and ice cream company has inked a deal for ground floor retail space at West Half, the multifamily building JBG Smith Properties (NYSE: JBGS) developed at 1201 Half St. SE. It will join a mix of retail tenants including Atlas Brew Works, Compass Coffee and Duke’s Grocery.<\p>
Hilton adds hundreds of boutique hotels to its booking system
Nearly 400 high-end properties operating under the Small Luxury Hotels of the World umbrella are now available to take reservations through Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.’s booking system. <\p> McLean-based Hilton announced a deal with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, also known as SLH, in February that would put some of the properties on Hilton’s system and allow Hilton’s rewards program members to earn and redeem points at scores of boutique luxury properties across the globe. Those properties became available on Hilton’s system on Tuesday. <\p>
Emergent to get $50M from J&J to settle Covid vaccine contract dispute
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) is poised to receive $50 million from Johnson & Johnson Inc. (NYSE: JNJ) to resolve a longstanding dispute in which the companies accused each other of breaching their Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing contract.<\p> The Gaithersburg company, which made key ingredients for J&J’s Covid shot, expects Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of the New Jersey pharmaceutical giant, to pay it the $50 million around the end of the month, Emergent reported Monday afternoon in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. <\p>
Upscale health club replaces shuttered 24 Hour Fitness in Tysons
Out with the old, in with the new. <\p> Irvine, California-based Club Studio opened its fourth U.S. location in Tysons on Tuesday, taking over a former 24 Hour Fitness club that shuttered in 2020. <\p>
Bethesda health tech firm acquired by Silicon Valley's SAIGroup
SAIGroup, a prominent Silicon Valley investment firm, has acquired Bethesda health tech platform provider GetWellNetwork Inc., which specializes in creating software tools for hospitals and payers to improve patient engagement and health outcomes.<\p> Michael O’Neil, who founded Get Well in 2000, will remain the company's CEO. Romesh Wadhwani, who founded Palo Alto's SAIGroup and serves as its CEO following several successful startup exits over the years, will take on the role of chairman of Get Well.<\p>
Carlyle Group in talks to purchase health care spinoff
D.C. private equity firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is in talks to acquire a kidney care spinoff of health care giant Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) for more than $4 billion, including debt, according to The Wall Street Journal. <\p> Carlyle and Baxter entered exclusive negotiations last month, according to the report, and a deal could be announced in the coming weeks. There are no guarantees a deal will materialize and another suitor could emerge, according to the report. <\p>
United Airlines joins fray for new DCA flight slots
Another major airline is competing for the recently approved long-haul flight slots at Reagan National Airport.<\p> United Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL) announced Monday it submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking a second daily roundtrip flight between DCA and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Monday was the deadline to submit proposals.<\p>
Virginia satellite company scores big raise ahead of SPAC merger
Lynk Global Inc., a Falls Church satellite company working to provide global mobile phone service from space, has raised more than $67.5 million in funding, according to a Form D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.<\p> The company is vying to raise a total $96 million as part of an offering that marked its first sale on June 11, the filing states. Charles Miller, the company's co-founder and CEO, is the document's sole signatory.<\p>
Former Sport & Health owner strikes settlement over sale proceeds
ClubX, which sold most of its Sport & Health Club locations in 2014, has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle allegations it withheld millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale from its creditors.<\p> But the settlement agreement, filed July 1 and pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria Judge Klinette Kindred, does not include the company’s largest creditor, an affiliate of McLean-based commercial real estate firm Rappaport, which claims it is owed $28 million.<\p>
Another Pennsylvania convenience store chain plans first Va. store
A Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain not called Wawa or Sheetz is entering the Northern Virginia market for the first time, complete with beer cave.<\p> Rutter’s Holdings Inc., out of York, is readying to break ground on its first Virginia store in Winchester. The unusually large, 13,500-square-foot store and gas station will be located at the intersection of Route 50 and Coverstone Drive, just southeast of the Interstate 81 interchange, about 25 miles west of Loudoun County.<\p>
Two government IT contractors shuffle CEOs
Two government IT contractors have new leaders: Capgemini Government Solutions has promoted Dan Ford as CEO, replacing Bill Webner, who is the new CEO of STG Public Sector.<\p> Ford takes the top job after nearly 19 years at the Capgemini subsidiary serving U.S. agencies, the last seven as vice president of national security sector and the federal sector, per a news release. The French technology giant launched the McLean-based unit in 2002. <\p>
Plan advances for 276-home community in Upper Marlboro
Stanley Martin Homes LLC is pursuing county approval to build a townhome community in Upper Marlboro, forming part of a patchwork of sites in the area that are undergoing or envisioned for similar residential development.<\p> The Reston homebuilding giant is the contract purchaser of about 63 acres along the south side of Westphalia Road, a few miles outside the Capital Beltway, where it plans to develop 276 homes — a project dubbed Meadows at Westmore — according to a specific design plan application Prince George's County’s planning agency formally accepted June 24.<\p>
FTC noncompete ban suffers setback
The Federal Trade Commission’s broad noncompete ban suffered a legal setback after a federal judge in Texas ruled against the agency on July 3.<\p> U.S. District Judge Ada E. Brown of the Northern District of Texas, said in a ruling that the agency “lacks substantive rulemaking authority” on the matter and granted a preliminary injunction on the controversial rule that could affect employers in a broad range of industries. <\p>
How Ashburn's Telos is making TSA PreCheck enrollment easier
Ashburn IT company Telos Corp. is on a mission to make TSA PreCheck enrollment a little easier.<\p> Telos (NASDAQ: TLS) has partnered with Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) to establish the Transportation Security Administration's TSA PreCheck enrollment centers in Office Depot and OfficeMax locations across the country — including locations in Chantilly and Annapolis. Enrollment services will also be offered at the Telos' corporate headquarters off Route 7 in Ashburn. <\p>
The National Observer: America's most-on-time airports
Welcome to The National Observer, a roundup of top business news and actionable insights from across The Business Journals network of publications. Today, we're looking at a big change to federal rulemaking that could affect businesses, the hidden costs of owning a home, and federal grants for 12 tech hubs across the U.S. But first, you may want to pack your patience for these routes — they're the most delayed flights in the U.S.<\p> Get more stories like these every day in your inbox by subscribing to The National Observer newsletter.<\p>
Chandra Briggman is leaving Richmond's Activation Capital
Chandra Briggman is exiting her role as president and CEO of Richmond’s Activation Capital. <\p> The independent authority of Virginia that promotes research, commercialization and innovation ecosystem development in the Richmond region said Monday that Briggman is leaving “to pursue new opportunities to build innovation ecosystems and drive economic development.” <\p>
Data-center debate: Booming CRE sector grapples with big questions
The proliferation of data centers across America is helping to power the nation's increasingly digital economy — but for some, it's coming at too high, or too unknown, of a cost.<\p> The data-center boom isn't new, but the rate at which these projects are being planned, proposed and built is quickly escalating. And while data centers once were concentrated in a few key markets, they're now fanning out to metro areas all over the country.<\p>
NATO summit brings road closures, detours to downtown D.C.
Officials from dozens of countries will be in town for this week's NATO summit. Their arrival is necessitating dozens of road closures in downtown D.C., affecting residents, businesses and commuters. <\p> Security perimeters and closures were put in place starting Saturday in preparation for the summit, which takes place Tuesday through Thursday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The changes to traffic and commuter pathways will be in place until Friday. <\p>
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