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Washington Business Journal
This bank hires only by referrals. It's hiring in Greater Washington.
Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: PNPF) has grown its headcount in Greater Washington by roughly 25% over the past few months, relying on its method of hiring only experienced bankers in markets where it’s seeking to expand.<\p> Pinnacle entered the D.C. market two and a half years ago and has continued to swipe local talent from both larger institutions like Truist and smaller, regional competitors. Now, it’s continuing to do that while also growing its physical footprint and increasing deposits and loans during an especially competitive time for banking relationships.<\p>
Rockville cancer therapy company set to IPO this week
OS Therapies Inc., a Rockville biotech advancing a treatment for a rare cancer plaguing kids, is preparing to go public in an otherwise quiet period for local initial public offerings.<\p> The company, which is deep into clinical trials with an immunotherapy candidate for osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that often affects children and adolescents, intends to launch the IPO by the end of the week, according to CEO Paul Romness. The company is looking to raise as much as $8 million.<\p>
Dulles renews pitch to become nation's next cargo hub
Dulles International Airport Manager Richard Golinowski believes the airport is ready to renew its decade-long effort of becoming the nation's next prominent cargo hub, capable of rivaling such global freight gateways as JFK International in New York and O'Hare International in Chicago.<\p> But in the meticulously planned world of logistics, trying to accomplish this requires Golinowski's team to convince global air freight operators not just that the region can support inbound demand, but that it also can pull in enough cargo to fill outbound aircraft. And businesses need assurance that cargo planes will fly to justify shifting from existing shipping lanes, a high order given the expense and time that goes into identifying these routes in the first place.<\p>
Middleburg couple buys Georgetown storefront to expand pet supply shop
The owners of a Middleburg pet supply store have acquired a Georgetown commercial property formerly home to a clothing boutique, which they plan to convert into their second location.<\p> Tilley’s Pet Supplies, owned by Drew and Mary Robitaille, is expected to open at 3216 O St. NW in September. The Robitailles acquired the property, most recently occupied by Tuckernuck, for $2.35 million in cash. <\p>
Apple Federal Credit Union nears $5B mark with latest merger
Two Fairfax-based credit unions that have been around since the 1950s have agreed to combine.<\p> Apple Federal Credit Union, with $4.4 billion in assets, and $532 million-asset NextMark Credit Union recently announced their intent to merge later this year, with Apple FCU being the surviving institution. Terms weren’t disclosed but the merger agreement is expected to close by November, pending approval from regulators and NextMark's members. <\p>
New operator to replace ShowPlace Icon movie theater in Tysons
The ShowPlace Icon Theatre at The Boro in Tysons has shuttered after a run of a little more than four years, but movie buffs shouldn't be too crestfallen.<\p> Look Dine-in Cinemas has inked a deal to take over the 14-screen, 1,795-seat theater at 1667 Silver Hill Drive, according to a source familiar with the situation who who spoke to the Washington Business Journal on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation. Look put up a new sign Tuesday at theater, which fell silent after ShowPlace showed its last movie Sunday evening.<\p>
Crystal City EV motor startup hits $1M in funding with latest raise
Torev Motors, a startup in Crystal City vying to improve the motors that power electric vehicles, has just crossed the $1 million funding threshold and is now trying to advance its technology by getting it in front of the world's leading automakers. <\p> After initially raising about $350,000 from friends and family, the 2-year-old company recently closed a $650,000 pre-seed funding round led by BetterWay Ventures, a Charleston, South Carolina-based venture capital firm that funds green tech startups. Houston investment firm EcoSphere Ventures, Los Angeles-based Climate Avengers and Alexandria investment firm Intbox Ventures also participated in the pre-seed round.<\p>
Waldorf Astoria in D.C. pulled from auction block
Investors hoping to cast the winning bid for the Waldorf Astoria Washington D.C. will have to wait a bit longer.<\p> Alex Cooper Auctioneers has canceled a planned foreclosure sale that was scheduled to be held Thursday, more than a month after the lender of the debt secured by the leasehold interest on the luxury hotel filed a notice of foreclosure with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. The note had an outstanding balance of $252.7 million at the time of the foreclosure notice.<\p>
Commanders float plan for data centers on portion of Ashburn campus
The Washington Commanders are lining up a possible conversion of at least a portion of the team's Ashburn campus as data centers, though the team emphasized nothing is imminent and it has no plans to leave Loudoun County.<\p> An affiliate of the Commanders, Scoreboard Landco Borrower LLC, filed plans Monday for three data centers across 34 acres, or roughly 20% of its campus just off the Loudoun County Parkway — a site already surrounded on three sides by data centers, and the fourth by Loudoun Water. The purpose of the filing, the team said in a formal statement, “is to secure the option and flexibility for possible future development on our 162-acre site and it is not a plan to take any action in the near future.”<\p>
Foxtrot landlords ask bankruptcy court for help reclaiming D.C. spaces
A pair of Foxtrot’s former landlords have asked a bankruptcy court in Delaware for help in reclaiming their retail spaces in Adams Morgan and Georgetown, a little more than a month after the boutique convenience store chain's parent company and affiliates filed for Chapter 7 liquidation.<\p> Attorneys for developers Richard Levy and Bob Cohen filed a motion Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to lift the automatic stay imposed when Foxtrot Retail DC LLC, the Foxtrot affiliate that signed local leases, filed for Chapter 7 on May 14. In the motion, the lawyers for the landlords note neither has received any rent payments from Foxtrot since the retailer shut down its D.C. area stores.<\p>
Developer puts renovated D.C. mansion on the market for $12M
A Northwest D.C. mansion, recently renovated but never lived in by its current owner, has hit the market for just shy of $12 million.<\p> Franklin Haney Jr., president of the Franklin L. Haney (FLH) Co., a longtime real estate investor and developer with headquarters in Bethesda and Chattanooga, Tennessee, paid $6 million for 4825 Dexter Terrace NW in February 2022, per D.C. records. <\p>
EagleBank rolls out national expatriate banking division
EagleBancorp Inc. has officially rolled out its new business line helping foreign nationals access banking services in the U.S.<\p> The Bethesda bank (NASDAQ: EGBN) announced Tuesday that it has hired longtime New York-area bankers Dan Bostwick and Bob Wallace to lead its new Expatriate Banking Services division. <\p>
TD Bank seeks to relocate Old Town branch to former SunTrust building
TD Bank has indicated it plans to move one of its Alexandria branches from one prominent Old Town location to another.<\p> The Cherry Hill, New Jersey, company wants to move the branch to 515 King St. — the former home of a SunTrust branch — from nearby 119 S. Washington St., according to an application filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last month. <\p>
Major landlords targeted by class-action lawsuits over pricing
Several major apartment landlords from across the country are under fire over rental rates — allegations that have spawned a wave of class-action lawsuits and garnered the attention of state and federal authorities. <\p> The lawsuits have high-stakes for the apartment market and beyond, with potential to shape how pricing software could be utilized in multiple industries. <\p>
Foreclosure affidavit filed on $84M D.C. office buildling
Another high-profile D.C. office building may be headed to the foreclosure block, this one a block-and-a-half off K Street NW in the heart of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District.<\p> A foreclosure affidavit was recorded Monday with D.C.'s Recorder of Deeds for 1129 20th St. NW, a 176,017-square-foot, 10-story property known as the Liberty Building. The building's owner is an affiliate of D.C.'s Monument Realty and Ares Management, a joint venture that acquired the property for $84.8 million in December 2020.<\p>
Tina Leone parts ways with the Ballston BID
Ballston Business Improvement District CEO Tina Leone is parting ways with the organization she led since it was created 12 years. <\p> The BID announced the change Monday morning, saying it had named Cassandra Hanley interim CEO. The move is effective July 1. <\p>
Missing middle measure moves forward in Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Planning Board officially endorsed the missing middle Thursday, recommending approval of a zoning framework to allow duplexes, triplexes and other types of housing in traditionally single-family neighborhoods. <\p> The measure, approved 5-0, now moves to the Montgomery County Council for consideration. The council’s Planning, Housing and Parks Committee is schedule to take it up June 24, with work sessions slated for the summer.<\p>
Arlington cybersecurity firm acquired by private-equity backed rival
Another D.C.-area cybersecurity firm has been acquired by a private-equity backed competitor.<\p> Clango, an Arlington company founded in 1993, has been merged into MajorKey Technologies, a Chicago-based portfolio company of Fulton, Maryland, private equity firm The Acacia Group. The merger creates a cybersecurity and identity-management company with more than 200 employees serving both government agencies and private-sector clients.<\p>
Homeowners continue to build equity, impacting future buying decisions
American homeowners continue to build significant equity even as the housing market has slowed and home prices aren't rising as rapidly as they did in recent years.<\p> U.S. homeowners with a mortgage pulled in $28,000 in equity gains on average year over year in the first quarter, the highest amount since late 2022, according to CoreLogic Inc. That average year-over-year increase of 9.6% translates to a collective gain of $1.5 trillion and means net homeowner equity totaled more than $17 trillion at the end of Q1.<\p>
Tegna CEO stepping down this summer. Here's his successor.
Tysons media company Tegna Inc. said Monday morning that David Lougee will retire from his role as president and CEO after seven years and become a senior adviser.<\p> The company (NYSE: TGNA) has tapped longtime industry executive Michael Steib to replace him, effective Aug. 12. <\p>
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