Virginia Beach Economy Booming

[HarryVB]

Virginia Beach was in the spotlight last week.

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced 275 jobs for the city.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke cited the export expertise of Virginia Beach-based SteelMaster Buildings.

And the city's economic development authority issued its annual report, glowing with statistics and accomplishments.

On Tuesday, the governor announced that InMotion Hosting Inc., a provider of web-hosting solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, will invest $250,000 to expand its operations in Virginia Beach, a project that will create up to 275 new jobs.

According to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, in 2009, Virginia businesses exported almost $27 billion in goods and services, and the commonwealth ranks as the 21st largest exporting state in the country.

The Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority reported $50 million in new capital for fiscal year 2010, which ended June 30.

Beach companies created 1,450 new jobs during the year, the authority reported.

That includes 649 new jobs by existing companies and 801 new jobs by new companies.

The new jobs translated into an additional 737,000 square feet of new and existing commercial space in the city.

The authority and the city's economic development department reported that total prospect activity increased by 117 percent and the number of prospects located outside of the metropolitan area more than doubled.

More than 75 percent of the project announcements for the year were within one of the department's target industry sectors, with 20 percent related to the defense sector.

In fiscal year 2010, the authority approved $568,000 of Economic Development Investment Program funds.