Amazon, Rolls-Royce, 'Lincoln' give region a big boost

Renee Chapline's voice rose with excitement. "It's like the stars have become aligned," says Chapline, executive director of Virginia's Gateway Region (VGR).

Think Amazon, think Rolls-Royce, think the sprawling military base of Fort Lee, think a fast track to Virginia ports, think hummus and Steven Spielberg.

Chapline has been thinking about all those things during the past year, as a wave of capital investment - and a pinch of Hollywood pixie dust - has boosted opportunity across much of the region she represents.

Virginia's Gateway Region is an economic development entity that promotes industry and enterprise across multiple jurisdictions in an area that generally begins south of the James River near Richmond.

Chapline says recent development activity is energizing the region - more so in some areas than others, but helping to raise all boats.

The region stretches from Chesterfield County through the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg into Dinwiddie and Prince George counties, and then even further into far-reaching rural areas such as Surry and Sussex counties.

Chapline says she never could have forecast the progress the region was going to make when she came aboard in 2005 to take a leadership role in economic development.

The exclamation points in her list of economic wins include:

• The explosive growth of the Fort Lee Army base, adjoining Prince George and Petersburg, and its whale-size $2.4 billion contribution to the area's economy;
• The construction of two mammoth Amazon distribution centers in the region within the past year, one in Chesterfield and the other in Dinwiddie;
• The establishment of a 1,000-acre Rolls-Royce aerospace campus in Prince George, and the recent announcements that the company is going to build a second manufacturing plant on the site;
• The opening of a research center for advanced manufacturing, also in Prince George;
• A proposal to fast-track construction of a new U.S. 460 toll road that would open a high-speed connection with Hampton Roads for the entire region;
• Steven Spielberg's movie "Lincoln," that has focused national attention on Petersburg, whose old mansions and vacant commercial buildings have been receiving renewed interest from preservationists and developers.

"It's unlike anything we've ever seen," Chapline said, speaking of the region's sudden momentum.