Welcome back to Danville Field Notes, where I report on news bits and bobs around Southside Virginia. You can look for this column every Monday to read about what’s going on, what’s coming up and what just happened in the region.
Today, we’ve got the kickoff of a revitalization project in the River District that’s temporarily changing traffic patterns, an opportunity for small local businesses to earn state certifications and an upcoming vote on funding for a new substation.
Every week I struggle to pick just a handful of things to include in this column — there’s so much news throughout the Danville-Pittsylvania region. If there are things you’d like to see me write about, you can reach me at grace@cardinalnews.org.
Construction begins on Masonic Temple revitalization, changing traffic patterns
Construction to transform the Masonic Temple in Danville’s River District into a hotel began work last week, changing nearby traffic patterns.
Until the project is finished, the existing parking lane on the west side of South Union Street, across from the Masonic Temple building, will be used as a traffic lane, according to a July 14 news release from the city. The release did not include an overall timeline for the project.
A limited number of parking spaces near the Bee Hotel on South Union Street will still be available.
“Motorists are encouraged to slow down, follow posted traffic control devices and use extra caution,” the release said. “Minor delays should be expected as drivers adjust to the new traffic pattern.”
The Masonic Temple, which was built in the 1920s, was the city’s first skyscraper at 11 stories, according to former Danville Historical Society archivists.
The building is listed as a project on the website of Cornerstone Hospitality, a hotel consulting and hospitality management company with experience in historic and boutique hotels.
The hotel will offer 80 rooms, restaurants and a ballroom on the ninth floor overlooking the Dan River, according to the website. It will be part of the Marriott Tribute Portfolio, a collection of independent boutique hotels.
In addition to its time as a Masonic Temple, the building has also been used as office space and once housed a restaurant called Yesterday’s.
Lynchburg-based English Construction began work on the project last week, the release said.
Opportunities for small, women- or minority-owned businesses in Danville
Workshops over the next five months will provide certifications for small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses in Danville to give them better opportunities for working as vendors with the city.
The Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity’s SWaM certifications are intended to expand opportunities, increase visibility and strengthen credibility for these businesses.
Free workshops hosted by Danville’s purchasing division will provide local businesses with information about SWaM certification, vendor applications and business license registration.
The first workshop is scheduled for Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Danville Paint and Supply at 874 Cahill Court.
The city has over 10,000 vendors, but not many of them are SWaM certified, Mark Aron, who leads River City TV, the city’s government-educational access channel, said in a Facebook video last week.
“If you want to get on the vendor list for the city of Danville, and you never really knew how to do that, this is a great opportunity,” Aron said.
Aron introduced Trevor Owen, the purchasing department’s new vendor outreach coordinator.
“Anyone who is a current business owner or a potential business owner, we would like to see you get SWaM certified, and we’d also like to see you get signed up as a vendor with the city,” Owen said in the video.
The workshop on Tuesday will be an introduction to the SWaM certification process, he said. Other workshops will follow over the next five months.
To find out more, call Owen at 434-799-6528.
Danville City Council expected to approve funding for substation at former Morgan Olson building
At its Tuesday evening meeting, the Danville City Council is expected to approve a budget amendment that would allocate $8 million toward a substation construction project at the former Morgan Olson site.
In April, the city council approved an electric services agreement for a large electric consumer at the former Morgan Olson facility, according to the staff report in the meeting’s agenda packet.
The “large electric consumer” is not named in the staff report.
In 2019, then-Gov. Ralph Northam announced that Morgan Olson, which manufactures walk-in delivery vans, would occupy the Pittsylvania facility that had been vacated by Ikea only months before.
The building, in the Cane Creek Centre industrial park just outside of the Danville city limits, housed Morgan Olson for several years before the company began to lay off employees around 2023.
In March, an investment buyer purchased the 927,500-square-foot building, according to a news release from real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.
The release said that the buyer “intends to lease the facility to an operating tenant, positioning the asset to support future job creation and continued economic investment in Southern Virginia.” It did not name a purchase price.
City staff recommends that the city council adopt this budget appropriation, which would reallocate unassigned dollars from the city’s electric fund, the staff report said.
“Construction of this substation will support the associated load growth and increased electric demand,” the report said. “The resulting increase in electric sales and revenue will help mitigate inflationary cost pressures that would otherwise be passed on to customers through future rate adjustments.”
