A large industrial building at 615 Bland Blvd. in Newport News has been sold, and the buyer plans upgrades aimed at manufacturing users. The property covers about 27 acres next to Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and dates to 1971. Vitesco Technologies, a division of Continental, formerly operated the facility. The cost of the work, its schedule and any future tenants were not confirmed. An affiliate of Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based real estate investment firm, announced the purchase Sept. 29.
The plans concern how a large industrial site in Newport News could be used in the future. Phoenix said the upgrades would reconfigure the building and improve the grounds so a broad range of manufacturing and light industrial users could occupy it. Light industrial generally refers to smaller-scale production and storage uses. Phoenix’s president said the company intends to invest in the Newport News community and its workers. How many jobs the project could create was not confirmed.
Phoenix pointed to the site’s location, saying it is next to the airport and about one mile from Interstate 64. It said the site is near several military installations, in an area with a large concentration of defense, shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing work. Phoenix said the property also lies in a federal Opportunity Zone, a designation meant to encourage investment. Phoenix said the building has climate control throughout and 16,000 amps of electrical service. It added that the site has groundwater access for cooling and extra land for expansion. It described Newport News as a market with limited large industrial space. City records list the building at 365,956 square feet, while Phoenix cited 378,331 square feet.
Beyond the planned upgrades, city records show three sales of the property. Bendix Corp. bought it in 1970 for $240,000. Siemens-Bendix Automotive Elec LP paid $18,421,000 for it in 1988. Bland Boulevard LLC bought it in 2007 for $22,000,000 and is listed as the current owner. The records show no later sale, and the price of the recent purchase was not confirmed. Tax records show $1,816,188.30 in real estate tax payments from 2021 through 2026. They also show $350,194.07 in stormwater payments. The current assessed value, the city’s valuation for tax purposes, is $28,638,300.
Riverside Health names Dr. Patsy McNeil chief clinical operations officer
Riverside Health, the health system based in Newport News, announced Sept. 30 on its news center page that Dr. Patsy McNeil will become chief clinical operations officer and executive vice president in December 2026. She currently serves as system chief medical officer for Adventist HealthCare. In the new role, she will oversee the acute care division, Riverside Medical Group, quality, information technology and medical education.
Five Riverside Regional emergency nurses win statewide Virginia nursing awards
Riverside Health reported Sept. 23 in its news center that five emergency nurses at Riverside Regional Medical Center, a Newport News hospital, received 2026 Virginia Emergency Nurses Association State Council Awards. The honors cover clinical excellence, leadership, emerging talent, education and lifetime achievement. The nurses will be recognized at the association’s banquet Oct. 15 in Richmond. The hospital’s emergency services senior director, Mary Haigh, is among the recipients.
Newport News Telecom graduates bring TV skills to college sports
Beth Scott of NNPS-TV reports that two recent graduates of the Newport News Public Schools Telecommunications Center are applying their high school television production training in college athletics. Nigel McCallum records the marching band at Norfolk State University, while Cameron Kea films soccer games at Virginia Peninsula Community College through work-study. Both credit the Newport News program for preparing them.
NNPS-TV to air select Newport News high school football live
Beth Scott of NNPS-TV reports that the station is covering select Newport News high school football games live from Todd Stadium, on Cox Channel 47, Verizon Fios Channel 17 and several streaming platforms. The next listed broadcast is Denbigh vs. Menchville on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. NNPS-TV also plans to cover the NNPS Band Expo Oct. 13. Coverage of all five high school teams is not guaranteed.