The 135,732-square-foot building at 800 Corporate Dr. is the first office property in Virginia to be acquired by JMC, a private entrepreneurial real estate company primarily focused on value-creation opportunities in and around New York City.

“JMC Holdings has been looking to expand its investment portfolio beyond New York. 800 Corporate Drive provided a well-timed opportunity to capitalize on a dynamic market with tremendous tenant demand for Class-A office space,” said Matt Cassin, founder of JMC Holdings, in a prepared statement.

Built in 2012, the office building houses the Stafford Technology & Research Center, a technology focused initiative lead by George Mason University, University of Mary Washington, University of Maryland University College and Germanna Community College.

“The long-term viability of the companies based at 800 Corporate Drive also appealed to us; two of the largest tenants have consistently ranked as top grossing U.S. defense contractors. Cassin said.

QCCS is situated along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1 adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Stafford County.

JMC Holdings was represented by Kameron Zitelli of Berko & Associates throughout the transaction. The Silver Companies, a real estate owner and investment firm based in Fredericksburg, was represented as seller by David Newman, a vice president at Silver Companies, and by Joe Pfahler of Coldwell Banker Elite.

The fund awarded a total of $249,000 to 11 projects covering more than thirty localities to support the growth of agricultural and forestry projects in the Commonwealth for this fiscal year.

The Northern Neck Planning District received $35,000 to help pay part of a proposed $100,000 feasibility study to determine the economic efficiency of using barges to transport logs timbered on the Eastern Shore to Kinsale for milling.

The study will be conducted in two phases, and seeks to address the timber availability problem that Northern Neck sawmills face, and the lack of a robust transportation infrastructure to transport timber into the area.

Fauquier received $6,000 to conduct a study of the county’s farming community’s needs, and to off-set the costs of having the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center conduct an “Impact of Agriculture” study to document the overall economic contribution of agriculture to Fauquier.

The AFID planning grants program was developed to encourage local governments and regional organizations to analyze and plan strategically about how they can support and integrate agriculture and forestry-based industries into their communities’ overall economic development efforts.

The store is currently located between Old Navy and Party City. The smaller, boutique version will be in the former Petite Sophisticates spot, which is between Famous Footwear and Ulta.

“This footprint obviously works in any location: town center, strip center or mall,” said John Mastrianni, vice president of marketing. “It allows us to use smaller square footage location and make the same amount of sales.”

The chain is evaluating its stores as their leases expire to determine if they’ll be switched to the new format, he said. Currently, it has about 16 Sport Zone Elites.

Sports Zone started with one store in Northern Virginia in 1985. It now has 28 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Washington.

Southern California-based Tilly’s will open soon in the space that Sports Zone will vacate, said Rappaport leasing and brokerage representative Shawn M Carrington. She handled the leases for both retailers.

Tilly’s specializes in merchandise from the top players in the surf, skate, motocross and lifestyle apparel industries. It opened its first store in 1982, and now has 175 stores in 30 states.

—Cathy Jett

It will begin at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast and networking, and the workshop will run from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Adult Career Coach Michelle will guide attendees through the career transition process in an interactive session.

She will take them from start to finish—from exploring a variety of career options, to career assessments, to navigating the financial aid application process, to developing a career plan, through to possible internship and job placement.

To register, click here, call 540-373-9400 or email meg@fredericksburgchamber.org.

The fee for those who register in advance is $15 for Chamber members and students, and $30 for everyone else. The fee is $2 extra for those who pay at the door.

Workforce NOW is part of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, and is part of its Workshops for the Workplace Series.

Sponsors for Thursday’s workshop are the University of Richmond’s School of Professional & Continuing Studies, which holds programs at Germanna, and GCC’s Center for Workforce & Community Education.

Workforce NOW will debut a professional development series in October.

A temporary hiring center has opened at 4084 Germanna Highway in Locust Grove.

Applications will be accepted there from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and can also be made online at careers.walmart.com.

The majority of new associates will begin work in May to help prepare the store for its grand opening.

Walmart provides a benefits program to eligible full- and part-time associates.

It includes a variety of health and well-being benefits including health-care coverage with no lifetime maximum.

The discount retailer also offers eligible associates matching 401(k) contributions of up to 6 percent of pay, discounts on general merchandise, an Associate Stock Purchase Program and company-paid life insurance. Additionally, eligible associates receive a quarterly incentive based on store performance.

—Cathy Jett

Unlike a consignment shop, it pays cash for clothing, shoes, jewelry and designer handbags that were selling in stores up to two years ago.

The brands that it seeks include Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Coldwater Creek. And the amount paid is based on the brand name, condition, style and current demand.

It was previously located in Stafford County.

CTS is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education, and offers classes and training in nursing, health and beauty, information technologies and the allied health care professions.

Following the open house, the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold a free Business After Hours networking session from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. To register, email meg@fredericksburgchamber.org, or call 540/373-9400.

The Central Park store is one of 80 underperforming stores that the Minneapolis-based coffee company said on Monday that it will be closing. Another 88 stores will be converted to Peet’s Coffee & Tea sites.

Caribou said it is making the changes after several months of consideration to better position the coffee company for long-term growth, according to the Associated Press.

Manager Katherine Taylor broke the news to her nine-member staff on Saturday. She said that several employees, including herself, were offered transfers to Caribou Coffee locations in Northern Virginia. She said she turned her offer down because it was for a shift supervisor, which would have been a step down for her. She’s planning to go back to college and get a degree in criminal justice.

Going forward, Caribou Coffee will be made up of 468 locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado and 10 international markets.

Caribou was taken private last year by German investment firm Joh. A Benckiser Group GmbH, which also holds a majority stake in Peet’s.

—Staff and wire reports

In celebration, the new Woodbridge store is offering a 50 percent discount through April 7 on Bradley’s iconic colorful and feminine quilted cotton luggage, handbags and accessories

About 40 employees discovered that they were out of a job when they found a sign announcing the closing on the plant’s door, according to the Central Virginian newspaper. Louisa County officials learned of the closure at the same time.

“Despite ramping up to industry-leading production throughput and quality levels in this operation, the business has proved to be unsustainable financially,” President and CEO Scott Deakin said in a prepared statement.

He also thanked “the exceptional team” at Biomass for its dedication over the past few years.

“Despite difficult economic conditions and other factors limiting the ability to realize the full promise of this operation, the Biomass Energy team’s commitment to delivering for our customers has been exemplary,” he said.

Biomass Energy operated in a former lumber yard and chip mill on Fredericks Hall Road. Its customers included hospitals, schools, colleges, manufacturing facilities, commercial properties, and municipal, state and institutional facilities, according to a press release.

It also sold bags of wood pellets in retail stores, for bulk residential and commercial delivery and for industrial co-fire applications.