VIRGINIA BEACH — With gold augers in hand, leaders of Stihl Inc. held a groundbreaking on Thursday for a new phase of its campus in Virginia Beach.
The more than $25 million dollar project will include an 80,000-square-foot administration building, a new entry guard house, a new museum, as well as a new demonstration and training area.
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Bjoern Fischer, Stihl’s president, spoke briefly at the ceremony on the 150-acre Stihl campus off Lynnhaven Road. Fischer said the Stihl “campus is not very ideal” and that the new construction phase is meant to use the land more efficiently. No new employment opportunities were announced as a result of the new construction.
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms took part in the groundbreaking and said he was “so proud to have your company headquartered in our city. If you ever need anything at all, please ask.”
The Virginia Beach Development Authority awarded the company an Economic Development Investment Program grant of $500,000 based on an original $20 million capital investment in the administration facility.
Over the last 20 years, Virginia Beach has awarded Stihl $1.41 million in grants, which has leveraged more than $167.6 million in new capital investment, according to a company representative.
Stihl moved its U.S. headquarters to Virginia Beach, and the new administrative building will replace the one built in 1978. The company employs more than 1,800 people in Virginia Beach, with an annual revenue of more than $1 billion.
