Warehouse renovation planned near Port of Virginia

World Distribution Services will invest $6.2 million in collaboration with Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners on the project in Virginia Beach.

   World Distribution Services (WDS) announced Thursday it will invest $6.2 million in collaboration with Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners for a warehouse renovation in Virginia Beach, less than 15 miles from the Port of Virginia.
   The renovation, expected to be finished in March 2020, will create 320,000 square feet of warehousing space to fit the needs of retail, manufacturing and food and beverage industries. It will be equipped with high bay racking, 40 dock doors, 20,000 square feet dedicated to food grade space, ESFR sprinklers and remotely monitored security cameras, WDS said.
   The company said it also will create 35 new jobs.
   “With 75 percent of the U.S. population living within a two-day drive of Virginia, and all of the infrastructure improvements happening at the port, we wanted our customers to be able to take full advantage of this strategic gateway to American commerce, said WDS Senior Vice President John Morrow (pictured above) in a statement.
   The Port of Virginia reported this week a 2.4 percent year-over-year first-quarter growth in container volumes despite a 4.8 percent drop in March. The port’s $320 million Virginia International Gateway project is expected to be finished within the next two months, the port said, and construction on the $375 million Norfolk International Terminals project is slated to be completed in September 2020.