NextEra promises new Richmond office tower if merger with Dominion goes through
NextEra promises new Richmond office tower if merger with Dominion goes through
Making a new pitch that its proposed energy mega-merger would be good for Virginia, Florida-based NextEra Energy said it plans to build a new office tower in downtown Richmond if its pending acquisition of Dominion Energy goes through.
In a joint news release Monday, the two companies said the merger would come with a “Virginia-first” benefits package, including 1,000 new jobs.
The proposed office tower would be built at shareholder expense beside the existing Dominion headquarters downtown, the release said.
“The new Richmond presence would support work in renewable energy development and supply chain management, battery storage operations, nuclear and small modular reactor innovation, enterprise technology and cybersecurity, among others,” the announcement said.
The companies also said there would be stronger protections for existing Dominion employees in the Richmond area, saying current headcount will be maintained for five years. The new office tower could support 600 new NextEra jobs, as well as existing Dominion jobs, according to the announcement.
Dominion owns a large vacant lot downtown at 700 E. Canal St., where a former office building was torn down in 2020. The block is currently fenced off and unused.
The company’s original plans envisioned a possible second building on the site, with a skybridge connector to the other tower, but those plans were scrapped during COVID.
In addition to the proposed building in Richmond, the company would also maintain a Florida headquarters in Juno Beach.
In a news release, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula called the news “encouraging” and reiterated the Richmond impacts are exactly why the city has opted to formally participate in the State Corporation Commission’s review of the merger.
“If delivered on, these are important potential next steps — a new downtown tower, a commitment to preserve jobs and add new jobs here, large investments in the workforce development pipeline and a greater rebate commitment to the residential ratepayers of Virginia,” Avula said. “Ratepayers, especially vulnerable ratepayers, our local workforce and our capital city need to be represented in the process.”
Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org. Dominion Energy is a sponsor of The Richmonder but was not allowed to review or influence this story.
