A new cable manufacturing facility is coming to Chesapeake, Virginia, and you won’t be able to miss it.
The building is slated to reach around 700 feet off the ground. It will be the tallest building between Charlotte and Philadelphia. For reference, the Washington Monument is about 550 feet tall. The Westin at Town Center in Virginia Beach, currently Virginia’s tallest building, is 508 feet tall. Its function? To build the cables that run under the bottom of the ocean to service the offshore wind industry.
LS GreenLink USA is building the facility. LS GreenLink is a subsidiary of LS Cable & System of South Korea. They have multiple facilities in the United States. The plant in Chesapeake will construct undersea cables for offshore wind projects. Patrick Shim, the Managing Director for LS GreenLink, explained why the building has to be so tall. LS GreenLink uses gravity to make miles of cable at once. Gravity naturally pushes material down and makes tighter cables.
Governor Glenn Youngkin said, “LS GreenLink’s investment in Virginia will showcase the Commonwealth as a leader in offshore wind industry manufacturing. LS GreenLink has recognized that Virginia has the skilled talent, world-class logistics location, and business environment that will allow it to serve its growing global customers for submarine power cables.”
The Chesapeake location competed with 15 other locations for the factory, one of which was in nearby Norfolk. Chesapeake won for a variety of reasons. The Chesapeake Property was for sale, and LS GreenLink wanted to own the property. The site is on the Elizabeth River, near Paradise Creek. The building may literally cast a shadow on neighboring properties. In addition, LS GreenLink received $13.2 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and $100 million in tax credits from the federal Inflation Reduction Act. The facility will cover 750,000 square feet and should offer over 300 full-time jobs.
It is not known if the height of the building will pose problems for aircraft. Helicopters from Navy Base Norfolk routinely fly up and down the Elizabeth River. The route is frequented by Coast Guard aircraft coming in from Elizabeth City. Chesapeake Bay Magazine reached out to the Navy public affairs office for comment, but has not yet received a response.
LS Cable and System develop and provide cable solutions for power grids and communication networks around the world. They have over 6,450 employees and 35 subsidiaries in 17 countries. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Chesapeake, the Hampton Roads
Alliance, and the Virginia Maritime Association to secure the project for Virginia. The company is eligible to receive state benefits from The Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.
