A Virginia Beach developer is poised to break ground its third high-tech building in northern Suffolk in coming weeks.

Construction on Bridgeway Technology Center III, a 70,000-square-foot facility on Harbour View Boulevard, will be complete by the end of the year, said Gregg Christoffersen, a developer with Continental Properties Corp., during a Wednesday's presentation to the Industrial Development Authority. The company will invest approximately $7.7 million in the single-story building.

Continental also owns Bridgeway Technology Centers I and II, which are home to a growing number of modeling and simulation businesses moving into the northern Suffolk corridor. The company already leases space to Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics, Map Mobile and the U.S. Joint Forces Com-mand.

More than likely, the newest building will also go to a defense-related business, Christoffersen said.

"We have focused on defense industries," he said. "Suffolk is going to establish itself in the next three or four years as the next Orlando."

That Florida city is regarded as the one of the nation's top modeling and simulation centers, he added.

But Continental is talking with a financial services company interested in leasing the entire building, Christoffersen said.

Continental has plans to build at least three other buildings in Bridgeway Technology Park over the next few years, he added.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com