$1.5 Million Awarded to Begin Phase 2 of Floyd Regional Commerce Center

Floyd, Virginia: The Floyd County Economic Development Authority (EDA) has been awarded $1.5 million in grant funding to begin Phase 2 of the Floyd Regional Commerce Center. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced $1,081,958 in Appalachian Regional Commission grant funds to construct a road and sidewalks into a 51-acre tract that is part of the 169-acre business park. The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission then approved $420,696 in grant funds to extend water, sewer and fiber into the tract as well.

The Floyd Regional Commerce Center is about a half-mile from the Town of Floyd, and one of only a few large tracts in the County served by public water and sewer. The property is adjacent to an Appalachian Power substation with multiple leads and Citizen Telephone’s 200-Gbps open access fiber network. The Floyd Regional Commerce Center is recognized as a Giga-Park due to its extraordinary telecommunications network. Ultimately these 51 acres will net about 27 acres of building sites, though this first step is providing road access and utilities. The property is bordered by a 60+ acre greenway where the EDA anticipates providing a walking trail in the future.

Currently, the County and EDA have only two pre-graded sites remaining available for expanding or relocating businesses. In the past couple years, 5 sites in the Floyd Regional Commerce Center and Floyd County Industrial Park have been sold, leased or built-upon.

“We’ve seen a lot of business growth in the past 4 years in Floyd County—with the number of businesses up 8.5%, the number of people employed within the County up 5.9%, and the average weekly wage up 14%,” said Case Clinger, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “However while we are grateful for recent successes and momentum, we still have a 70% out-commuting rate and among the lowest local wages in Virginia. Clearly we need to continue to work to strengthen and diversity our economy–including supporting local business expansion and targeting right-fit businesses.”

“Developing more sites is a top priority for the EDA, and extending the road and utilities is the first step of that,” said Jon Beegle, Chairman of the EDA. “We are very grateful for the strong support from the Floyd County Board of Supervisors, who provided funding for a preliminary engineering report necessary to pursue the grant funds, and to ARC and the Tobacco Commission.”

Floyd County provides a broad range of support for existing businesses and entrepreneurs. In the past couple of years, the County and EDA have:

Successfully sought $500,000 in Tobacco Commission Research and Development for Hollingsworth & Vose, the largest private employer in the County;

Built the Floyd Innovation Center in the Floyd Regional Commerce Center, now home to 8 small businesses;

Provided many free business development workshops to more than 250 people in the past 3 years—from how to start or grow your business, to how to access R&D funding, to specialty workshops for food, farming and wood-related businesses.

Provided business loans to more than 15 small businesses, and last month received an additional $75,000 from USDA Rural Development to loan to small businesses.

For more information, please contact Lydeana Martin, Community and Economic Development Director for Floyd County at 540 745-9300 or lmartin@floydcova.org.

Lydeana Martin
Community and Economic Development Director
Floyd County
PO Box 218
Floyd, Virginia 24091
www.floydcova.org

Contact me if you’re interested in starting or growing a business in Floyd County

And check out www.yesfloydva.org or www.facebook.com/yesfloydva

Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for a beautiful place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of both worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.

Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.