Business development in Virginia received a shot in the arm Friday with the announcement of tens of millions of dollars in new state grants to help evaluate and improve large industrial sites.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that $40 million from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program will go toward development in 13 Virginia localities and fund a new program to speed up such work at other sites.
The Virginia Business Ready Sites Program assists localities with figuring out how well a large site, typically located in an industrial park, is prepared for a new business to move in or an existing one to expand. It also pays for infrastructure such as roads, sewer and water lines to make sites more attractive to companies.
Of the 13 sites selected for the latest round of grants, seven are in Central, Southside and Southwest Virginia, specifically in the city of Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Campbell, Giles, Henry, Pittsylvania and Smyth. They will receive $12.2 million combined.
Also receiving grants are Albemarle County, $9.7 million; Augusta County, $500,000; Chesapeake, $500,000; Chesterfield County, $10.5 million; Henrico County, $1 million; and Waynesboro, $1.5 million.
All together, the direct site grants total $35.9 million. Another $4.1 million will go to “accelerated site characterization,” which Youngkin’s office described as “a new initiative to fast-track due diligence on newly identified, high-potential sites to grow Virginia’s pipeline of ready sites.”
“Business-ready sites are instrumental to Virginia’s ability to compete and win economic development projects and create great new jobs for Virginians,” Youngkin said in a news release.
The round of grants announced Friday follows $126 million announced through the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program a year ago.
The program is administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership in partnership with local governments, utilities and other state agencies.
It focuses on industrial sites of at least 50 contiguous, developable acres, or sites of at least 25 acres if the site’s home locality is 35 square miles or smaller.
Lynchburg
Lynchburg will get $4 million toward site preparation and infrastructure for two sites in the Ivy Creek Innovation Park in the western part of the city.
One of the two sites has 28 acres of developable land with potential for a 600,000-square-foot building, while the other has approximately 5 acres of developable land with potential for a 50,000-square-foot building.
The 473-acre business park already is home to companies including the nuclear industry firm BWX Technologies and Frito-Lay. It also has a public park with a 6-acre lake.
Marjette Upshur, Lynchburg’s director of economic development and tourism, said in a statement that the $4 million grant “is a major milestone in positioning the City of Lynchburg for high-impact, future-focused growth.”
“Ivy Creek Innovation Park represents the next chapter in our city’s industrial development — one that will attract advanced manufacturing and engineering firms while creating high-quality jobs for our community,” Upshur said.
Giles County
Giles County will get $3.3 million for roads, water, sewer and other work related to a 21-acre pad that is one of six parts of the 130-acre Wheatland EcoPark in Pembroke.
Once completed, the pad will be one of the largest “shovel ready” sites in Southwest Virginia, said County Administrator Chris McKlarney.
The EcoPark is already home to NanoSonic, which designs and manufactures new synthetic materials.
McKlarney thanked Youngkin, the VEDP, Del. Jason Ballard, R-Giles County, and Sen. Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell County, for their help in securing the grant.
“Local governments simply can no longer individually afford the cost of providing sites and buildings,” McKlarney said in an email. “In today’s rapidly changing economic landscape, business and industry cannot wait for the long and arduous permitting and construction process. For States and Counties to be viable locations for economic growth, they must have finished product available.”
Pittsylvania County
Pittsylvania County will receive $1.5 million toward work at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill.
At 3,528 acres, the megasite is the largest industrial site in Virginia and one of the largest in the Southeastern U.S.
Late last year, officials announced that Tennessee-based Microporous, which makes components for electric vehicle batteries, would invest $1.3 billion and create 2,000 jobs there.
Pittsylvania County officials did not respond Friday to a request for more information about the grant.
Smyth County
In Smyth County, $1.5 million will go toward the former General Shale brick plant property in Atkins.
The plant shut down in 2016. The 88,000-square-foot building sits on 303 acres.
Smyth County Economic Development Director Kendra Hayden said the money will support due diligence, master planning, traffic analysis and infrastructure assessments, which are “key steps in unlocking the site’s full potential.”
“These efforts will significantly advance the site’s readiness and appeal to job-creating industries that fuel regional economic growth,” Hayden said in an email. “Additionally, the funds will support the demolition of aging structures that once served the brick plant but now pose obstacles to future development.”
Amherst County
Amherst County will get $850,000 to put toward buying 545 acres of privately owned land in the county’s Elon area, between the James River and Virginia 130. The land is often called the Dillard site or the Dillard tract.
Victoria Hanson, director of the Amherst County Economic Development Authority, said the final purchase price will be made public once the deal closes.
“Today’s grant award represents a critical milestone toward achieving full public ownership of the site,” Hanson said in an email. “This funding will help ensure the Dillard Site is truly project-ready — giving Amherst County a competitive edge in attracting high-impact economic development projects and creating new jobs in our community.”
Henry County
Henry County will receive $750,000 for the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre.
The 300-acre-plus business park is near the Virginia-North Carolina border. It’s home to Press Glass, which makes glass structures for architectural projects, and Crown Holdings, which makes drink cans.
The grant money will go toward site design, road improvement plans and water and sewer improvements for a 118-acre portion of the business park, said Mark Heath, president and CEO of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation. 
Campbell County
Campbell County will receive $300,000 to perform planning work for a 136-acre parcel in the Seneca Commerce Park off U.S. 29 near U.S. 460.
The parcel was recently rezoned for industrial use. The county is pursuing other grants to extend water and sewer lines to there and other sites in the same park.
Seneca Commerce Park’s current occupants include the telecommunications firm Shentel and Ceramic Tubing Products.
Officials broke ground on a 100,000-square-foot industrial building at Seneca Commerce Park in April and a 45,000-square-foot building in May.
“The County is grateful for this allocation in the Virginia Business Ready Sites program and appreciates the consideration of the project review and site investment committees who believe there is opportunity for larger site development in Campbell County. We look forward to beginning this project later this year,” Nina Rezai, Campbell County’s director of economic development, said via email.
