Not even a pandemic could put a damper on progress in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Business is booming, with a great new development in Franklin County.
Courtesy of Summit Business Park
Summit Business Park in Franklin County could become a spectacular success.
Mike Bennett’s enthusiasm for the new Summit View Business Park in Franklin County is boundless. The Assistant Franklin County Administrator envisions a powerful surge in new jobs and investment in the rural county. Think $300 million and 2,000 new jobs in the near future. That would be a 20 percent increase in jobs for the county, and many of the jobs are quite good.
Bennett says the park “has already generated $50 million in private investment” in four years. Three companies are in place on the 550 acres between Rocky Mount and Boones Mill. The master plan envisions as many as 13 new companies in the park.
Bennett notes that the park will not only bring in new people, adding to Franklin County’s 56,000 population, but it will keep some of those who commute to work in Roanoke at home. Franklin County—with Smith Mountain Lake at its center—has already generated quite a stir in the housing market with much more demand than houses. The Board of Supervisors is working to accommodate the changes, and the high school is expecting a new career and technology center to create more skilled workers soon.
Business growth was booming across Virginia’s Blue Ridge before COVID, and the pandemic didn’t slow things down. Every few months, we hear news of business expansions, added employees, increased income and other measures. Leading the way in 2021 and 2022 includes:
- Wurth Revcar, 50 jobs, $5 million invested
- Lowe’s Companies, 70 jobs, $11 million invested
- Duie Pyle, 20 jobs, $5 million invested
- Balchem, 5 jobs, $6 million invested
- Munters Group, 200 jobs, $36 million invested
John Hull, Executive Director, Roanoke Regional Partnership, observes that, “The incentive approach followed by governments in our region is very much aimed at addressing the needs of new businesses locating here, and they are customized for every project.
“The most exciting opportunities that differentiate the Valley and the Commonwealth at large is the Virginia Talent Accelerator, which addresses labor needs for new and expanding businesses,” he says. “The program works with partners at the state, regional and local levels to address workforce challenges. It is a major benefit and an answer to a national issue.”
Tommy Miller, Salem’s Director of Economic Development, sees downtown development as continuing to be “a hot spot for our existing retailers and a popular place for residents and visitors to shop and dine. Leadership recognizes the importance of giving downtown attention and ensuring street improvements and programs continue.
“Our staff has seen an increase of inquiries for potential new and unique retailers, ranging from international cuisine to boutique consignments. Main Street west of downtown continues to be a spot for retail franchise establishments. An industrial hot spot is the former GE building, one of the largest available buildings in the state. Salem is eager to find a good permanent user.”
Roanoke County is reimagining some of the Tanglewood Mall area, and former Director of Economic Development Jill Loope says it “likely will continue for several years. Simultaneously, retail operations are experiencing market shifts in demand and consumer preferences. This requires a repositioning for retailers and adjustments to space requirements, storefronts and inventory.”
A good example of this is the T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods co-location and inventory repositioning that occurred at Tanglewood a few years ago. Basically, this means that Tanglewood may look different than what we are historically used to seeing as they continue to adapt to shifting market conditions, consumer demand and retailer preferences. “The elements of the ReImagine 419 Plan at Tanglewood that have been implemented include the 419 widening and safety and multi-modal improvements, including the construction of sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and bicycle lanes,” Loope says. “The construction of the new road adjacent to Chuck E. Cheese will be complete this summer, which will open up new land for development across from Tanglewood.”
Courtesy of Blackwater Resources
The ReImagine 419 Plan at Tanglewood includes new construction for retail storefronts.
Future plans include a considerable re-design of road access and public transportation availability.
Business parks have been important, Loope says. “We announced the new 60,000-square-foot Lowe’s distribution project in February ($11 million investment and 70 new jobs) in Valley TechPark adjacent to the Mack Trucks operation, which completely fills up this park.”
The Center for Research and Technology, says Loope, “continues to generate interest with prospective businesses. A great project underway within the CRT is the AEP Operations Center. The Wood Haven Technology Park is attracting prospective business interest for larger sites, and the Vinton Business Center is also demonstrating recent business interest.”
Loope says attention has been spread around in the county. “Investors are showing strong demand in the Tanglewood/419 area. With five distinctive magisterial districts and 250 square miles of rural and suburban land area, we continually focus on the unique assets of each district. For example, in Vinton much of our work has been geared towards redevelopment projects due to the county’s ownership of multiple buildings within the town limits. We are partnering with Vinton leadership on public and private redevelopment projects. With five public-private partnerships over the past six years, there has been a total of $21 million in taxable new investment and over 129 jobs created from redeveloped properties.”
Marc Nelson, Roanoke’s Director of Economic Development, points to “a number of exciting development projects that are underway or close to starting.” Among them are the Innovation Corridor along South Jefferson Street, which has $15.6 million in state money. The state budget includes $15.6 million for the construction of labs for startup companies, space for existing companies and for the launch of a virtual hub. It is known as the Roanoke Biotech.
He also points to the recent opening of the renovated Liberty Trust Hotel (52 rooms) and the redevelopment of The Roanoke Times building as housing.
Nelson stresses that “the city does not directly incentivize businesses to locate within our borders. Instead, we provide incentives that address key needs like real estate investments and job creation.”
Joyce Waugh, former president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, pronounces the state of business in the area as “very solid. We have that history and we don’t seem to have the highs and lows others have. The recession of ‘08, ‘09, ‘10 hit us, but not as hard and as fast as other parts of Virginia and the U.S.”
“Roanoke’s [business community] got together after the American Viscose plant closed [in 1958] to get people back to work.” The new Roanoke Valley Development Corporation gave 30 acres to General Electric [to build a plant]. Roanoke began a solid comeback. Since COVID, the Small Business Development Center has been busy counseling and advising. “Newer entities, who do a fabulous job, network with SBDC helping people and sending people to them,” says Waugh, who retired in December 2021. “The reach is quite large.”
She believes Roanoke is healthy right now. “I have seen casualties, especially from COVID. People have learned they can do things differently: maybe they don’t need a storefront, or they can use a smaller amount of space. Small businesses have to be innovative.” But, she notes, “Sadly, there will be casualties: hospitality in the past few years has suffered—some recover. But you can’t rely solely on takeout forever. Even with government help, some made it, and some didn’t. There’s never a guarantee. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart.”
Director of the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP) Mary Miller sees a lot of positives from her spot where she works with emerging and new technology companies. “I think it’s waxing, coming out of a time it may have appeared that things were waning.
“The Commonwealth recognizes this region is waxing. There is more understanding than ever of the asset and capability of our region. Roanoke pulls the [I-81] corridor together.”
She believes that Virginia’s Blue Ridge has “to quit being hard on ourselves and to give ourselves time to grow.”
Growth, after all, brings great things, and our region is poised for just that.