Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 26, 1992 TAG: 9201270181
SECTION: NEW RIVER VALLEY ECONOMY PAGE: 35 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MUNICIPALLY OWNED PARKS HAVE THE EDGE
An industry looking for an industrial park in Montgomery County has its pick of seven. Other localities in the New River Valley each have one to offer.But variety may not be the spice of life as far as business locations are concerned. For only two of the seven Montgomery County parks are owned by local governments, the county and Blacksburg.
Radford and the counties of Pulaski, Giles and Floyd also each own an industrial park.
And in the grant-driven world of economic development, government-owned industrial parks have a big advantage over private parks.
In Montgomery County, fewer than 35 acres are available in the two publicly owned parks, while nearly 200 acres are available in privately owned parks.
"We are in very grave need of [another] publicly owned industrial park so we can use state and federal funding," said Don Moore, the economic development coordinator for Montgomery County.
"Developing that land would be much less costly, if there was any cost at all," Moore said. "A publicly owned industrial site would allow us to be more competitive."
Jack Via - whose Highway Contractors, Inc. has developed a 53-acre privately owned industrial park in Christiansburg - said the county Board of Supervisors didn't push for industrial parks, "so it was open for individuals with an eye for development to do it."
Radford has 37 acres and Pulaski County has about 50 acres of publicly owned land available for development.
Even Floyd County, which has just 12 acres remaining in its industrial park, has more public land because of its 25-acre site at the old Camp 5 state prison.
Only Giles County, which has just 19 acres in its industrial park, has less publicly owned land for industrial sites.
"Companies don't even want to talk to you unless you have [an industrial park]," Giles County Administrator Ken Weaver said. "They want to know there is a site they can look at."
Pulaski County's park has generated about 360 jobs in 14 companies. Floyd County's park helped attract Hollingsworth & Vose Co., manufacturer of industrial papers and woven fabrics. It is one of the county's largest employers, providing more than 100 jobs.
And Radford's park helped attract notebook-maker P.A. Plymouth Inc. late last year. The company moved its operations from Bellmawr, N.J., and is expected to create up to 125 jobs.
"It's very doubtful [Plymouth would have moved to Radford] if we didn't have the industrial park," said Jill Barr, Radford's economic development director. Giles County is trying to lure Rene, a Canadian company that makes hoods for heavy trucks. One of county's primary selling points has been its industrial park.
Of course, not all of the new development has occured in publicly owned industrial parks. Ames Textiles moved into the 115-acre Christiansburg Industrial Park, owned by two non-profit corporations, in the late 1980s.
However, that is the exception. Privately owned industrial parks like those in Montgomery County often find themselves in a non-competitive position because they don't qualify for grants.
"We've been somewhat handicapped by the lack of funds to really develop it," said William McGhee, president of the Montgomery County Development Corp. and the Christiansburg Industrial Corp. "We need money for roads, to spruce up the entrance, for water and sewer . . . "