Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 30, 1993 TAG: 9306300144
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The board appropriated $900,000 to buy the land from Dale Teel after meeting in executivesession Monday night.
"This is certainly a very important day for Montgomery County," said County Administrator Betty Thomas.
There are no publicly owned sites ready for development in Montgomery County, and that has hindered the county in its efforts to attract industrial prospects.
The county took an option on the land nearly a year ago, and it was among the final four sites for a fiber-optics cable plant that would have brought 600 news jobs to the New River Valley.
Siecor Inc., however, decided to build its $30 million, 200,000-square-foot facility in an industrial park in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Right now, the site is a big field. There is no water or sewer, and the gravel access road is narrow.
Don Moore, executive director of the county Department of Economic Development, said it will cost roughly $3 million to prepare the site for development.
Much of the money will come from state grants and the rest will be financed through private banks.
In early 1991, the county received a $25,000 Rural Economic Development Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for environmental analyses and soil borings the site.
Moore said additional engineering will begin immediately and that grading of the site will probably start next spring.
Jack Lewis, chairman of the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission, said the site's visibility from Interstate 81 will make it one of the most attractive industrial parks in the state.
"We look forward to the opportunity to assist in planning for this industrial park," he said.
Moore said the site will be marketed to large companies like Siecor as well as smaller companies that need only a few acres.
Economic development officials said it was critical that the county purchase the property because much of the county's terrain is hilly and unsuitable for development.
Jerry Fouse, manager of regional services for the Virginia Department of Economic Development, has been working with the Economic Development Commission in trying to persuade the board to purchase the site.
The county's option on the land would have expired July 14, so the board could not delay the decision much longer.
by CNB