Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070113
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Congress set up a $1 million revolving loan fund in the fall of 1992 to help projects that capitalize on the cultural, artistic, historical or natural resources of the 9th District. Southwest Development Financing, a non-profit corporation, manages the fund.
This week, a Farmer's Home Administration grant will increase the loan funds by 50 percent, and Boucher said the increased funding has prompted the loan application process to finally go forward.
Jerry Brown, director of the corporation, said about 100 brochures have been sent out, along with about 25 loan packages to organizations that have expressed interest in the program. In mid-August, he said, the corporation's board will meet to consider applications.
A host of projects from throughout the 23 counties and cities of the district could be eligible for loans of up to $50,000, Boucher said.
Tourism contributes $200 million to Southwest Virginia's economy each year, said Boucher, who mentioned historic revitalization efforts in Narrows and Independence as possible loan-seekers. Other interested parties might be backers of Floyd's Friday Night Jamboree at Cockram's General Store or a Blacksburg group looking to build a creative arts center. The program is not open to hotels, bed-and-breakfasts or restaurants, but is geared to organizations that are in themselves tourist attractions - or could be.
"We look to the corporation to be a leader and a trend-setter," he said, and advised groups to begin applying now. The loans could be used to leverage other means of financing, like bank loans and government grants, he said.
The New River Cruise Co., in its third year offering tours of Claytor Lake and the New River, will apply for $50,000, said its owner, Howard Barrett.
"We could use a lot more than that. One of the hardest things to do is to obtain financing for a new business," Barrett said, especially for novel projects like his. Banks are "more into cows [and] more traditional forms of business."
And while his business has thrived, he said the tourism industry can use any help it can get. "We've got a lot to offer [but] it's pretty hard to attract people here just to take our boat ride."
Barrett said he'd use the money to create a visitors center for tourists near Claytor Lake, a "Made in Virginia" gift shop, and a dry-dock facility.
"Any money that's left we'll put into improvements on our boat," he said.
For more information, call Brown at (703) 783-9474.
by CNB