Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501260002
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: NRV-29 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Long
It dates back to the 1960s when localities formed the New River Valley Industrial Commission and built the New River Valley Airport in Dublin. The same localities later formed the New River Valley Planning District Commission and the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance.
Is the emphasis now shifting back to rugged individualism? There's some evidence of that.
Exhibit A: Dublin has acquired its own 271-acre industrial park. It already has some industries in the buildings it bought from Burlington Industries. It plans to improve other buildings and upgrade the park.
Exhibit B: Pulaski is forming its own Board of Economic Development, after looking at how much money it was investing in such agencies as the Alliance, the Planning District Commission and airport. Pulaski's officials wondered if they could accomplish more by setting up their own effort.
But the towns also say they want it both ways: they're looking to regionalism, but also to pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Pulaski Town Council looked at funds it has been putting into the Alliance, airport, county Chamber of Commerce and other agencies, and decided to devote at least part of that total to its own economic development effort. Vice Mayor W.H. ``Rocky'' Schrader said that does not mean the town will no longer provide any funds for the other agencies, but will consider their requests along with its own project.
The only agency whose funding will definitely be eliminated is Pulaski's own Main Street program, whose success in attracting downtown businesses inspired the townwide effort. Roscoe Cox, who was the Main Street director, was named to direct the new Board of Economic Development at least for its initial six months in 1995 under interim budgeting.
By then, Pulaski will have its 1995-96 budget ready, and will decide on funding for that board and other agencies.
For Dublin, the case for continued regional cooperation is even more obvious.
The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors and Circuit Judge Colin Gibb approved a boundary adjustment to bring the industrial park into Dublin's corporate limits - nearly doubling the town's size on Jan. 1.
``The cooperation between the county and the town has been just extremely unique,'' Dublin Town Manager Gary Elander said. The county also refers possible tenants to Dublin for its industrial park.
It is as true now as it was when emphasis on regional cooperation started years ago that economic development in one part of the New River Valley benefits all of it.
Another example is a planned county water line to Claytor Lake State Park, which will come through the Dublin's industrial park and provide more utilities there, too. The town is cooperating by helping to secure easements and rights-of-way for the line.
Dublin will own a water line to a 379,000-gallon storage tank which will serve the county's New River Valley Airport Industrial Park under development. The town is also making $25,000 available for this project.
Another cooperative venture is an effort to build roads behind the Dublin Industrial Park and opening a section of county land for further development.
Cooperation has come from other quarters as well. The New River Valley Planning District Commission conducted a study for Dublin on renovating buildings in the industrial park into industrial shell buildings.
The town is applying to the U.S. Economic Development Administration for $460,000 in matching funds to renovate one of the buildings. It could learn by spring or summer if the application has been approved.
The idea is to renovate the first building, rent it to an industry, and then use the proceeds to renovate the next building - and so on.
Dublin has nine former Burlington warehouse buildings in the park, each measuring 10,400 square feet. It also has 1,026 square feet of improved building space.
How the town got its industrial park is, indeed, an example of initiative by a single municipality, although using it has been an example of regional cooperation.
The property was originally part of the Radford arsenal. A guard house from its World War II days can still be seen on one corner of what were busy streets in the 1940s.
Burlington bought the acreage in 1948, and operated a truck terminal there until 1990.
It did not take Dublin Mayor Benny Keister and Town Council long to realize that the Burlington property and the sturdy government buildings on it could become an ideal industrial park. The buildings are on thick cement slab foundations that are in good condition and could handle heavy manufacturing machines. They are equipped with sprinkler systems. Only insulation would have to be added.
``They're shell buildings in the true sense of the word,'' Elander said.
The town began negotiations with Burlington for all or part of the property.
At first, Burlington offered only the entire tract for $7.5 million, far beyond the town's financial means. Dublin officials pressed for a price on part of the acreage instead, with support from such organizations as Pulaski Encouraging Progress and then-Alliance President Taylor Cole.
In 1993, the town was successful, buying 101 acres and 11 buildings in what was Burlington's terminal area for $700,000.
Last year, negotiations began again and Burlington ended up donating most of its remaining property - 170 acres and 359,000 square feet of buildings - to the town. In effect, Dublin negotiated a $7.5 million price for the entire tract down to $700,000.
The town is getting revenue from the property already. Automotive Sun Roof Inc. has occupied Burlington's former terminal for the past year and a half, with about 28 employees supplying trim components and doing interior cab work for nearby Volvo-GM Heavy Truck Corp., one of the county's major industries. ASC recently signed a lease with the town for another year.
The large terminal structure was created by combining two existing buildings on the Burlington property. Elander is quick to point out that other companies could create bigger structures the same way.
Another company serving Volvo already occupied more than 150,000 square feet on the property and has between 75 and 100 employees in the park. D&S Distribution Co. lines up engines, axles, transmissions or whatever has to be produced at Volvo that day to be ready for production.
Dublin rents space to other local companies and suppliers for warehousing. Warner-Lambert, with a plant in the Pulaski County Corporate Center, rents more than 100,000 square feet.
With all that activity going on, Elander hopes that one of the companies now in the park will outgrow its leased facilities and consider constructing a building of its own, perhaps on nearby town property.
Between Interstate 81 and the industrial park, the town owns property that includes about 100 acres of developable land that the town will subdivide.
``One of these companies is bound to outgrow the space, and maybe they'll take one of our parcels,'' Elander said.
by CNB