Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501260003
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: NRV-35 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
County officials are awaiting word about $9 million they're seeking to borrow to develop the Falling Branch Industrial Park.
Most of the site, located southeast of Christiansburg next to Falling Branch Elementary School, was purchased by the county in 1993 for $900,000.
An additional 24-acre tract was added recently to allow access to a new I-81 interchange planned for Alternative 3-A, the proposed Christiansburg-Blacksburg connector roads.
Montgomery County envisions marketing the site to either one large industry or five medium-sized industries located on parcels of 25 acres each. Though initially talked about as a magnet for high-tech businesses, the Falling Branch park is not being marketed for a specific industry.
Officials do say they want industries that offer competitive wages and are environmentally compatible.
Two county entities, the Industrial Development Authority and the Public Service Authority, are pursuing loans to be used to develop the site. They will have to come back before the Board of Supervisors once more for approval before taxpayers would be committed to paying the debt service.
Montgomery County plans to use the money to build roads and make other improvements to the site, which would become the centerpiece of the county's economic development efforts.|
by CNB