Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507170051
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
The grant will help transform a 10,400-square-foot building in the Dublin Industrial Park into a facility that can accommodate manufacturing jobs, said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon..
The town will add $184,000 of its own money to the project.
"It's nice to see a dream come true," Mayor Benny Keister told nearly 40 people gathered at the Dublin Middle School for the announcement.
The warehouse renovation is the most recent effort in the seven years it's taken to acquire the acreage for the industrial park, add it to the town under an annexation agreement with Pulaski County, and develop it.
The 270 acres belonged to Burlington Industries until the town negotiated the purchase of part of the land and buildings and the donation of the rest.
Town Manager Gary Elander said 15 companies have 200 employees doing warehousing, shipping, receiving and other work in the park.
If a company buys the renovated warehouse, the proceeds from the sale would go into a pool of funds to renovate additional buildings for more industry.
Another warehouse building may become the nucleus for a new Dublin Post Office, which would be moved from a cramped site in downtown Dublin. Plans call for eventually moving town offices there, too.
Boucher said his office is working with the Postal Service on that project, as it did with the Economic Development Administration to secure the grant presented Friday. "We're working on it diligently and I hope it's going to happen very soon," he said.
The EDA, which provided the funding, is targeted in a House budget resolution for elimination, but Boucher said he hopes a coalition in Congress will be able to head that off in the next two weeks. A coalition recently managed to protect funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission and development programs under the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Boucher has been in the forefront of those preservation efforts, and said his highest priority is keeping those economic development funding sources intact for places like Southwest Virginia.
The warehouse conversion will include a new roof, windows, insulation, a heating and cooling system, handicapped accessibility and more, Boucher said.
The grant also will provide funds for an access road, water and sewer extensions, parking, landscaping and other site improvements, he said.
by CNB