
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 19, 1995                   TAG: 9510190034
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT                                LENGTH: Medium

FRANKLIN IS READY TO GROW

Brian Wishneff, Roanoke's former municipal economic development chief, says Franklin County is poised to become a major player regionally for industrial, commercial and residential growth.

And Wishneff will have a lot to do with how that growth occurs.

He's been hired by the county to complete its economic diversification action plan, the county's blueprint for future growth.

Wishneff, who left Roanoke city government earlier this year to start a consulting firm, said the plan will determine such things as available infrastructure, available funding and a timeline for efficient use of the county's resources.

"With Brian's expertise," said Supervisor Wayne Angell, "we feel that he will be able to tell us what our limitations and capabilities are."

Tuesday, Wishneff told the board of supervisors: "A lot of communities get the cart before the horse - they go out and hire an economic developer before any framework is in place. The approach Franklin County is taking is a sound one."

That approach includes the recent creation of the county's first economic development commission, an update of the Comprehensive Plan, and development of a long-term strategy to preserve historical properties.

The diversification effort will work alongside an industrial site selection study to be done by Anderson & Associates of Blacksburg. Both initiatives will be funded largely by state grants.

The county already has an option on two probable industrial sites: an 80-acre parcel in the Ferrum area and a 300-acre tract adjacent to Shredded Products Inc. off U.S. 220 south of Rocky Mount.

"Because we're situated in the middle of the two major metropolitan regions in this area - Roanoke and Greensboro - I think there will be a lot of people looking this way someday," Angell said. "And we need to identify the best sites for industry. If we sit back and wait, I'm afraid residential growth will eat them up."

And why does Wishneff think Franklin County will move to the forefront in the Roanoke region?

"There's so much land here," he said. "That's been the predominant problem in the Roanoke Valley for so many years. There's just not enough land for industrial sites."

by CNB