ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
There's a new big fish that got away at Falling Branch.
Three years after Montgomery County launched an effort to create a state-of-the-art industrial park to bring new high-tech jobs to the New River Valley, its Falling Branch Industrial Park remains untouched, rolling pasture beside Interstate 81.
That pristine site cost the county again recently when R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., a Chicago printing company, decided to locate a new plant and 175 jobs in Roanoke County's Valley TechPark.
Donnelley gave Montgomery County a serious look over several months last year, but was dissuaded by the lack of infrastructure - roads, grading, water and sewer lines - in the 165-acre Falling Branch site, confirmed Don Moore, the county's economic development director.
"I think that was definitely a consideration and a negative for us," Moore said. "They indicated they hoped to begin construction by March."
Donnelley officials, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, announced their plans to move to Roanoke County - smoothed by $5.7 million in incentives and nearly 90 acres - two weeks ago.
The Donnelley decision came nearly three years to the day after another industrial fish got away from Montgomery. That loss was the catalyst to develop Falling Branch.
In that case, Siecor Inc., a fiber-optic cable manufacturer, chose Winston-Salem, N.C., over Montgomery, again because the former had an industrial site up and running. When the county started courting Siecor in 1992, it still was smarting from a decision by Blue Cross-Blue Shield in late 1991 to locate in West Virginia instead of Christiansburg.
Montgomery officials said they regret not landing Donnelley, but they aren't discouraged. Falling Branch, touted in last fall's elections as an example of the county's attempts to create jobs, is a long-term project, they say.
"We're right around the corner from getting one of the big fish," said Supervisor Nick Rush. "It takes longer than just putting up a shell building. You're talking about an industrial park that's going to be there forever, so you want to make sure you do it right."
Supervisor Jim Moore, a retired professor of industrial engineering, agreed with Rush's assessment.
"When we make a hit in that park, it will be of a different order of magnitude," he said. "We need to finish it up." One key will be getting optical fibers ready to go, he added, along with traditional infrastructure, because that's "critical" for an up-to-date industrial site.
Tom Johnson, chairman of the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission, remains optimistic about Falling Branch, particularly because of its high visibility, courtesy of nearly a half-mile of I-81 frontage.
For now though, many large prospects look at Falling Branch, but begin to express concern when they realize the infrastructure is not there, Johnson said.
"There are lots of indicators that we have a very good, if not excellent, site there," he said. "But until it is in a much more advanced state than it is, it looks like a high risk to prospects."
Some county officials suggested that the Donnelley loss, if anything, may help speed up Falling Branch's development.
"Certainly if there was a potential for something that large and you didn't get it for that reason, it would be another reason to get it done as quickly as possible," said Jim Mattox, a Blacksburg banker who heads the county Industrial Development Authority.
Don Moore agreed.
"What it does for us is to give us a little history about the kinds of companies that have seriously considered our community," he said.
The big holdup on developing Falling Branch is finding the money to grade the land and build roads. Eighteen months ago, Montgomery applied to the federal government for a $4.5 million low-interest loan to cover those costs and to reimburse itself for the cost of the land, which was purchased with local money.
That loan application was put on hold until last summer, when Christiansburg and Montgomery County reached an agreement to provide water and sewer services to the park. But then the loan bid fell victim to the federal budget impasse. When that was finally resolved earlier this year, the county learned that because of budget cutbacks, its request exceeded the entire federal loan allotment for Virginia, said Travis Jackson, a rural development specialist with the federal Rural Economic and Community Development agency.
Jackson has proposed several financing scenarios to try to get the project moving this year, but ultimately the decision will be up to the county development authority and supervisors.
Meanwhile, Montgomery County isn't the only local government staring mournfully at a bare economic-development fishhook. Pulaski County official Peter Huber confirmed that a consultant for Donnelley looked at potential sites there. He said the county was ruled out after the first evaluation, but was reviewed a second time. The main reason for eliminating Pulaski County was not a lack of sites, but the county's distance from the Roanoke airport, Huber said.
Pulaski County has a number of sites, including 50 acres left at its county Corporate Center, and 50 acres at its New River Valley Airport Industrial Park. Those might have been too small, though additional acreage might have been secured at the airport site.
However, the county also has the former Burlington Mills site (now the Dublin Industrial Park), the 650-acre former AT&T plant at Fairlawn and several private sites, Huber said. So the decision not to locate in Pulaski County, unlike in Montgomery, was not from a lack of industrial properties with infrastructure.
Staff writers Elissa Milenky and Paul Dellinger contributed to this report.
FALLING BRANCH CHRONOLOGY
The Falling Branch Industrial Park next to Interstate 81 has been in the works for nearly five years. Here are some of the key steps along the way to Montgomery County's planned 165-acre project:
September 1991
Montgomery County loses a 290-job Blue Cross and Blue Shield office to West Virginia because of state restrictions on financial incentives.
July 1992
Montgomery takes an option on 156 acres off Falling Branch Road because Seicor Inc., a fiber-optics cable manufacturer, is looking for a large site for a new plant.
February 1993
Seicor tells Montgomery it's going to Winston-Salem, N.C., in part because the industrial park there is up and ready to go.
June 1993
County Board of Supervisors votes to buy 141 acres at Falling Branch to have its own industrial park ready for the next big prospect.
September 1993
Board of Supervisors, Industrial Development Authority and Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission approve agreement defining their roles in the park's development.
November 1993
A Virginia Tech professor predicts financial benefits of $54,000 to $344,000 annually to the county from the park. Also predicts it will create 250 industrial jobs by 1996 and 1,250 jobs by 2000. Cost estimates discussed behind closed doors.
August 1994
After months of closed-door talks, Montgomery supervisors agree to seek up to $9 million in federal financing to develop the park, $4 million of that for sewer and waterlines.
December 1994
Montgomery buys another 24 acres for the park, increasing its size to 165 acres.
April 1995
County learns that a consultant for Motorola Inc., which had just announced plans for a major plant outside Richmond, had visited Falling Branch and ruled it out without contacting county officials.
August 1995
After months of negotiations, a judge OKs agreement between Montgomery County and Christiansburg to expand the town's boundaries to include Falling Branch. In return, Christiansburg agrees to pick up the cost of extending utilities to the park. This cuts the amount the county will seek from federal sources to $4.5 million for roads and grading.
October 1995-
February 1996
County's infrastructure application to the federal Rural Economic and Community Development office is delayed by the federal budget impasse. Finally, county learns in February that it may have to split the application into two parts.
LENGTH: Long : 170 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. Montgomery County created aby CNBstate-of-the-art industrial park (most of the field in the lower
right) three years ago to bring new high-tech jobs to the New River
Valley, but the Falling Branch project remains untouched. color.
Graphic: Map by staff. color.