ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100034
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER THE ROANOKE TIMES
New offices for various regional agencies should be ready by the middle of next year.
A federal low-interest loan for nearly $1.4 million has been approved for an office complex that will be part of a small-business incubator on the former AT&T plant site in eastern Pulaski County.
The complex will become the new location for the New River Valley Planning District Commission, the New River Valley Development Corp. and possibly the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance.
"By centralizing regional information and assistance services under one roof, citizens and businesses will enjoy the benefits to be derived from easier access to vital information, and increased efficiency in the provision of services," Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, said Wednesday in a press release announcing the U.S. Department of Agriculture loan.
Construction of the offices and the small-business incubator, to be called the New River Valley Competitiveness Center, is scheduled to start late this summer and be finished within a year.
This will be the first new building since Pulaski County bought the acreage from AT&T in early 1993 as an industrial park. It will be owned by the Pulaski County Industrial Development Authority.
AT&T closed the plant in 1990 after operating it for 10 years. New River Industries, a Radford-based textile business, bought the former AT&T building and 80 surrounding acres in 1992. Pulaski County later bought the remaining 650 acres for $1.3 million.
The county Board of Supervisors had met several times with Radford City Council to try to work out a joint purchase of the acreage. When that did not work out, the county made the purchase alone. One reason for buying it instead of leaving it with AT&T was that local governments can qualify for development money that a private company cannot.
That is exactly what has happened, thanks largely to Boucher. Last August, he announced a $500,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant to add 6,800 feet of water lines, 2,410 feet of sewer lines, a 750,000-gallon water storage tank and other facilities. Shortly after that, he announced a $2 million Economic Development Administration grant to build the 31,081-square-foot competitiveness center itself.
The low-interest loan will go to the New River Valley Development Corp., a nonprofit economic development organization established in 1982 to help secure loans and otherwise assist small businesses in the region.
The Planning District offices have been in a former school building in Radford for more than 20 years. The alliance moved its offices last year to the new Edwards Hall building at New River Community College in Dublin.
About 5,090 square feet will be used for the office complex for such nonprofit agencies and organizations.
The center will offer flexible leases at below-market rates, and allow tenant companies to share computers, photocopiers, fax machines, conference areas, and clerical and technical support.
The industrial park has also been designated as a state enterprise zone, which means a company locating there could get a 60 percent cut in its state income tax obligations for 10 years, grants of $1,500 for each new employee, and other state and local incentives.
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