VCEDA joined Wise County and other local and state officials on Oct. 1 at the groundbreaking ceremony for

the Appalachia America Energy Research Center to be constructed in the Lonesome Pine Business & Technology Park. At its Nov. 20, 2008 meeting, the VCEDA board approved up to a $1,045,000 grant and a $955,000 loan to the Wise County IDA for the research and development facility with an emphasis on energy-affiliated initiatives. The Wise County IDA also received $5 million in funding for the project from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. The multi-tenant center, which has its first tenant, Pulaski-based NanoChemonics Inc. (expected to create approximately 10 new jobs), will provide research space and an atmosphere for collaboration between the public and private sector, specifically in the arena of clean coal technology, coal-to-liquid fuels, environmental remediation measures in energy generation, alternative fuels and prototype development facilities for such projects.

For more on VCEDA funding of this project, click here.

 

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, VCEDA, state and local officials participated in the groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 21 for the facility that will be the retail center base for the 13-acre Grundy redevelopment site. VCEDA approved a $2 million grant to the Grundy IDA for construction of the facility base, the first building to be built on the site that is part of a $200 million flood-proofing project designed to help deal with flooding issues that have plagued Grundy for years. VCEDA also approved a $1 million grant and a $1.5 million loan to assist with the Grundy redevelopment project in 2000. VCEDA Executive Director Jonathan Belcher and Chairman Jay Rife display the artist rendering of the Grundy redevelopment site.

 

 

Virginia's e-Region was represented at the 2009 Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) held in Williamsburg Sept. 21-22. The VCEDA team manned the e-Region exhibit, distributed marketing materials and met with several information technology companies with inquiries about the region. Representing Virginia's e-Region, from left, are Yvonne Rutherford, Jean Jordan, Susan Copeland and Harry Rutherford.

VCEDA closed a forgivable loan for $300,000 to the Russell County IDA July 23 to assist software developer CGI with an expansion that will add 100 new jobs.The IDA also hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony following the loan closing. The loan is being used by the Russell County IDA for costs to equip additional office space for CGI in the Russell County Governmental Center. Originally recruited to the region in 2005, CGI employs more than 300 at its Southwest Virginia Center of Excellence, a newly constructed facility located adjacent to Northrop Grumman's new Southwest Enterprise Solutions Center in the Russell Regional Business Technology Park in Lebanon. CGI will lease space in the governmental center to accommodate a projected increase of 100 new employees. The average annual salary of these jobs will be approximately $50,000 plus benefits.

 

Virginia Business magazine recognized the Virginia's e-Region "No Place Like Home" ad as the best ad in the July/August issue.  The ad also appeared in the September issue of the Northern Virginia Technology Council's Voice of Technology magazine. View ad in Voice of Technology (pg. 4).