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U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District announced on Thursday a provision for federal funding to assist the New River Valley Commerce Park in Dublin.
Boucher said that the U.S. Department of Commerce, through its Economic Development Administration, is providing a federal grant of just more than $3 million to aid in the expansion of water and wastewater services to Commerce Park, which is adjacent to the New River Valley Airport. “The funds are being provided jointly to the Pulaski County Public Service Authority and to the Virginia’s First Industrial Facilities Authority,” Boucher said. The absence of a water and wastewater system large enough to support major industrial development is currently an impediment to the location of new businesses in this Park. “The federal funding announced today will enable Virginia’s First Industrial Development Authority and the Pulaski County Public Service Authority to construct a water and wastewater system of sufficient size to serve the Park,” Boucher said. But the announcement does not mean that work on creating this water and sewer infrastructure will start anytime soon. In fact, the overall estimate of the project is $6.5 million. Boucher indicated that the parties involved would most likely want the full $6.5 million in hand before actually starting the project and he set no timetable for when the rest of the money might be obtained. That means that nearly $3.5 million still must be raised. The Commerce Park is 900 acres but sits mostly unused. The area is part of a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) and a full-time U.S. Customs Office is at the airport. Boucher said that Commerce Park is the only industrial park in Virginia with immediate access to an international airport and that its accessibility to Interstate 81 makes it a prime location for industry. Boucher was joined at Thursday’s press conference at the New River Valley Airport by Joe Sheffey, Chair of the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors, Chris McKlarney, who serves as County Administrator of Giles County and Chair of the Virginia’s First Industrial Facility Authority, and Keith Holt, Manager of the NRV Airport. All of the participants agreed that the $3 million in federal funds represented a major step in efforts to have the Commerce Park meet its potential, and thus create new jobs in the area. The development of this water and sewer infrastructure would make the park ready and willing two serve industries, Holt said, adding that the combination of the park and airport gives international business “a front door.” If the additional $3.5 million can be found, discussions are underway with officials from the City of Radford to allow the purchase of water from the City’s water treatment plant to serve Commerce Park. “If those discussions are successful,” Boucher said, “two new pumps will be installed at the Radford water treatment plant and a 24-inch water line nearly three miles in length will be constructed between the water treatment plant and an existing water line on U.S. Route 11.” Additional water lines and a water storage tank would also need to be added to complete the project. Sheffey praised the park funding as an example of “the power of intergovernmental cooperation.” That same kind of cooperation, though, will have to be ongoing to obtain the additional funding to get the project at the park underway in earnest.
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