Virginia Awards Southampton County $223,000 for Industrial Site Preparation
August 8, 2024
For Immediate Release
Contact: Karl Heck
President and CEO, FSEDI
757-516-7709
Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today that Southampton County will be receiving $223,000 in funding today through the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program (VBRSP) to assist the County in making the recently purchased Beale Farm property more shovel-ready for industrial development. The main goal of the VBRSP grant is to raise the Beale Farm from Tier 2 to Tier 4 in the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) site selection criteria.
“Southampton County is seeking appropriate areas for industrial development,” said Dr. Alan Edwards, Chairman of the Southampton County Board of Supervisors. “The Beale Farm is one of those key industrial locations, and the more shovel-ready the site is, the better the quality of development it will attract to Southampton County,” said Edwards.
“Southampton County is working with its partner Franklin Southampton Economic Development, Inc. (FSEDI) to have ready-to-go sites when industry is looking at our area,” said Southampton County Administrator Brian Thrower. “Along with the ongoing broadband expansion throughout the rural portions of the County, this project is another way we can attract business and grow our population,” said Thrower.
The activities that will be funded by the VBRSP grant include a topographical and ALTA boundary survey, wetland delineation, a geotechnical report, an environmental assessment, a cultural resources review, a threatened and endangered species review, a well study, transportation assessment and preliminary engineering report.
“The VBRSP grant funds a number of items that you don’t see so that you can attract an industry you will see,” said FSEDI President and CEO Karl Heck, who wrote the successful grant application for the County. “The Beale Farm has the potential to site one or more major industries that will be game changers for the Southampton County economy, and completion of the VBRSP activities will go a long way to helping make that happen,” said Heck.
The grant funds are being matched by funds used to purchase the Beale Farm earlier this year. No additional County funds will be utilized to implement the VBRSP grant activities. Southampton County will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) in the near future to attract a qualified engineering firm to complete the work involved in the grant. It is anticipated that the VBRSP grant activities will be completed in the next 12 months.
FSEDI is actively marketing the Beale Farm and other industrial and commercial properties in Southampton County and the City of Franklin. For further information on FSEDI and its work, please contact President and CEO Karl Heck at 757-562-1958.