Given the difficult economic times of late, job creation should be considered a top priority of officials across our region, and lawmakers in Richmond, Charleston and Washington.
Five years ago, the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors purchased 680 acres of land near Bluefield, Va. — a field of dreams if you will — with the ultimate goal of creating a technology park capable of producing as many as 800 new jobs.
As with any large-scale project, it has taken years for officials to realize this dream. And the long road to construction has been full of stumbling blocks, including the Great Recession. Fortunately, plans for the park weren’t abandoned following the economic downturn, and a number of other unexpected obstacles, such as the discovery in 2007 of a 228-year-old farmhouse at the site, along with chert, or chips of rock and flint that represented evidence of a pre-contact settlement.
Work on phase one of the project began last year, and the supervisors agreed Tuesday to authorize the county’s Industrial Development Authority to award the phase two contract to Haymes Brothers of Chatham, Va. The phase two contract is important for several reasons. It includes the development of two sites at the park — one five acres in size and another site for 12 acres. Both will be ready to be occupied by prospective businesses and industries once the construction is completed.
The county isn’t waiting for the work to be completed. The two sites are already being actively marketed today with the goal of getting industries into the technology park as soon as possible, according to County Administrator Jim Spencer.
In addition to the two sites that will be developed, the phase two contract also includes water, sewer and roads into the technology park. The ongoing phase one construction includes a bridge and access road to the technology park from U.S. Route 460.
The Bluestone is envisioned as a mixed-use development that will include sites for new businesses and industry, as well as proposed retail stores, residential units, walking trails and even a possible hotel, conference center and golf course. No, the county isn’t going to spend taxpayer dollars building a golf course, hotel or conference center. However, private developers will be encouraged to invest in the Bluestone so these facilities can be built at no expense to taxpayers.
However, the priority at the moment is getting industry — particularly that of a technology or advanced manufacturing base — into the park as soon as possible. That’s why it is important for construction to begin on phase two of the project.
We applaud the county Board of Supervisors and the county Industrial Development Authority for moving forward with the Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park. It’s critical that we have sites ready with water, sewer, broadband and roads when prospective industries come calling.
Editorials
July 16, 2010
Field of dreams: Bluestone set for phase two construction
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