Wildwood industrial park outlined

Debt expenditure questioned

By Amy Boucher

INDEPENDENCE – A question about a budget item led to a briefing Tuesday night by Grayson County Administrator Jonathan Sweet on the Wildwood industrial park, a joint venture among Grayson, Carroll County and the City of Galax.

“Why are we sending one hundred-plus thousand dollars to Wildwood?” Wilson District Supervisor Glen “Eddie” Rosenbaum asked during a county budget workshop.

Sweet said that’s debt service on $5 million that the three localities borrowed to build the “megasite” industrial park adjacent to I-77. Grayson owns one-third, and will share one-third in tax revenue generated by industries that locate there.

Sweet said the state has already spent $7 million on the park, and the Virginia Department of Transportation is contributing $800,000 more to build an industrial access road. He counted that as a good return for less than $2 million invested by the county.

Sweet said the localities had to work together to get the “megasite” grant. “It was money we [Grayson] would never have gotten,” and the county now has a stake in “prime industrial real estate on the interstate….Wythe County has had tremendous success with their megasite.”

Progress Park in Wythe has a large soft drink manufacturer and an associated bottle manufacturer, among other industries.

Sweet said Wildwood authorities are targeting the automotive and food processing industries and the park will be getting increased water capacity. Automotive and food processing provide “high-paying, quality jobs” that will attract other industries to the park. Machinery-intensive industries will pay higher taxes.

“They’ve not located the first business in that yet, have they?” asked Rosenbaum.

Sweet said the park is not ready for occupancy but one industry that ended up going to Mebane, N.C., was seriously interested. “We weren’t ready for them.

“Marketing is going to be intensive. But we’ve already got hits, before we’re ready….Something big is going to happen.”

Sweet warned that the localities would have to be selective in their choice of tenants, to maximize jobs and revenue.

“I hope it will work out for us,” said Rosenbaum.

Supervisor David Sexton said Sweet is “forward-thinking” and has put in many hours on job creation. “We’re fortunate.”