Blacksburg & Christiansburg MONTGOMERY COUNT Y, VIRGINIA
Brian Hamilton, CEcD Economic Development Director hamiltonbt@montgomerycountyva.gov
Brenda Rigney, CEcD
Project Manager, Existing Industry rigneybb@montgomerycountyva.gov
Ashlyn Shrewsbury
Project Manager, Marketing and Business Development shrewsburyaj@montgomerycountyva.gov
Rachel Cline Economic Development Assistant clinerf@montgomerycountyva.gov
To the Honorable Chair, Members of the Board of Supervisors, and the Citizens of Montgomery County:
The Montgomery County, VA, Department of Economic Development (MCDED) prepared this annual report to showcase the organization’s activities and accomplishments during 2017. The report is also intended to be an economic development marketing tool for Montgomery County, and features the achievements of local companies, entrepreneurs, and other key allies.
The Department of Economic Development is dedicated to improving the quality of life throughout Montgomery County – including the incorporated towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg – by encouraging positive economic growth that:
• CREATES meaningful career opportunities
• EXPANDS the commercial tax base to support the delivery of vital public services
• PROTECTS our enviable quality of life
Our department accomplishes its mission through strategies that support the startup, retention, and expansion of companies already in Montgomery County, as well as the attraction of new targeted industries to the community.
12 PROJECTS... The Department actively supported nine company expansion projects where investment and jobs were added, and existing jobs were retrained through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. The Department also supported three companies locating in Montgomery County.
$13.7 MILLION... Investment made or announced by projects supported by the Department exceeded $13.7 million.
195 JOBS... Companies assisted by the Department will create 195 new jobs.
67 BRE VISITS... The Department visited 45 local companies through its Business Retention & Expansion Program (BRE). Twelve of the companies required follow up support services, and the Department overall made 67 total visits.
10 PROSPECT VISITS... The Department generated 35 new prospect leads, responded to 34 requests for information, and participated in 10 prospect visits by new businesses.
109,000 SF... The Economic Development Authority leased 109,000 square-feet of space to two companies. The Department negotiated two new leases in 2014; both companies took occupancy in 2015, and were ongoing in 2017. The two leases are worth $5.5 million in remaining total revenues.
14,088 WEBSITE VISITS...
YesMontgomeryVA.org was visited 14,088 times from 100 countries around the world and from all 50 states. The Department sent out eleven news releases via email marketing and social media that were viewed 4,150 times.
Among the top 25 metros with a high ratio of IT graduates compared to the IT job base, Blacksburg ranked No. 3.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford MSA was ranked No. 10 most concentrated metro for number of jobs in the high-tech industry.
#11 Best Tailgate in the
Southern Living
Virginia Tech ranked No. 11 Best Tailgates in the South.
Montgomery County Public Schools were designated a Best Community for Music for the tenth consecutive year.
Montgomery County ranked in the Top 4 Best Places in Western Virginia for Auto Parts Suppliers.
Blacksburg ranked in the Top 10 for Best US College/University town for Mountain Bikers.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford MSA was named among the Top 20 college destinations in the country among other college town MSAs with populations less than 250,000. Cost of Living and Economic Activity were two of the factors that contributed to this Top 20 ranking with the American Institute for Economic Research.
Since 2009, the Department has made 49 total announcements from new and existing businessses. These announcements have resulted in 2,229 total new jobs, with over $118 million in total investment.
The Economic Development Department uses its Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program as a way of maintaining good relationships and communication with companies in Montgomery County. Department staff arrange face-to-face BRE visits with local businesses to identify and help solve any problems or barriers that may be undermining their overall success and growth in our community.
In 2017, the Department visited 45 separate companies, 12 of which required follow up information or services. Overall, the Department conducted a total of 67 visits. Nine companies supported through the program announced or completed expansion or relocation projects that will result in $9.788 million in total new private investment and 143 new jobs.
Seven companies located in the Commonwealth of Virginia were recipients of grant money from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant Program, a program designed to encourage investment, reinvestment and job creation among companies in Virginia that are port users. Two grant recipients are located in Montgomery County: Hubble Lighting, Inc. and Wolverine Advanced Materials.
As recipients of this Port of Virginia grant, Hubble Lighting will create 100 jobs, and received a grant in the amount of $315,000. Wolverine Advanced Materials will create 93 jobs, and received a grant of $91,500.
In fiscal year 2017, which ran from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Grant Program gave out $2.17 million in grants to seven Virginia companies.
InOrganic Ventures has announced a $1 million project to renovate space within their current facility. This project will allow the company to finish out 5,000 square feet of unfinished space previously used for warehousing into more office and collaboration space.
Finishing an additional 5,000 square feet will give the company room for more offices and will allow for the relocation of some positions from the lab floor and into this new area, which will in turn allow more renovation on the lab floor to accomodate additional laboratory use.
This expansion will not add any new positions at this time, but will allow for growth in the future.
In February 2017, Qualtrax announced that it would undergo an expansion by taking advantage of the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP) through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP). The VJIP program will allow Qualtrax to recoup some of their recruitment costs of hiring new employees.
Qualtrax is a creator of compliance software that allows for supporting and maintaining regulatory requirements for document and data control. With this expansion, Qualtrax will add 35 new jobs and will invest $2 million.
Spectrum Brands, Inc., a global consumer products company offering an expanding portfolio of leading brands, announced on April 19, 2017 that it will be investing $7.28 million over the next several years in its Montgomery County operation to purchase equipment and upgrade its production processes.
The Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP), through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, will be used to support Spectrum Brands’ job retraining. This will allow Spectrum to retrain more than half of its workforce on the new equipment that they will purchase.
“Blacksburg has been central to the success of our aquatics brands for more than 20 years, and our manufacturing center there has grown into a major production facility for our entire division,” said John Schostek, Vice President, Global Operations - Spectrum Brands Pet, Home, & Garden Division. “Our company continues to grow, and we plan to invest in the Blacksburg plant to upgrade and expand its capabilities. The Virginia Jobs Investment Program supports our commitment to provide our employees with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.”
In 2017, the Department and its allies generated 35 prospect leads. Thirty-four of the leads required follow- up information (sites and buildings, community data, etc.) and 10 resulted in community visits by the prospects. At year end, 21 others were still actively considering projects in Montgomery County, while 12 were successfully located in the County.
MCDED - 54%
Onward NRV - 14%
VEDP - 32%
Acronym definitions:
MCDED: Montgomery County Economic Development Department
Onward NRV: formerly New River Valley Economic Development Alliance
VEDP: Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Active - 60%
Closed - 14%
Inactive - 3%
Food/Bev Processing - 6%
Retail Trade - 9%
IT/Software Dev. - 11%
Manufacturing - 40%
Warehouse/Distribution - 9% Other - 11%
Life/Bio Sciences - 3% Research & Development - 11%
Located - 23%
Department’s prospect tracking system definitions: Located: Project located in Montgomery County.
Active: Project is under active consideration.
Inactive: No project activity in 3 months or more. Closed: Project located elsewhere, or no activity in over a year.
The Department actively markets Montgomery County to prospective businesses and site consultants at industry trade shows. The goal of these efforts is to develop leads on new projects that may have an interest in locating in our community. In 2017, Economic Development staff marketed Montgomery County at several industry trade shows, including:
The Industrial Asset Management Council is the leading trade association for corporate real estate executives. In April, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership held a dinner during the IAMC Spring Forum in Tampa that allowed for its partners, Montgomery County included, to network with corporate real estate executives.
AUVSI Xponential is where the largest community of leaders in drones, intelligent robotics, and unmanned systems come together to shape the future of the unmanned industry. AUVSI showcases unmanned systems in all fields of air, ground, and maritime. The Department partnered with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to attend this year’s trade show held in Dallas. This trade show allowed the Department to interact with the people and businesses who shape the unmanned industry.
CoreNet Global is the world’s leading association and summit for corporate real estate and workplace professionals and service providers. The Department attended this event with allies from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. CoreNet allowed the Department to raise visibility about Montgomery County being a great place to live and conduct business by meeting with influential site selectors and commercial real estate executives. This year’s Fall Summit was held in Seattle.
On May 27, 2017, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) of Montgomery County entered into a contract with Cox Family Farms, LLC, to purchase 125 acres of property located directly adjacent to the County-owned Falling Branch Corporate Park at a cost of $2.5 million.
Beginning May 27, the EDA had 180 days to preform due diligence on the property, which included the rezoning request process as well as geotechnical and environmental studies. Rezoning applications with both Montgomery County and the Town of Christiansburg were filed for the property on May 30. Rezonings with both the County and the Town were completed by September 26.
Prior to this purchase of land, Falling Branch Corporate Park was comprised of a total of 175 acres, with 146 acres occupied by businesses including Aeroprobe Corporation, Backcountry.com, Dish Network, Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., Inorganic Ventures, Polymer Solutions, Inc., and Prestar Packaging, leaving only 29 acres divided into three separate lots available.
After wrapping up the due dilligence process, the EDA closed on the property on November 21, 2017. Marketing the 125 acres of additional property for prospective businesses began immediately.
In April, the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) hosted the 2017 TechNite Awards Banquet at the Hotel Roanoke. Seven hundred area leaders in business and innovation gathered together to celebrate the growing technology community in the New River and Roanoke Valleys. The evening was highlighted with an awards ceremony.
Montgomery County was well represented with a total of 28 nominations within the six award categories, including Educator (7), Entrepreneur (4), Innovator (3), People’s Choice (3), Regional Leadership (4), and Rising Star (7). The RBTC also included awards for the Regional Go To Geek and the RUBY Award this year. Five of the eight awards presented during the ceremony went to nominees from the County, including the Rising Star Award and the Technology Hall of Fame Award.
The Economic Development Department was a sponsor of the 2017 TechNite Awards Banquet to express Montgomery County’s appreciation for the economic impact the regional technology sector has on our community. The Department also sponsored the Rising Star Award.
“It is my honor to congratulate all of this year’s award winners and nominees from the RBTC TechNite. Montgomery County is proud to be home to such high-caliber technology companies, entrepreneurs, and educators, and we are pleased to see so many of them nominated again this year,” commented Craig Meadows, County Administrator. “These innovators power Montgomery County and help to boost our local economy through their forward-thinking spirit.”
Award Winners from Montgomery County
Regional Go to Geek
Thomas “Tweeks” Weeks, Virginia Tech
Cyber Range
STEM-H Educator
Nick Cornwell, Shawsville Middle School
Innovator
Josep BassaganyaRiera, BioTherapeutics
Rising Star Qualtrax
People’s Choice
FluxTeq
In November, The PEW Charitable Trusts released an article discussing the top metropolitan areas that millenials and young professionals have been moving to. Cheaper cost of living, a more tightknit community, and a chance to make these smaller places their own have driven young professionals to move to areas outside of the city life they expected.
Among those metropolitan areas was the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford MSA, which ranked high for affordability, education and growth in young professionals. The Blacksburg MSA was among some well-known localities, such as Austin, Texas, Silicon Valley, and Nashville, Tennessee; the report noted that the Blacksburg metro offers more affordable housing than these other localities.
The Department sponsored several events in 2017 for business outreach and to support the initiatives of its many partners and allies.
Events Sponsored:
• Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament and Annual Banquet
• Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council TechNite Awards Banquet and Fall Gala
• New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Development Board and GENEDGE: Cyber Security Forum
• AUVSI Ridge and Valley Chapter Unmanned Systems Symposium
YesMontgomeryVA.org is the official website of the Economic Development Department, and showcases the quality of life and business climate in Montgomery County. In 2017, the website had over 14,088 visitors from 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states. The Department sent out eleven news releases, via email marketing and social media, that generated 4,150 page views. The news releases marketed community accolades and business announcements.
YesMontgomeryVA.org visitors from U.S.
Three major commercial real estate projects have filed plans in 2017, including:
• Old K-Mart Redevelopment (Christiansburg) -The firm that is currently working to redevelop the former K-Mart site has plans that include Hobby Lobby, Dollar Tree, and other retail space once the building is split into smaller areas. Plans have also been filed for Lidl and Aldi, both German grocery store chains, to build stores on the neighboring sites to the former K-Mart.
• Virginia Furniture Market (Christiansburg) - Virginia Furniture Market has plans in place for their largest store yet, which includes 60,000 square feet of retail space on a parcel adjacent to Home Depot and Target. This $5 million project will be the eighth location for the chain, but the first west of the Roanoke Valley.
• Marketplace Shopping Center (Christiansburg) - A pair of investors has signed a contract to purchase the property in hopes of bringing the shopping center back to life. Several letters of intent have already been signed with new national tenants to fill the space.
• Old Blacksburg Middle School Redevelopment
- Midtown Redevelopment Partners, LLC bought fourteen acres of the roughly twentyacre property that was the former middle school for $1.75 million. Since then, Midtown Redevelopment has also exercised their option to purchase the remaining 5.5 acres of this property for $2.5 million. The developer has already filed for a rezoning with the Town of Blacksburg to have the combined parcels rezoned from low density residential to downtown commercial. This will allow for the acreage to be utilized as a mixed use of commercial, retail, office, restaurant, and residential property.
•
• Old Blacksburg High School Redevelopment - The County closed on selling the former high school to HS Development, LLC, on November 21. The property was sold for $3 million. The developer plans on using the property for residential use, which would require a rezoning with the town. The funds from the sale of this property will be reinvested into other school projects.
In 2017, $94.7 million in road projects were either allocated or under construction. Two major projects under construction included:
• New River Bridge I-81 exit 105 (Montgomery County) - Construction of this $48 million project began in winter 2016. The goal of this project is to replace the northbound bridge and widen the shoulders and approach to the bridge on Interstate 81 at the New River on the Montgomery County and Pulaski County line. The Route 232 overpass will also be reconstructed to accomodate widening the interstate, and the northbound deceleration lane lengths will be improved by adding an extended deceleration lane. Work on this project is expected to be finished in late 2020.
• Southgate Connector (Blacksburg) - In 2014, VDOT allocated $46.7 million to replace the signalized intersection at U.S. Route 460 and Southgate Drive at the entrance to Virginia Tech with a diverging diamond interchange. This new interchange will eliminate one of the last two at-grade intersections on the Blacksburg Bypass section of Route 460. In Spring 2015, this project officially broke ground and began construction. A ribbon-cutting was held in December 2017, and the entire Southgate Connector project is expected to be finished in December 2019.
In September 2017, the Virginia Tourism Corporation released its 2016 report on the Economic Impact of Domestic Travel on Virginia and Localities. The report, prepared by the U.S. Travel Association, examined tourism spending in Virginia by U.S. visitors traveling 50 miles or more away from home.
According to the report, tourism spending in Montgomery County reached $143.8 million in 2016, a 3.2 percent increase over 2015. Visitor spending was estimated to have generated $9.2 million in combined state and local taxes for Montgomery County and the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg. The report also found that the local tourism industry supported 1,401 jobs and had an annual payroll of $28 million.
The Montgomery County/Blacksburg/Christiansburg VA Regional Tourism Office collaborates with local hospitality and tourism businesses, advocacy organizations, local government, secondary and higher education institutions, and civic organizations to attract visitors to the area for first-time, as well as repeat, visits. There is a focus placed on the months of December to March, which tend to be slower for travel to the area. The program also promotes longer stays and additional spending by building awareness for events and attractions throughout the community.
“Whether visible or not to the casual observer, tourism to Montgomery County affects nearly every sector of industry through direct and indirect visitor spending,” says Lisa Bleakley, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Regional Tourism Office. “Economic Development departments today find that the tourism folks can add a human side to their pitch for business location or relocation. After all, a great place to visit normally translates into a great place to work!”
The Economic Development Department provides administrative support to the following entities.
The Economic Development Authority (EDA) was created in 1970 by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors. The EDA has the authority to issue industrial development bonds as well as acquire, lease and/or sell real and personal property. The EDA meets the third Tuesday of every month. The Department provides staff support to the EDA.
Tommy Loflin – Chair
Doug Winstead – Vice Chair
James Taylor III
Ray Tuck
John Tutle
Eric Johnsen
STAFF SUPPORT
Brian T. Hamilton – Secretary/Treasurer
Brenda Rigney – Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Marty McMahon – Legal Counsel
Craig Meadows – County Administrator
Angie Hill – Finance Director
The Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission (EDC) was created in 1982 by a resolution of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors. The EDC acts in an advisory capacity on economic development matters for the County. It meets the fourth Thursday of every month. The Department provides staff support to the EDC.
Brad Stipes
Joe Carpenter – Chair
Darrell Sheppard
Angie Covey
Eric Johnsen
STAFF SUPPORT
Joe Meredith
Michael Miller – Vice Chair
John Overton
Brian T. Hamilton – Department Director
Brenda Rigney – Secretary
The MBC Development Corporation is a 501(c) 3 organization created in 1985 to enhance and broaden the employment base in Montgomery County by providing small business with low interest loans not available from conventional sources. Since its creation, the MBC has provided 35 small business loans totaling over $1.5 million.
Mary Biggs
Terry Brizendine
Mayor Michael Barber
John Cusimano - Vice President
Chad Reed
Brad Denardo
Mark Hamric
Robert Parks
Michael Sutphin
Jeanne Symanoskie
Tom Via - President
Brenda Rigney – Secretary/Treasurer
Marty McMahon – Legal Counsel