LEBANON, VA – SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 — Four new project loans and grants were approved and modifications to four others were also approved during a meeting of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) board, Wednesday.
Three new members were welcomed to the board including Mike Hymes, representing the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors; Rhonda Sluss, representing the Dickenson County Board of Supervisors; and Brian Hess, representing Coronado IV LLC.
In addition to approving funding for new projects, the board also viewed a new regional video created by VCEDA; its new website at vceda.us; and recent advertising the authority has done in Virginia Business Magazine to raise awareness related to the region and what it has to offer to prospective businesses and those looking to expand.
New loans and grants approved at Wednesday’s meeting were as follows:
- An up to $2.5 million loan was approved to the Russell County Industrial Development Authority for “Project Brown,” which has not yet been formally announced.
- An up to a $1.2 million grant was approved for the Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority to be used on the Red Onion Industrial site (also known as the Coalfield Regional Industrial Park) to help finance additional site development and infrastructure at that industrial site, which will aid in the marketing of that site for prospective business and industry.
- An up to $750,916.88 grant was approved for the Dickenson County IDA to be used to help finance the installation and extension of high-speed broadband in Dickenson County.
- An up to a $50,000 loan was approved for the Southwestern Virginia Technology Council (“SWVTC”) to be used to finance the development of an online regional business database and website to include counties in the VCEDA region, as the initial phase of INAppalachia, a proposed regional connections Internet platform.
The board also agreed:
- to amend and modify its loan agreement with the Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority related to the Paul’s Fan Company project to move dates related to the loan and employment parameters forward one year as a result of impact on the project created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;
- to approve a request by the Buchanan County IDA to extend the loan disbursement deadline on the Conaway broadband project in that county to August 24, 2022;
- to approve a request from the Russell County Industrial Development Authority to extend the loan closing deadline on the up to $500,000 loan approved to the IDA in February 2020 for Project Trout, with a new loan closing deadline of February 18, 2021; and
- to approve a request from the Town of St. Paul Industrial Development Authority to amend and modify the grant agreement by and between VCEDA and the IDA concerning the Lyric Theater marquee, to extend the grant disbursement deadline to November 27, 2020.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.