Port 460 Logistics Center receives $3.5 million VBRSP grant
Published on Thursday, August 8, 2024, 11:39 am
Governor Glenn Youngkin today awarded a total of $126 million in Virginia Business Ready Sites Program (VBRSP) development grants to 23 sites across the state, including the city of Suffolk. Youngkin announced the $3.5 million VBRSP grant for the Port 460 Logistics Center via press release on Thursday.
Administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), this program partners with municipalities, utilities and state agencies to fund infrastructure improvements that create operational-ready sites for employers and manufacturers ready to expand in the Commonwealth. In addition to developing project-ready sites, the program compiles permits and approvals to ensure a smooth construction process. VBRSP identifies, evaluates and improves industrial sites with at least 100 contiguous, developable acres or 50 acres in the western part of the Commonwealth and areas with other qualifying conditions.
“Business-ready sites drive and accelerate economic growth, and our continued investments in site development position the state to compete for transformative projects that will bring hundreds and thousands of jobs to Virginia,” Youngkin said. “A growing inventory of project-ready sites is a tremendous competitive advantage, and our investments in the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program were a major factor in Virginia being named the Best State in America for Business. Before we took office, Virginia lagged significantly behind our peer states. We must continue the concerted efforts we have made over the course of my tenure to invest in sites, and we look forward to Virginians feeling the benefits of that work in the future.”
The VBRSP consists of two components: (1) site characterization to assess and designate a site’s current level of development, and (2) site development to further develop a pool of potential sites across the Commonwealth. Municipalities may apply for grants to cover the costs of the initial assessment and development required to increase a site’s current designation level.
For the first time, CNBC’s state competitiveness study weighted infrastructure – including the availability of immediately developable land – as the most important factor for companies making investment decisions, citing the VBRSP along with Virginia’s world-class port, rail, road and air ecosystem as key factors in the state’s top spot.
According to the press release, Virginia has only invested significantly in site development in the last two years, but the state’s investments are already producing results that will provide a “strong and increasing” return on investment for the state’s wealth fund. Since the program began, 45 sites have been funded and to date, 3,720 direct jobs have been created at sites that have received VBRSP grants. This year, 23 sites with over 10,000 acres of developable land will receive VBRSP funding.
Other funded projects:
