Despite spending, Virginia industrial sites empty

State pours money into land, but not incentives

EMPORIA, Va. — Just north of Emporia, one of Virginia’s poorest cities, sits a 1,600-acre tract of weeds, wildflowers and the occasional wild turkey. Save for a few patches of trees and parcels of cotton, the site is virtually empty.

But it’s heavy with expectations.

About $25 million has been poured into the Mid-Atlantic Advanced Manufacturing Center in the hope of attracting a factory filled with workers bringing home healthy paychecks, bolstering a region with high unemployment and few opportunities, but haven’t succeeded so far.

In the past decade, the state has sunk more than $100 million into land acquisition and development at a handful of such megasites dotting Virginia’s struggling rural south and southwest but has little to show for it, losing out to states offering better infrastructure and incentives.

A heavier focus on land acquisition rather than developing the sites so plants can be operational within 18 months has put Virginia at a disadvantage as other Southern states welcome advanced manufacturing projects such as car and aerospace factories and pharmaceutical and fertilizer plants, top economic development officials and lawmakers say.

“We can make the first cut or two on a big project, but when we get down to the very end, … we are limited in what we can offer in the commonwealth,” said Republican Del. Chris Jones, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Virginia also can’t compete with other Southern states offering massive direct incentives, as officials have balked at matching the big checks. South Carolina, for example, beat out Virginia for a Volvo plant after offering about $200 million in incentives.

John Boyd Jr., a New Jersey-based site selection consultant, said Virginia enjoys a good reputation as a business-friendly state, but landing a major car manufacturing plant is unlikely, because carmakers prefer to locate in other Southern states with an existing supply chain.