Development officials urge localities to think regionally

Written by
Calvin Trice

STAUNTON — Augusta County and the two cities within its borders should market themselves as a team to bring manufacturing and development projects to the area, local and state officials said Tuesday.

The economic development directors of Augusta County and Waynesboro and an assistant director for Staunton touted what they believe are positive signs in the last year during a breakfast held by the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Looking ahead, Del. Richard P. "Dickie" Bell, R-Staunton, stressed during an impromptu speech at the end of the meeting the importance of marketing the two cities and counties together to bring development and jobs to the area.

Bell is a former Staunton City Councilman who can remember when the three localities marketed their interests competitively.

"I can tell you it's a huge advantage when you operate regionally," he said at the Chamber's Business and Breakfast meeting inside the Brightview at Baldwin Park retirement home.

The head of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Partnership, an organization that markets an area including the Augusta region for business development, said the ability to brand large areas across many jurisdictions is appealing to manufacturers looking to relocate or expand.

Robin Sullenberger, the partnership's CEO, said he's teamed the Valley organization up with similar partnerships for the Roanoke and New River Valley areas.

"We are basically marketing the I-81 corridor as one super-region," Sullenberger said during the breakfast panel discussion.g

Staunton's assistant economic development director said her city saw a payoff from an under-appreciated aspect of bringing jobs into the area: catering to existing businesses. That approach helped bring plans for a $16 million expansion at home-grown Cadence, Inc., that will bring 65 new jobs to the city in the next three years, Amanda Glover said.

"Existing businesses are the highest source of new job creation," said Glover, adding that they are the engines of the local economy.

Similarly, Waynesboro Economic Development Director Greg Hitchin pointed to the Polymer Group, Inc. expansion announced last year that will bring a total of 41 new jobs by the end of the year.

"That project is moving along very well," Hitchin told the chamber audience. "The building is up and completed, and they've hired about half of their work force."

Dennis Burnett, Augusta County's economic development director, said he expects the Augusta Marketplace commercial development near Verona — which was tabled because of the recession — will get started in the next 12 months.

At least as significant for the county is the priority the state has made to improve the Interstate 64 interchange at Tinkling Spring Road in Fishersville. Improvements there could bring infrastructure upgrades to the Fishersville area, Burnett said.

"We anticipate big benefits from that road improvement," he said.

An aide to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said during her talk that the state's commitment to job creation has brought 30,000 jobs to Virginia since Bolling and Gov. Bob McDonnell took office last year. Of those, 2,365 have come to the Valley, said Ibbie Hedrick, Bolling's spokeswoman and business community liaison.

An initiative to move past marketing the state only for manufacturing and trying to lure more high-technology industries could bring even more jobs to Virginia, Hedrick said.

""We've decided that we need to diversify and go after more of these advanced technology sectors," Hedrick said.