Franklin County breaks ground on 550-acre business park

Franklin County broke ground Thursday on the 550-acre Summit View Business Park.  The park is intended to create new sites for businesses while providing residents with additional recreational options.

The first phase of construction, estimated at $9.7 million, is expected to be completed by June. According to the county, it will include grading for two building pad sites, with one five-acre site and a 25-acre site. Phase one also will extend utilities and build an access road connecting the site to U.S. 220. Eventually the project will include pavilions, athletic fields, a BMX bicycle course, festival area, tourist visitor center, multiuse trails and more.



“This is just the first step of a long-term effort by Franklin County to create a new economic future for its citizens,” Franklin County Board of Supervisors Chairman Cline Brubaker said in a statement.  He added that the park is expected to attract “a wide variety of economic development prospects looking for low costs of doing business, a skilled workforce, and ready-to-go building pads.”




The county was supported by a number of partners in the project, including the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, Virginia Department of Transportation, Western Virginia Water Authority, Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund, Appalachian Power and the VEDP Business Ready Sites Program.