GO Virginia allocates $6M in two sets of grants

Eleven projects will receive $6 million in GO Virginia grants, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. The funds are broken into two allocations: statewide and regional business growth programs, and the Economic Resilience and Recovery Program created to help mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19.

The first group of recipients include two statewide and six regional projects, and the resilience recipients include three regional projects, which will also leverage an additional $6.5 million in local and other non-state resources to assist their efforts.

“These projects leverage the assets of each region and forge innovative partnerships that will help tackle some of our most pressing challenges,” Northam said in a statement. “GO Virginia is providing exactly the kind of investment we need to move our economy forward, drive private-sector growth, and continue our progress toward an equitable and sustainable recovery in the months ahead.”

The recipients and grant amounts include:

• Virginia Bio Connect, $1,599,653 — a statewide program that will build four new “BioHubs” to support existing and emerging life sciences companies (statewide grant)
• Launching a Coastal Resilience and Adaptation Economy, $2,937,163 — a project focused on Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore’s efforts to bring in businesses that will address sea-level rise and resilience (statewide grant)
• Wildwood Natural Gas Extension, $527,600 — Project to provide natural gas access to the Wildwood Commerce Park (regional grant; Region 1)
• Central Virginia Community College Career and Technical Education Academy, $266,000 — CVCC is partnering with 10 regional high schools in developing four new credentialing programs. (regional grant; Region 2)
• LaGrange Industrial Park Master Planning and Preliminary Engineering Report, $76,992 — Improvement of 29 acres in the Essex County industrial park, which will bring it from a Tier 2 to at least a Tier 3 site in the Virginia Business Ready Site program (regional grant; Region 6)
• Regional Robotics Innovation Hub, $73,000 — Hampton Roads Alliance will analyze trends and supply chains to focus on manufacturing, digital shipbuilding, water technology and other technology industries. (regional grant; Region 5)
• RVA-757 Connects I-64 Corridor Talent Pipeline, $90,000 — A strategy to create jobs for the Hampton Roads and Richmond regional talent pool. (regional grant; Regions 4 and 5)
• Venture Central, $300,000 — Program will connect entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to a network of service providers through a partnership with the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce. (regional grant; Region 9)
• Economic Resilience and Recovery Grants — recipients include Capital Region Small Business Development Center ($30,500, Region 4); Virginia Virtual Maritime Trades Training ($100,000, Region 5) and Regional Business and Professional Connector Platform ($76,500, Region 9)

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