Wise County tech park is growing

Progress continues on the Wise County Industrial Development Authority’s 200-acre Elam Farm industrial site in Wise County, which will expand an existing technology park. With help from various sources, including a total of $1 million from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, the project so far has received $4.8 million in investments, with plans to add future manufacturing and data centers.

Brian Falin, the IDA’s executive director, says the project dates back to 2013 when the IDA acquired the property, but development didn’t begin until 2019.

“We started taking a hard look at bringing this property up to the standard that the rest of the Lonesome Pine [Regional] Business and Technology Park is,” he says. Existing tenants include Foundever, DP Facilities’ Mineral Gap Data Center, and Ronald Blue Trust.

Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA’s executive director, says as the technology park evolved, attracting new tenants, the need for expansion was clear, and the adjacent Elam Farm was the logical choice.

By the time it’s developed, he says, the property will have a 65-acre industrial site ready to be marketed.

The project’s development encompasses multiple phases. The first phase focuses on fundamental groundwork and includes developing an access road and extending utilities like water, sewer and natural gas. Construction began in December 2023 and is on track for completion by September, Falin says.

The VCEDA funding — a $700,000 grant for Phase 1 and a $300,000 loan for Phase 2 — is coupled with a $1.8 million grant from Virginia Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Program to pay for the first phase.

The second phase, bolstered by additional funding from other sources, will include earthwork, site clearing and grading, and Falin says it’s pivotal in delineating a 65-acre plot primed for development. Construction was slated to begin in May, targeting a December completion.

The property was a surface mining site in the early 1990s, Falin says, and over the years has transitioned into agricultural use.

Belcher says Southwest Virginia’s mountainous topography creates challenges for site development.

“Having that 65-acre site will be of tremendous value as we try to attract prospects that need a larger footprint like that,” he says. “We’re pretty well-situated as far as greenfield sites for companies that might need a smaller amount of acreage, but having a larger acreage is something we have less often.”