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Tag: Blackstone

Blackstone vertiport receives landmark approval

Move over, North Carolina.

The Tar Heel State may have been first in flight, but Virginia landed a first for the advanced air mobility industry in September 2023 when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration granted conditional approval for the nation’s first public-use vertiport, a landing and launch site for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft — notably including air taxis — to be located at Allen C. Perkinson Airport, also known as Blackstone Army Airfield, in Nottoway County.

The roughly 600-acre airport, jointly owned by the Army and the Town of Blackstone, services civilian and military aircraft and includes a concrete runway and helipad.

Funded by an autonomous systems grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp., Floyd County-based Navos Air, which worked with the FAA to obtain approval for the vertiport, is developing what Matt Burton, Navos’ technical director, calls the “invisible infrastructure,” or a system of terminal instrument procedures and enroute infrastructure anchored by vertiports to enable safe navigation by the advanced air mobility industry. Navos will continue that research once the vertiport, which is slated for an unused taxiway on the airport’s north side, is up and running.

Initial work on physical infrastructure involves site improvements, including painting and marking a designated area, says Blackstone Town Manager Philip Vannoorbeeck, adding that he anticipates “an appreciable” amount of utility and concrete work to come.

As the FAA solidifies guidance for vertiport design and criteria, the airport will work with an engineering firm to continue work on the site, says Joe Allman, who manages services at the airport for the town and is also president of UAV Pro, a local unmanned aerial vehicle integration company. Infrastructure updates to support the vertiport could include taxiway guidance and charging facilities; the airport has an electrical charging station scheduled for installation in March.

State licensing for the vertiport is expected to come in January, says Greg Campbell, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation.

The state estimates that the AAM industry could generate up to $16 billion in new business and carry as many as 66 million passengers by 2045. While Campbell anticipates cargo will be the industry’s initial focus, shuttling passengers from places not traditionally served by large airplanes may not be too far behind.

“It will be an exciting decade or two,” he says, “as these technologies become more advanced and more proven.”

State industrial fund awards $24.7M to projects

The governor announced more than $24.7 million in Industrial Revitalization Fund grants going to construction projects across Virginia on Tuesday, including Danville’s White Mill, South Boston’s John Randolph Hotel and other historic properties.

“The transformation of older, vacant or blighted structures into productive, usable spaces is crucial to catalyzing economic growth to create thriving communities,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “The Industrial Revitalization Fund continues to be an important resource for those redevelopment efforts, spurring regional partnerships, economic development and job growth across the commonwealth.”

According to the governor’s office, 22 projects were awarded funding, which is expected to create more than 600 jobs and leverage $72.8 million in public and private development. The IRF was created in 2012 and has funded 38 projects that renovated vacant, blighted buildings.

The projects include:

  • $5 million for the White Mill in Danville, with focus on redeveloping the 650,000-square-foot former textile mill into a residential and commercial space with 150 housing units
  • $4.5 million for The HIVE — Hub for Innovators, Veterans and Entrepreneurs in Winchester, renovating a former National Guard Armory into a veterans’ center, business incubator, job training center and community gathering area. Partner Shenandoah University anticipates 13 jobs within five years and 239 jobs created at businesses served by the HIVE.
  • $3 million for the John Randolph Hotel in South Boston, allocated to its Industrial Development Authority to redevelop the shuttered hotel into a modern boutique hotel with 30 rooms, creating an expected 42 jobs
  • $1 million for the rehab of the Harris Memorial Armory Center in Blackstone, a partnership between the town and Virginia State University to create a multi-purpose facility to offer workforce training programs, particularly skilled hospitality jobs
  • Other projects are listed here.

$90K in business grants go to Buena Vista, Blackstone

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that $90,000 in Community Business Launch (CBL) grants, which provide business plan competition funding, will go to the town of Blackstone in Nottoway County and the city of Buena Vista.

CBL funding also offers training for entrepreneurs focused on regional economic development.

“This public health crisis has underscored the value of programs like CBL that prepare entrepreneurs for the rigors of operating in a fast-changing business environment,” Northam said in a statement. “As we respond to the economic devastation this virus has caused and look ahead toward a post-pandemic future, Virginia will continue to use every resource available to support the small businesses that are the heart of our downtown commercial districts and the bedrock of our economy.”

Half of the funding announced Wednesday will go toward the Blackstone Business Launch, an eight-week business competition for retail businesses to address vacancies created by the pandemic. The project is expected to create or expand four businesses and create at least 10 jobs.

The remaining $45,000 will go toward the Buena Vista Community Business Launch, a 10-week business competition focused on Buena Vista’s downtown district. The city would like to see hospitality, small-scale manufacturing and web-based retail in the downtown area. The project is expected to expand three businesses and create at least five jobs.

The program is administered through the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and since 2014, $1.53 million in CBL funds have been awarded to 24 Virginia communities. In total, CBL has gathered more than $2.25 million in private investment, with more than 230 full-time jobs created.

 “CBL supports communities in identifying businesses needed in their downtown districts and supporting those businesses beyond the grand opening,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement. “By combining training with a business plan competition, we are creating and nurturing strong local entrepreneurial ecosystems that will support current and future small business growth.”

 

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