Roanoke/New River Year-in-Review: Meeting the demand

The Roanoke and New River Valley regions each had their most successful economic development year in recent history, according to John Hull, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. That’s thanks to $387 million worth of economic investments announced in 2023, potentially creating thousands of jobs.

Roanoke County landed the biggest fish, with Wells Fargo poised to become its largest employer, adding about 1,100 jobs as part of an $87 million expansion of its local customer service center. (See related story.)

Overall, the region saw several major expansions, both from long-established companies such as Altec Industries and newer ones like STS Group.

Pulaski County

In October 2023, Wytheville-based third-party logistics provider Camrett Logistics announced it would invest more than $2 million to expand in Pulaski County, creating 58 jobs. The investment in Dublin will include new construction, renovating existing space and purchasing forklifts and electric trucks.

Additionally, Fireworks by Grucci announced in June 2023 that it’s expanding into Dublin at the 30,000-square-foot former Koinonia Tapes and Foams plant at ShaeDawn Park. The New York-based fireworks manu- facturer has also operated a facility at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant since 1997.

Lynchburg

In December 2023, French nuclear power company Framatome announced plans to invest $49.4 million to expand, modernize and enhance its U.S. headquarters in Lynchburg, creating 515 jobs. The expansion will meet increased demand for servicing existing nuclear power plants and developing solutions for advanced and small nuclear reactors.

Meanwhile, Delta Star, a manufacturer of industrial electrical products like mobile power transformers and substations, announced plans in May 2023 to expand its manufacturing operation and headquarters, a move expected to create about 150 jobs. The company is investing $30.2 million in the facility, which was established in Lynchburg in 1962.

Salem

Salem had a banner year in 2023, with three new expansions totaling nearly 200 jobs.

In May, local convenience store products distributor Layman Distributing announced a $6.8 million relocation and expansion in the city, creating more than 40 jobs. It relocated to a larger facility at 2157 Apperson Drive, doubling its operational capacity and adding space for a new customer experience center and cold warehousing.

“For kind of a small family-run business, at the scale they’re growing, [it] is really impressive,” says Tommy Miller, Salem’s economic development director.

A couple months earlier, in March 2023, German automotive parts supplier STS Group announced it would establish its North American headquarters at the
former General Electric plant in Salem, a $32 million investment expected to create 119 jobs. The company originally announced in 2021 that it would locate the headquarters in Wythe County but pivoted. STS Group is leasing 200,000 square feet, and construction related to building upfits is mostly complete. Equipment is being installed and commissioned, and initial hiring for management- level personnel has started.

In July, locomotive products manufacturer Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (Wabtec) unveiled plans for a $2.7 million expansion of its Salem plant, adding 38 jobs. The expansion will accommodate the relocation of its pneumatically controlled braking systems manufacturing lines within its Graham-White manufacturing facility.

Local leaders are also talking with Wabtec about relocating production lines to Salem from a plant the company’s closing in Pennsylvania, Miller says.

Botetourt County

In May 2023, Alabama-based Altec Industries announced plans to invest $1.4 million to expand production on its construction equipment products line at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield, a move that’s expected to create 150 manufacturing jobs. Altec makes products like boom truck cranes and digger derricks for industrial customers such as electric utilities, telecommunications companies and tree care businesses. The expansion will be built on eight acres at Altec’s 80-acre site.

The Botetourt facility has seen nine expansions since Altec established it in 2001, Economic Development Director Ken McFadyen says, adding that Altec’s local hires have included engineering students from Virginia Tech. “Altec has it figured out in terms of how to attract talent, and they do a wonderful job here,” he says.

Just a few days into 2024, Universal Logistics Holdings announced plans for a
$50 million facility in Botetourt County, creating 45 jobs. The trucking and logistics company will revamp a 254,000-square-foot facility that is expected to begin operating in 2025.

Roanoke

Roanoke takes pride in its balanced economic landscape across industries, with a strong manufacturing sector and growing biotech and health care sectors, says Marc Nelson, Roanoke’s economic development director.

Carilion Clinic is part of a public-private partnership to establish biotech incubator laboratories in downtown Roanoke, with an aim to develop the region into an advanced health care and life sciences hub. The effort involves Carilion, the City of Roanoke, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Verge and Virginia Western Community College.

Roanoke is overseeing administration of $15.7 million in funds from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for the project. The funds will be used to develop 40,000 square feet of shared biotech laboratory space within Carilion’s former Jefferson Plaza building and is set to open in late 2024 or early 2025.

Meanwhile, local developer Ed Walker is partnering with the city on redeveloping 100 acres in southeast Roanoke encompassing the sprawling former American Viscose campus, a rayon plant that closed in 1958. As part of his agreement with the city, Walker will invest at least $50 million over the next 16 years on Riverdale, a mixed-use development planned to include commercial, residential and retail components. Riverdale’s first phase, which could be completed by 2029, will include 375 apartments and at least one 3,000-square-foot commercial building. The city and the Economic Development Authority have provided Walker’s company a forgivable $10 million loan to support public infrastructure work on the site.

Additionally, Nelson says, the city is actively addressing housing needs through the creation of an affordable housing fund and has secured federal funding to support affordable housing projects, with developments underway, including a 30-unit project in Belmont Fallon, which will be complete in early June, and a project downtown, which will have 60 to 70 units. Construction will begin this summer and last 18 months.

Furthermore, progress continues on the $300 million Crystal Spring Tower at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The project will add more than 500,000 square feet to the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and will add a cardiovascular institute and expanded emergency department to the hospital. The exterior of the tower is expected to be complete in early 2024, and following continued interior renovations, the tower is planned to open in 2025.

Meanwhile, in Roanoke County, in addition to the Wells Fargo customer service center expansion, the county celebrated the opening of Carilion Clinic’s $11.5 million Carilion Mental Health facility at Tanglewood Mall in October 2023. The 37,000-square-foot outpatient clinic, which has about 300 staff, including 70 health care providers, was projected to serve about 800 patients per week.

A month earlier, another ribbon-cutting was held to mark the opening of the $6 million, 26,000-square-foot Vistar Eye Center on Airport Road in the county’s Hollins area. Vistar’s seventh area location, it offers an array of eye services ranging from eye exams to cataract surgery and retina services.

And in June 2023, Galen College of Nursing opened its new $6 million campus in Roanoke County’s Oak Grove area at Roanoke Metis Plaza. The college, which offers programs including a two-year associate degree in nursing, is affiliated with Salem’s LewisGale Medical Center and is aiming to fill an urgent regional shortage of nurses, totaling some 800 vacant positions across Roanoke and the New River valleys as of early 2023.

Bedford

In June 2023, the Town of Bedford announced it would be getting its first business-class hotel, a Hampton Inn by Hilton, bringing at least 85 rooms to the town.  

Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky contributed to this story.