Washington County plans for industrial site

More than a year ago, Thermo King, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of transport refrigeration and heating, expressed interest in land at Highlands Business Park in Glade Spring.  

“The site that they were wanting … was already assigned to another project,” says Washington County Director of Economic Development Alicia Roland. 

The company’s interest prompted Washington County officials to look at the 24 acres of available land at the 302-acre industrial park, which is home to facilities operated by American Electric Power, Speyside Bourbon Cooperage and General Engineering.  

Around the same time, a long-discussed inland port appeared closer to becoming a reality. If built at Washington County’s Oak Park Center for Business and Industry, the project would leave only two or three available sites at the park, according to Roland. That would put the county dangerously close to exhausting its supply of industrial-ready land. 

“We just wanted to make sure that we had any available sites up and ready to go as soon as we could,” she says.  

In recent months, Roland and regional partners have worked to secure funding to develop the remaining acreage at Highlands Business Park into a 10-acre, pad-ready site. 

“When an industry is looking to locate … they want to put the shovels in the ground,” she says.

Expected to cost about $2.3 million, the project includes site clearing, grading and installation of essential utility infrastructure. 

At the end of April, Washington County applied for funds through two U.S. Economic Development Administration programs. One funding source provides money to counties affected by 2024’s Hurricane Helene. The other is designated for communities affected by coal-related job losses.  

In June, GO Virginia, a business-led economic development initiative, committed $61,500 to the Highlands Business Park effort. The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission awarded the Washington County IDA $350,000 this spring.  

No prospects have been identified for the site. If the funding comes through, the work could be completed by fall 2027.  

Highlands Business Park was developed in the late 1990s by the Smyth-Washington Regional Industrial Facilities Authority. The two counties split tax revenue from sites developed through the RIFA. For the new pad-ready site, all tax revenue will go to Washington County.  

Jordan Powers, senior planner at Mount Rogers Planning District Commission, expects to hear about the EDA funding by the end of summer.  

“Anything could happen, but we feel pretty good about our application,” he says.