Almost one year ago, I wrote in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Virginia had to go big on site readiness in order to compete for and win major economic development projects.
To be more precise, I said we couldn’t win if we weren’t even sitting at the table.
A few months later, the General Assembly made a historic investment in job creation and economic success by appropriating $150 million to the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program.
That was great news – we’re at the table – but now we need to better position ourselves at the table.
In the economic development world, business-ready sites are a prerequisite to even compete for projects.
Business recruitment incentives often get the attention, but they are simply additional tools that are helpful for a win.
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Business-ready sites are what get you to the table in the first place.
Today, Virginia is battling for businesses against competitor states that have spent decades investing in sites for the major projects that transform a region and create thousands of good-paying jobs.
If Virginia is going to compete against North Carolina, Georgia and others for major projects – like auto manufacturing, distribution centers and microchip plants – we must offer these businesses a site that is ready for prime time.
That means large sites that are cleared, level and graded; that have easy access to road, rail and transportation services; and that already have on-site utilities like power, water and broadband.
Those of us who work in economic development know how acute the problem is.
At least four major prospects during my tenure as Virginia secretary of commerce and trade chose other states because of a lack of business-ready sites.
Now working in the private sector on projects across the country, I sometimes have to advise clients to look beyond Virginia for suitable sites.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state’s business recruitment agency, has put a price tag on what this problem has cost us since 2016: 55,000 jobs and $124 billion in investment.
In just the past few years, Virginia was a finalist for a major semiconductor chip plant that would have created about 10,000 permanent jobs and $20 billion in investment in the state.
Ohio offered a business-ready site, among other things, and landed that project.
Virginia was also in the running for a large automobile and electric battery factory, a $5.5 billion project with more than 8,000 jobs.
Those jobs went to Savannah, Georgia, because the region spent two decades preparing a business-ready site.
One of Virginia’s signature victories of the past few years – Lego’s $1 billion North American manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County – landed at one of Virginia’s few large sites that was ready for development.
The bottom line: When competitor states are offering graded 500-acre or larger sites with infrastructure and utilities, it’s difficult to win if the best we can offer is a wooded 250-acre site with limited transportation and utility options.
Last year, Virginia started closing the gap with our competitors with a $150 million investment in the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program that was proposed by outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam, approved on a bipartisan basis by the General Assembly, and signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
This year, Youngkin has proposed a historic $500 million package to turbocharge Virginia’s site-readiness efforts and put the commonwealth at the table to win the kind of investments that can transform an entire region.
He has proposed a $50 million investment in the Business Ready Sites Program, $250 million for a unique Site Acquisition Pilot Program, and an additional $200 million to be split between the two programs.
This kind of investment would immediately close the gap between Virginia and our closest competitors.
The Site Acquisition Pilot Program, sponsored by Del. Barry Knight, would be a real game changer.
Too often, the sites we show to business prospects are owned by various public and private entities, leading to drawn-out negotiations that cost businesses time and money.
Meanwhile, our competitors offer publicly owned properties that can quickly and affordably be sold or leased for immediate development.
Businesses want to know what you have in stock, not what you can order or how long before it’s ready.
By taking ownership of these sites and cutting the time and red tape to get to readiness, we can compete for and win the major projects we need.
Economic development has long been a bipartisan priority in Virginia.
I saw this firsthand working for both Democratic and Republican governors who were committed to job creation and economic prosperity.
By supporting this historic investment, the General Assembly can write another chapter in this long story of bipartisan achievement and better position the commonwealth for economic success.
Virginia has put itself at the table – now it’s time to double-down and put ourselves in an even better position to win.
From the Archives: DuPont
In 1927, DuPont purchased a plot of land near Richmond to build a rayon factory. That year, a front page story captured local excitement for the factory and the jobs it would provide. The headline read “Industrial Victory for Richmond Army of Employees Will Be Recruited for Tremendous Enterprise.”
The plant, which opened two years later, was named the Spruance Plant in honor of rayon pioneer William Spruance. In 1930, the factory also began producing cellophane since it had a similar production process to rayon.
During World War II, the plant produced war supplies for paper cellophane, cellophane and rayon yarn. The war time contracts led to peak employment at the plant with 4,450 workers. In the 1950s and 60s the plant ceased production of rayon in Richmond however, they continued to produce cellophane and other materials including Tyvek and Teflon. The facilities were expanded in the 1980s and 90s and continue production today.
Interested in a copy of one of these photos? Click here.
Todd P. Haymore is managing director of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s public affairs consultancy. He served as secretary of commerce and trade for Gov. Terry McAuliffe; secretary of agriculture and forestry for Governors McAuliffe and Bob McDonnell; and commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for Gov. Tim Kaine. Contact him at thaymore@hunton.com.