Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 7

70 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7 County prioritizes creating a community-based workforce development process that meets the needs of business and industry. More good news, Prince Edward County also recently made #1 on the “Most Improved Counties” list for Southern Virginia Certified Work Ready Communities. In 2009, the County developed four new “ready- to-go” industrial sites that are designed and marketed to attract additional industries to the county. They are currently developing an internal access road through the Prince Edward County Business Park. This road is necessary to gain access to 60+ acres of land within the Park that are currently landlocked. Construction will include 1,500 feet of road for acceptance into the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) road system. This is a $1.3 million project with funding leveraged from the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission and the VDOT. The County is also investing $1.5 milion in the development of the Heartland Innovation Technology Park. The Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors authorized the purchase of 287 acres of land for development and marketing to the data center industry. The location of the land and the fact that it has two Dominion transmission lines and access to Mid- Atlantic Broadband fiber makes it an excellent location for a data center site. Industrial business is supported through the appointed Industrial Development Authority (IDA), which provides incentives for the development of new industries through the Enterprise Zone Program. The State’s Enterprise Zone Program is designated to offer state and local incentives for businesses to locate or expand within designated zone areas. Part of the county’s Enterprise Zone is the Prince Edward County Business Park, where multiple industries now reside. One such success story came in 2018 when YakAttack, LLC (a leading manufacturer of