Business View Civil & Municipal | July 2022

118 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 PULASK I COUNTY , V I RGINI A which is important for the continued growth and development of the county. It will be transformative. We now have a brand-new $48M state-of-the-art middle school in use. We’re also involved with several adaptive reuse projects, getting positioned for what we think is going to be a substantial influx in population, both due to remote work and because folks in general are looking for safe, affordable, high-quality places to live and enjoy.” One of those projects is the conversion of Pulaski County’s current Visitor Center (located in Dublin, off of exit 98 on I-81) into an Experiential Sales Center interactively showcasing all of the county’s current and future assets – from education, employment, and housing opportunities, to health systems, lifestyle, and outdoor recreation – all under one roof. “We’re transitioning our Visitor Center because no one’s using them anymore due to technology, customized websites and social media platforms,” Sweet admits. To his point, the center saw only 495 visitors last year, a steep decline from the 12,000 who had visited the facility during its peak year in 2009. “This one-stop- shop will be a unique resource and potential paragon… of post-COVID development projects in Virginia and beyond. For the universities looking to hire faculty, the hospitals doctors, or the businesses interested in maybe relocating some international talent, this will help to market all aspects of the community, as well as future developments and forecast” The reimagined Visitor Center will focus on the latent economic potential for the whole of New River Valley, and even beyond to the Mount Rogers region. With Blue Star NBR’s recent announcement of a new $714M medical glove manufacturing facility coming to adjoining Wythe County’s Progress Park, Pulaski County is