Agenda 02/12/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

College in Clifton Forge; $100,000 for the Sloan Foundation Forestry Industries Center at Virginia Tech; and $394,000 for the creation of the Virginia Small Manufacturing Assistance Program. Virginia Works will build on the export assistance program currently available for large manufacturers (VALET) with a new program of export assistance for small manufacturers in distressed areas. To qualify for this new program, companies must have a minimum of 10 employees and $1 million in annual sales. This new initiative has a budget of $215,000 for the 2006 fiscal year. Specialty Agriculture. Virginia will fund additional research on specialty crops at Virginia Tech and Virginia State University and facilitate the development and marketing of high-value specialty agricultural production. The program has a cost of $325,000, plus $300,000 in federal matching funds. Virginia Works for Strengthened Communities. Virginia Works for Strengthened Communities will help rural communities build the kind of infrastructure they need to compete effectively for new jobs. The program has three parts: Virginia Community Development Bank. This newly-created financial institution will provide capital to new and expanding businesses in distressed areas of Virginia. It will be capitalized with $15 million from existing program assets, will not compete with banks and other financial institutions, and will provide loans to borrowers who would not otherwise be served by a commercial bank. Efforts in neighboring states and localities have effectively utilized community development banks to foster economic development. Effective Use of Federal New Market Tax Credits. New Market Tax Credits were authorized by Congress in 2000 to attract new investment in distressed economic areas. Since their inception, New Market Tax Credits have been severely underutilized in the Commonwealth. To reverse this trend, Virginia Works creates a new initiative within the Department of Housing and Community Development to pursue these credits and coordinate their use with major banks in the Commonwealth. New Site Redevelopment Funding. One of the significant impediments that many rural communities face is the presence of old and abandoned industrial sites. These sites not only deprive communities of what is often the most attractive, developable land in town, they also create a negative impression of the community to potential employers. Virginia Works will, for the first time ever, make grants available on a competitive basis to demolish and remove abandoned plants, and to redevelop sites for new investment. In addition, the initiative will make new funds available to the Brownfields program. The cost of this initiative is $4 million. 3