Last night, Danville City Council approved an ordinance to upgrade an economic development site. The city will transfer $3 million from the Gas Fund to the Economic Development Fund to provide funding for the Coleman Site Project and appropriate the same.

The grading project at the Coleman Site will prepare approximately 80 acres for industrial development, including construction of an access road and grading for a future rail extension. This work will significantly improve the site’s marketability by elevating it to Tier 5 certification—the highest level in the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program—indicating it is fully ready for industrial use.

The project has a total cost of $17.43 million. To date, $11.33 million in grant funding has been secured, including $9 million from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program and $2.33 million from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. Both programs require a local match and staff is requesting approval to utilize $3,000,000 from the Gas Fund towards this match. Preparing the site will position the community to attract large-scale industrial prospects with high capital investment, utility usage, and job creation potential. 

In 2011, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) acquired a 158-acre rail-served industrial site on Gypsum Road, near Blue Ridge Fiberboard and Goodyear.