Paying the bills

 

Goochland is working toward a tax base ratio of 70 percent residential to 30 percent commercial. This should ease the tax burden on landowners while generating sufficient revenue to provide the high level of services citizens expect.

Getting there is the tricky part and requires more than deploying for sale signs.

The supervisors authorized reserving 50,000 gallons of water per day for parcels near the intersection of River Road and Rt.6 in return for assistance of the land owners, who have not current development plans, in building a water line there. Land on main roads is being added to the Tuckahoe Creek Service District to make it more attractive for commercial development.

In the past, the county has offered incentives, some in the form of real estate tax abatements, to attract businesses. The incentives require creation of a certain number of jobs, and minimum dollar investment by a date certain to qualify.

The county has seen a healthy uptick in economic development in the past few years. Audi of Richmond, Drive Shack, The Sheltering Arms Institute Rehabilitation Hospital Residence Inn by Marriott, and Greenswell Growers are some new enterprises in Goochland.  More will be coming. At their June 1 meeting, the supervisors learned what the Department of Economic Development is doing to bring more business development to the county.

A few years ago, Sara Worley and Casey Verberg were appointed as economic development coordinators. Worley focuses on the retention and expansion of existing business, Verberg on attracting new enterprises. To get a clear picture of where the county is and where is going, the women created databases of existing businesses, developable resources and network with state and other economic development agencies to put opportunities in Goochland on the “radar screen” of companies looking to move to central Virginia.

A missing piece of the local economic development puzzle was what kind of industries would be a good fit with what Goochland has to offer. Last year, the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development took along hard look at Goochland and the central Virginia region to develop a list of industries that should be targeted for maximum return on marketing efforts.  (Go to https://goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/122299 to watch the full presentation beginning about the 1:50 mark)

The top three industries, which already have a strong presence in the county, are financial services and insurance; headquarters and management branches of a wide range of industries—both Performance Food Group and CarMax headquartered in West Creek fall into this category; and construction including general contractors, commercial and institutional developers, and prefabricated building developers.

The latter category has a strong need for people with career and technical skills, like those leaned at the Goochland High School CTE program. “We are one of the few programs in the region that lets our students get hands on experience before they graduate enabling companies to recruit our students out of high school,” said Verberg.

Industrially zoned land, which is in short supply in Goochland, is in high demand. Businesses that need outside storage and use heavy equipment need this kind of property.

Emerging industry categories in the region include health care and life sciences; logistics; and food and beverage manufacturing.

Logistics companies need last mile warehouses, in short supply locally, and freight distribution. Verberg said that delivery companies need smaller local distribution “node” to keep up the demand for next day service.  Access to major highways makes Goochland an ideal location for this kind of enterprise. Indeed, an ordinance amendment to allow distribution centers as a by right use for land zoned M-1 should be on the board’s July agenda. (Much of West Creek and industrial parks in I-64 corridor from Mid-Point near Hadensville to those in the Ashland Road corridor fall into this zoning classification.)

Healthcare and life sciences builds on the presence of medical office buildings and the Sheltering Arms facility. Verberg expressed optimism that entrepreneurs in the field attracted to the burgeoning Virginia Tech Bio Tech Park in Richmond could be enticed to locate in Goochland.

All of the industries identified in the analysis require a well-trained and educated workforce.

Verberg introduced new marketing materials for West Creek, which has been broken up into seven “campuses” targeted for different uses. (Go to http://www.goochlandforbusiness.com/205/West-Creek-Business-Park to view the brochure.) This targets the needs of clients to specific places instead of presenting West Creek as a 3,500-acre business park. West Creek offers water, sewer, broadband and a nearby well- educated workforce.

Demand for existing commercial space is far outstripping supply, Verberg said. Efforts to encourage development of badly needed speculative industrial space were derailed by Covid but are starting to ramp up.

Tourism, which Verberg contended grows more organically than other kids of economic development, also was hurt by Covid. Our existing beverage enterprises, including wonderful craft breweries, wineries, cidery, and distillery are part of tourism.

Goochland has a sound plan for economic development to enhance our tax base and create jobs.