Category: Economic development
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Thank You, GASB, for Bringing Tax-Break Transparency to Local Government
Every year, local governments across Virginia publish a voluminous document called a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) that describes their fiscal condition, detailing revenues, expenditures, debt, and growth in the tax base. This year, CAFRs should include a new data point: revenue foregone due to business tax incentives. Few localities have bothered to compile and…
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What the Looming Higher-Ed Shakeout Means for Small College Towns
Two years after alumni rallied to save Sweet Briar College, raised millions of dollars and installed a new president, the small, liberal arts college north of Lynchburg still is in peril. The college admitted only 81 freshmen into its fall class — well below the 200 officials previously had estimated the institution needed to remain…
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Richmond’s Growth Bottleneck: Building Permits
Jeremy Connell wants to build a dozen high-end townhomes in Manchester, right across the James River from downtown. The $6 million, 7west project envisions four-bedroom, three-story townhouses priced in the $700,000s, providing a nice boost to the City of Richmond’s tax base and offering a short, easy commute to the region’s central business district. He…
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Illuminating Rural Poverty in Virginia
Last week Augie Wallmeyer delivered a speech to the Virginia Historical Society on the “Extremes of Virginia.” If you haven’t read his book by the same title, listen to his speech. (Clicking on the image takes you to the Virginia Historical Society Facebook page, where the speech can be viewed.)
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A Town that Refuses to Die
The past twenty years have been unkind to Halifax County. The Southside Virginia locality has seen wave after wave of plant and business closures — some caused by the restructuring of the tobacco industry, others from globalization and the offshoring of traditional manufacturing industries. The dislocations have been so traumatic that Bloomberg writer Craig Torres…
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Here’s What Happens When You Mess Where You Shouldn’t Be a’Messin’
The City of Martinsville may be on the hook for an $800,000 loan extended to the Integrative Centers for Science and Medicine (ICSM) by the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. The tobacco commission gave ICSM the money to help start the College of Henricopolis School of Medicine in the economically beleaguered manufacturing town. The tobacco commission…
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The Surge in Prince William Data Storage
Data centers continue to be the biggest economic development game in Virginia. The sector is dominated by Loudoun County, which spotted the potential earlier than anyone else and moved quickly to gain competitive advantage. Now Loudoun’s next-door-neighbor, Prince William County, is coming on strong. The data center industry has brought 31 projects to the county to date,…
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Should We Subsidize Rural Economies?
Last week I offered a point-by-point review of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam’s plan to revitalize rural Virginia. In rough summary, I concluded that the plan wouldn’t accomplish much, but on the other hand, it wouldn’t cost much either. The Northam proposals had considerably more merit than a lot of ideas — such as a…
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Why Do Taxpayers Subsidize Public Colleges?
True, state support for higher education does constitute a subsidy for the upper middle-class. Think of it as a tool to recruit and retain human capital. Why do taxpayers subsidize public colleges? Dimitrios Halikias and Richard V. Reeves with the Brookings Institution ask that question in a new paper. Four-year colleges, they noted, are dominated…
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Northam’s Affordable, Not-So-Ambitious Plan for Reviving Rural Virginia
Ralph Northam, Democratic Party candidate for governor, grew up on the Eastern Shore, so it’s not surprising that he has given considerable thought to the challenges of economic development in Virginia’s small towns and rural communities. Earlier this week, he unveiled his plan for economic growth in rural Virginia. If you’re looking for a “Marshall…
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Building a Better Business Climate
Governor Terry McAuliffe wasn’t the only one to welcome Virginia’s No. 7 status in CNBC’s 2017 “Best States for Business” ranking. “Good news? Of course it is!” wrote Chris Saxman, executive director of Virginia FREE in an email blast yesterday. “Better is better and moving back into the Top Ten is important for a number of reasons…
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Taking a Peek Behind the CNBC Best-State-for-Business Ranking
Governor Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that he was “thrilled” Virginia had moved up six spots to 7th place in CNBC’s Best States for Business 2017 rankings — and when McAuliffe says he’s thrilled, you can take that to the bank. Whatever else you think about the job he’s done as governor, there is no denying…
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Two More Signs that City of Richmond Is Kicking Donkey
The City of Richmond is on a tear. Not only is it seeing more real estate investment than it has it decades, the city is laying the groundwork for future growth and re-development. Its competitive advantage over neighboring suburban counties seems to get stronger with every passing day. Word has leaked to local media of…
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Dominion Explores Pumped Storage in SW Virginia
Much to my astonishment, Dominion Energy is taking a serious look at building a pumped-storage hydro-electric power plant in Virginia’s coalfields. I wrote about the idea back in February but it struck me as a long shot. So much for my superficial impression. It now transpires that Dominion is identifying potential sites in far Southwest…
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Ferguson Deal Will Help Transform Newport News
A couple of weeks ago, the City of Newport News announced an economic development coup: Ferguson Enterprises, the nation’s largest distributor of plumbing supplies and one of the city’s largest home-grown companies, will locate an $82.8 million office project in City Center at Oyster Point. The new campus will house 1,400 information-technology and administrative jobs,…