In honor of organizations with exemplary economic development marketing campaigns, projects and programs, Virginia was recognized for the Community Business Launch, Industrial Revitalization Fund, and Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia).
“Virginia’s IEDC awards are well-deserved recognition for the ongoing and innovative programs that are supporting our economic development efforts across Virginia,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a press release. “The three awarded initiatives are a testament to our economic development work and exemplify my administration’s Day One promise to revitalize the Virginia economy so that it works for all Virginians.”
The Gold Award went to Community Business Launch, a program implemented in 33 communities between 2015 and 2021 to support creation or expansion of approximately 158 businesses, 345 new jobs and leveraged private investments of more than $2.64 million. The original project featured Gloucester County and the cities of Staunton and Hopewell. Each community received $100,000 to coordinate a six- to eight-week business course for new entrepreneurs and existing small businesses who entered a pitch competition for seed funding to open a storefront.
GO Virginia received a Gold Award for Regionalism and Cross-Border Collaboration. The program seeks to drive regional strategies and make regions and companies more competitive. More than 185 local partners have engaged in one or more regional economic development initiatives and made more than $90 million in investments in workforce development, sites/infrastructure development, the start-up ecosystem and cluster scaling activities. Projects are expected to create more than 25,000 jobs in Virginia.
Industrial Revitalization Fund is a Bronze Award recipient this year for Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse. In Petersburg, the program supported redevelopment of Trapezium Brewing, retail space and residential units. Construction, retail, hospitality and small-scale production jobs were created by the project. IRF has provided funding for 38 projects, generated more than $121 million in public and private investment and created more than 500 jobs since 2012.
The IEDC Annual Conference features 25 award categories in urban, suburban and rural community development. According to the press release, a diverse panel of economic and community developers from around the world judged more than 500 submissions from the United States and four other countries this year.
“Having strong regional economies and supportive, place-specific investments are the fulcrum upon which thriving communities rest, and these programs offer crucial support to achieve the Commonwealth’s economic development goals,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick said in the press release. “These awarded programs have helped bolster local economies, while offering targeted support for community-identified needs, and we are immensely proud of these prestigious honors.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
