Halifax County, Wise County and Waynesboro receive enterprise zone renewals

Governor McAuliffe today accepted the renewal applications of the Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) designations for the counties of Halifax and Wise, as well as the City of Waynesboro.

“The Virginia Enterprise Zone program provides incentives for new investments and higher-wage job growth, supporting our efforts to build a new Virginia economy,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These zone renewals are an important tool that will assist in state and local efforts to partner with businesses to expand and diversify our economy.”

The three zones receiving renewals were initially designated in 2007 and reached their 10-year designation milestone on December 31, 2017. These zones were renewed through a non-competitive process, based on the effectiveness of each Enterprise Zone in creating jobs and providing capital investment incentives. This is the second time Enterprise Zone designations have been renewed since the Enterprise Zone Grant Act was enacted in 2005.

“In the last five years, firms receiving Enterprise Zone incentives in the three renewed zones created 354 net new jobs and invested over $63 million in real estate improvements, a testament to the success of this program in attracting investments to Virginia’s localities,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore. “I congratulate the three localities that have been renewed under this program and look forward to the future job creation and investment they bring not only to their local communities, but the Commonwealth overall.”

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Virginia Enterprise Zone program.  The program supports job creation and private investment by providing state and local incentives such as the Job Creation Grant (JCG) and the Real Property Investment Grant (RPIG) to qualified businesses and investors in Enterprise Zones.  Businesses can earn up to $200,000 during a five-year period in the RPIG program and, for the JCG program, up to $800 per position, per year, over a five-year period, depending on the wages offered.  Since 1995, this program has supported more than $1 billion in investment and the creation of more than 45,000 jobs.