Staunton receives Virginia Main Street Milestone Awards

Contributors

On Friday, March 22, Staunton Downtown Development Association (SDDA) and the city of Staunton were presented with Virginia Main Street Milestone Achievement Awards for the contribution of over 80,000 volunteer hours dedicated to downtown revitalization and for fostering more than 500 building improvement projects in the city’s historic commercial district.

McDonnell announces 205 new jobs in Pulaski County

Contributors

Gov. Bob McDonnell today announced Red Sun Farms, a producer of high-quality hydroponic vegetables, will invest a total of $30 million to establish its first U.S. high-technology greenhouse production operation in Pulaski County. The company will erect climate controlled greenhouses on 45 acres of land in the New River Valley Commerce Park to grow quality greenhouse grown vegetables, creating 205 new jobs within five years. Virginia successfully competed against Tennessee for the project.

Fields of Gold receives Building Collaborative Communities Grant

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Agritourism in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia will be able to roll out a whole new range of activities in the coming years thanks to a recent $60,000 grant from the Building Collaborative Communities program. The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission will administer the grant on behalf of the Fields of Gold region. Funds will be allocated to develop partnerships, create business support services for farmers and agritourism operators, market the Valley’s rich agricultural offerings and build a sustainable organizational structure for long-term viability.

Report: Virginia top state for LEED certifications in 2012

Contributors

In their annual rankings released this week, the U.S. Green Building Council announced that Virginia has improved to the top state for LEED-certified buildings. Virginia ranked behind Colorado and Illinois last year, but improved to the top spot for 2012, with 170 projects certified, and 29,709,574 square feet of LEED space certified.