Radford Receives Grant for Commerce Park
The City of Radford received $3.5 million to revitalize the 80-acre West Radford Commerce Park, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.
The funding comes from the Virginia Business Sites Ready Program (VBRSP) which aims to enhance the city’s infrastructure and promote a more competitive business environment.
The grant will go towards revitalizing the site that previously housed the Foundry, which produced various iron products, including water and sewage pipes, until closing in 2013.
The $3.5 million is allocated for “…engineering and planning, site grading work, perimeter fencing of the lagoon, elimination of any contaminated soil and the demolition and removal of the 200,000 square feet concrete slab that housed the former Foundry structure,” according to the City of Radford.
In August 2023, the city purchased the vacant property and renamed the site to West Radford Commerce Park before City Council transferred ownership to the Economic Development Authority (EDA) in June 2024.
“Bringing new jobs and businesses to Radford has long been a goal for creating a robust, sustainable economy,” said Mayor David Horton. “Reimagining parts of our community, investing, and redeveloping areas like the West Radford Commerce Park helps us move forward with 21st Century opportunities to build the Radford of tomorrow…”
“This is a tremendous announcement for the City of Radford and West Radford Commerce Park. We are very excited to receive this grant as we are beginning development of the Commerce Park. These funds will help ensure that we have a market-ready site in the very near future that is ready for new business, job creation and will be a contributor to the overall economic growth in our region of the Commonwealth,” exclaimed EDA Chair Abram Williams.
“With this grant from the State of Virginia, we are able to take the necessary steps to remediate and redevelop the former Foundry property in West Radford that has sat dormant for over a decade”, said Kim Repass, Economic Development Director for the City of Radford.
“Special thanks to the Radford Economic Development Authority, Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Governor Youngkin’s Office for your continued dedication, efforts and vision to establish a reuse plan for this site. The redevelopment of this property will bring new industry, job creation and an overall economic vitality to our City and Region.”
Click here to learn more about the Virginia Business Sites Ready Program grant.
