Guest blog post by John Fernandez, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, U.S. Economic Development Administration
On August 1, 2011, the U.S. Commerce Department’s
Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested $5.25 million in the West
Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission of Charleston, W. Va., to upgrade a
key research lab building in South Charleston’s West Virginia Regional Technology
Park
to help attract rural small businesses. The effort is expected to create an
initial 96 jobs and an additional 9,000 jobs over the long term.
The facility will provide leased incubator space to high-tech start-up
companies in the chemical, energy, and advanced materials industries. The
renovations will result in significant energy savings for the State and
businesses working in the facility, reducing operating costs by nearly 50
percent annually. Start-up companies and entrepreneurs in the park will conduct
innovative product and process research, testing and business development, and
will also have manufacturing capacity. The building will also include research
and teaching facilities for Marshall University, West Virginia University, and
four community colleges.
This rural investment enjoys wide Congressional
and State support.
In announcing the grant, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the U.S.
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation said, “There is new
life in the Tech Park, and new hope that it will be an ongoing source of pride
and economic progress not only for the Kanawha Valley, but also for the entire
state. With this grant, we will see one of the park’s landmark lab buildings
turn into a modern facility ripe for additional research jobs, innovations and
discoveries. And we’ll be one significant stride closer to greater
technology-based economic development in West Virginia.”
Added U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, “In these challenging times, it is critical
that we prioritize our spending on smart investments that will help create the
jobs of tomorrow in West Virginia and the nation, and this is a smart
investment that will do that. I am so proud of initiatives like the West
Virginia Education, Research and Technology Park, which is a model of
public-private partnership and fosters critically needed economic development
for the Mountain State. This EDA grant will help transform the West Virginia
Education, Research and Technology Park into a world-class lab facility and a
small technology business incubator, creating an essential technology and research
hub for Kanawha County and all of West Virginia.”
Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito said, “Entrepreneurs and innovation will
lead us out of these tough economic times. This generous Economic
Development Administration grant will accelerate job creation by awarding local
businesses and start-ups must needed resources to grow their business.
The advances made over the next few years at the South Charleston “Tech park”
will have a positive ripple effect throughout the greater West Virginia and regional
economies.”
In November 2010, the state acquired the West Virginia Regional Technology Park
from the Dow Chemical Company, adding significant capacity to the state’s
academic and economic development efforts. EDA funded a study in
2009 that provided strategic, long-term planning assistance for the park’s
development.
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