Economic Development?

When is enough, enough? Or to put it in a better context, when is not enough, not enough? While a singular project of the Front Royal/Warren County Economic Development Authority could be analyzed and criticized (as many have as of late), I’ve decided to look at multiple projects.

Leach Run Parkway – While this project is finally complete I still struggle to see the immediate economic impact and return on the investment. What was originally envisioned as a limited access connector road to facilitate easier access to the Happy Creek Technology Park is now a small super highway with multiple access points to the numerous properties owned by the EDA and/or its directors.

While the project did produce a new middle school for the School Superintendent/EDA Vice Chairman, the school’s location negates the roadways original intent of better truck access to the Technology Park.

Avtex Site – So this property has been scoured and cleaned and is ready for development. IT Federal is coming, but in order to facilitate giving them the land they needed for free first a contract was secured to sell three acres to a local company. After the EDA submitted to the EPA documents showing that they would be able to sell other parcels of the tract, the EPA consented to the IT Federal request and the contract to sell land to the local company was terminated.

The EDA and IT Federal are purportedly waiting on VDOT funding to build a road through the site. Meanwhile the scale and scope of the project has been reduced and the EDA has built roads elsewhere (see above).

Workforce Housing – What can be said here that hasn’t already been said? Oh, I know. Instead of building apartments for County workers (teachers/firefighter/law enforcement), pay them enough to live in the community. Ooh, here’s another idea since Front Royal has a 70% rental rate, take the $3+million buy up some small houses in town, renovate them and sell them to workers. This is not a hard concept as the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission did this a few years ago with foreclosures and since they rent office space from the EDA (next door in fact) they should be easy to contact.

Additionally, the law forbids an EDA from operating any apartment complex therefore; did the EDA intentionally mislead the town into waiving road improvements and other requirements for the benefit of a third party end user/management company and not the community? So much more can be said here but if you’ve been following this story I believe we’re all thinking the same thing.

Main Street – Since it is the most noticeable building on Main Street let us begin with the Afton Inn. The Town traded its former Town Hall for this dilapidated eye soar because they felt they would be able to utilize the EDA to redevelop the building and transferred ownership of the building to the EDA for $1. Years later the building now sports metal plates on its façade holding the brickwork in place and the hedges are gone but still no sign that says FOR SALE, much less a proposal for redevelopment.

The EDA did purchase another significant building at the other end of Main Street, The former Stokes Mart and grist mill at the corner of Water Street. The EDA facilitated a lease option to B&G Goods for three years and after two years it now sits empty with an old couch on the porch, but the drink machines stay stocked, supplying the community with its much needed 50 cent sodas.

Federal New Market Tax Program – Kudos and shame on you. While finding alternative funding sources to finance community projects is always welcome you have to be careful in what you say. This tax program was designed for destitute communities, areas affected by natural disasters or massive layoffs, etc.

You cannot hold yourself up to potential developers as a great place to open up a business and at the same time publicly proclaim yourself a low-income community with a 20+% poverty level, unemployment at 1.5 times the national average and median income at less than 60% of the state average. In short folks what this means is you’re not getting Kohl’s or anything else like that anytime soon.

Funding and Investment – The Mayor has implied that the Town has no oversight of the EDA. Whereas Front Royal gave up its funding, oversight and appointment of the Economic Development Authority several years ago in an agreement with Warren County, the town is still very much an active stakeholder in the operations of the EDA. The original investments by the Town and County to establish the EDA and purchase the first industrial parks and other properties were reinvested in other properties and never returned to the respective localities, thus the town is still a financial partner.

Front Royal was also nice enough to lend the EDA $10 million in a bridge loan to establish funding for the IT Federal Site. Meanwhile an unnamed investor has put up $10 million to build a Criminal Justice Academy in the Happy Creek Technology Park to be managed by Warren County, I just hope it is not the same money the Town loaned for the IT Federal project. Mr. Mayor and members of the Board of Supervisors you should all be holding the EDA more accountable.

While this may seem to belittle the FR/WC EDA board and staff, the county BOS and FR Town Council this is more of a calling out of the citizenry for allowing this to perpetuate.

Where is the return on our investment, where is the economic development and what are “we” going to do about it?

“To strengthen the industrial and commercial tax base; to create living wage jobs; and to foster a healthy environment in which businesses may prosper” FR/WCEDA Facebook site

Jeff Thomas