A ribbon cutting ceremony for Riverstone Technology Park and a ground breaking ceremony for Building One was held in Halifax County, Virginia, on May 12, 2004 at 10:00 A.M. The Honorable Matt Erskine, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the Honorable Frank Ruff, a member the Virginia Senate 15th District and the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the Honorable Clarke Hogan, a member of the Houseof Delegates 60th District and the Virginia Tobacco Commission were on hand to help break ground on Building One.
Riverstone is a 165 acre premier technology business park designed to attract technology based companies to complement the existing industrial base and develop higher education partnerships. Riverstone is located on US Highway 58, two miles from the intersection of US 58 and US 501. The park is located 60 miles from Research Triangle Park.
Riverstone Technology Park is designed for the needs of Information technology, biomedical, small technology, telecommunications and technical manufacturing industries for both manufacturing and corporate office facilities. The first tenant in the park, a 100 person customer contact center, will be occupying Building Two, a 15,000 square foot facility, in early 2005.
.The Honorable Bill Fitzgerald, Board of Supervisors Chairman stated, “ The County believes in Riverstone and knows that our people will have the skills necessary for the jobsof tomorrow.”
The Southside area has recently faced economic challenges resulting from cutbacks in the traditional tobacco and textiles based economies. Consequently, the federal, state, and local governments are actively seeking solutions to boost the area’s economy. New information-based employers are a target for this park. Funding assistance from the federal, state, and local levels made the Riverstone project feasible. The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) funded $1 million with money earmarked for telecommunication service, water, sewer and road. This was the first telecommunications grant in the nation funded by EDA. The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission has funded $4 million over a three-year period, and the Virginia Department of Transportation has provided Industrial Access Road and Revenue Sharing monies with local matches committed. The infrastructure portion of this project is estimated at approximately $6.5 million.
“Riverstone Technology Park and Building One are long-term investments for this community that are going to help us start the turn toward a more diversified and knowledge based economy,” stated by John Cannon, Chairman of the Industrial Development of Authority.
Building development in Riverstone will be done to further attract research based companies, growing businesses in the life sciences fields, corporate headquarters, and information processing facilities.>
The first building, Building One will have available class “A” space for small information technology, technical manufacturing and biomedical companies. Companies in these areas will bring valuable resources to the region, including long-term tax revenue and high paying jobs. In return, they will be seeking a high quality of life, a well educated workforce, and convenient infrastructure for their employees as well as their suppliers.
Building One has a total of 67,000 square feet with 10,499 square feet of lab space, 14,346 square feet of office space, and 11,733 square feet of high-bay space. The building will also have commons space for the park including an exercise facility, a corporate board room and a café with outside seating. Building One will also have multiple broadband options and WiFi environment.
Building One is the artistic creation of O’Brien/Atkins architecture firm out of Research Triangle Park, NC. The construction contract has been awarded to J.E. Burton Construction Company out of South Boston, Virginia. Building One has an estimated cost of $10.6 million. The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission has committed to funding $10 million over a nine year period. Building One construction is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2005.