OFFICIALS CONSIDER NEW OWNERS FOR COMPETITIVENESS CENTER

For the second time in two years, Virginia's First Regional Industrial Facility Authority is considering forming a participation committee to take ownership of the New River Valley Competitiveness Center, a Fairlawn business incubator now home to 21 companies and regional organizations.

The center was developed in the late 1990s by the New River Valley Development Corp., a nonprofit organization made up of the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski; the towns of Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Pulaski; and the city of Radford.

Pulaski County Administrator Peter Huber, who sits on the boards of both the New River Valley Development Corp. and Virginia's First Regional Industrial Facility Authority, said transferring ownership of the center to an authority participation committee could provide significant tax benefits.

Currently, Huber said, the development corporation has several loans used for the center's original construction and its expansion.

If the authority participation committee assumed ownership, Huber continued, "the loans will be able to qualify for tax-exempt status, which should reduce overall debt service cost for the facility."

While the amount of savings is dependent on a number of factors, Huber estimates the move could cut interest costs by a third.

The transfer would also establish a formal structure by which the communities that bought into the center could split any revenue the incubator generates based on the number of project shares they purchase.

Virginia's First Regional Industrial Facility Authority was formed under state legislation that allows localities to pool resources for economic development projects and share in project revenue. The authority is made up of 15 Southwest Virginia towns, cities and counties, some of which are also part of the New River Valley Development Corp.

Eleven authority members already participate in a committee similar to the one being considered for the center. That committee owns Commerce Park outside Dublin.

Authority members also considered forming a center participation committee in 2005, when the center's income from business rent was falling short of what was needed to maintain the center and pay off debts from its expansion.

Then, the move was seen as a way to bail the center out of its immediate financial need and eventually recoup authority members' investment when more businesses filled the incubator.

Ultimately, however, authority members decided against the idea.

Huber said he doesn't know of any specific reason for the decision but "maybe it was that it sounded good, but there wasn't any driving reason to make the change then."

It's unclear how authority members will respond to the suggestion this time around.

At an authority meeting Wednesday, David Rundgren, executive director of the New River Valley Planning District Commission, told members he would work on drawing up a participation committee agreement and then gauge interest from members.