Published: October 12, 2008 08:53 pm      

Tech park closer to construction

BLUEFIELD, Va. — Following months of environmental and historical hurdles, a long-planned technology park for Tazewell County is finally nearing a construction phase.

The discovery of a 228-year-old farmhouse, along with chert, or chips of rock and flint that represent evidence of a pre-contact settlement, led to months of delays on the development of the 680-acre Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park.

However, officials have now reached a tentative agreement with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and are hoping to advertise the first phase of the project for construction by the year’s end, County Attorney Eric Young said.

“We have a tentative agreement with the Department of Historic Resources that we will not disturb the areas where those particular findings were made,” Young said. “There are two areas — one is the Stowers house which dates from 1790. Then the other area is along the stream on the east end of the park, which won’t be (disturbed) anyway. That’s where they found chert, which is basically the remnants of arrowhead making. No bodies or burial ground was found.”

Young said phase one of the project will be advertised for construction by the year’s end. The phase one construction contract will include the development of water, sewer and roads at the 680-acre site.

The county Board of Supervisors made four of five appointments last week to a new regional industrial development authority, which will oversee the actual development of the technology park project. Young said the four members are Don Dunford, Southern District; Shea Cook, Northwestern District; Walter “Buck” Sowers, Eastern District and Rod Moore, Northwestern District. Young said a fifth appointment representing the Northern District will be made by board chairman Bill Rasnick at the board’s November meeting.

The towns of Bluefield and Richlands also will make individual appointments to the regional industrial development authority board.

The technology park, which is being developed near Bluefield, Va., proposes to incorporate a workforce training center, offices, hotels and a conference center, retail stores, residential units and a nine-hole golf course — all within a single development.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com