Small business development center project axed in Patrick County

Stuart, wow.

The project was working since 2020 and was ready to receive the Grant Fund. On Friday, the WDBJ7 spoke to the County Economic Development Director what happened and what happened.

“When we returned to the project and took a look at it, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) decided that the Economic Development Authority (EDA) decided that the small business and development center would not move forward.”

Since 2020, Patrick County’s Economic Development Authority plans to convert the old hardware store location at Optown Stuart into County’s first small business development center. However, the project is now the focus of the project after its cost has doubled in the last few years.

“Once we really succeeded to bid the project and the bid came back, the bid was actually doubled, for which we had funding,” said Huchins.

The county was set to receive a $ 1.9 million grant for the project from state agencies, but since construction work had never begun, it had not yet been paid.

“No money has really exchanged hands. What is it? We had the pond from which we could draw. There is a system where they use where we remittth and send our invoices and items, then they return to us when we spent money.

While the project has been canceled, the County Economic Development Authority still owns the property.

“There are some other people who are interested and we know that we also need a place in the county. So we are taking a look at all our powers to ensure that whatever we do with the building will be the best for the EDA as well as the county.

The county also hoped that the children would also include a place of care. While the project has been canceled, Huchens said adding more children’s care in the area is a top priority.

“Now we are looking at other ways we can do, and we are also looking for community partners. Step He has said that he wants to do something else, and there are some other sources.

Huchins said he would not reject the formation of a small business development center elsewhere in the future. He said his department was dedicated to bringing economic growth in the area.

“This is a temporary blow to us, but once again, we are very hopeful and we know that there are other things we can do, of course, to bring care of children, cheap accommodation, and also help our businessmen. We have seen a lot of progress in the last two months, so we are ready for more.

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