EDA: Riverside development could see groundbreaking in April

GATE CITY — The Riverside development could see site preparation for the first round of homes construction in April.Scott County Economic Development Authority Director included an update on the 100-acre Riverside project in his report Wednesday at the county Board of Supervisors meeting.Since September, the project has seen $1.1 million in grants from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Virginia Housing's Workforce Housing Investment Program to assist with Riverside's housing component.The area around the former TeleHealth shell building — now leased to Church on the Way — will contain 30 workforce housing units, according to a map shown during Kilgore's presentation. Church on the Way leases the TeleHealth building and primary developer Knoxville-based Solinity are working details for a day care center Kilgore said. VCEDA — which holds the title to the TeleHealth building — has granted a lien release for its sale to help with the day care center.Another 16 mid-sized homes would be built just south of the workforce housing area, and 14 more waterfront homes along the North Fork of the Holston River are projected for a later phase.Kilgore said the homes could have a price in the $250,000 range. Proceeds from home sales would go back into more housing.With additional streets planned for the Riverside neighborhood, Kilgore said plans now call for VDOT to be responsible for road maintenance only from U.S. Route 23 to the existing site cul de sac.With housing construction and the day care facility, Kilgore said those elements will help attract commercial development along the project's U.S. 23 frontage.Solinity is helping with marketing Riverside, Kilgore added.On other EDA fronts, Kilgore said the EDA Board has approved sale of the Duffield Pioneer Center to VFP after a contract with Mountain Empire Community College expired three months ago. VFP, which announced in October a planned $35 million manufacturing expansion of its Duffield plant, will take over repair of the center's roof after EDA had applied for grants for that work. The grants will be returned, he added.EDA also has $196,000 in grants from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the state Tobacco Indemnification Commission to update the Scott County Regional Business & Technology Park site assessment to better market the site to business prospects. The assessment of the Duffield site will include boundary and topographical survey, environmental assessment, wetlands review, endangered species and geotechnical report and a preliminary engineering report.Kilgore on Thursday said he was not the person mentioned by County Supervisor Eddie Skeen after Skeen and Supervisor Danny Casteel were censured for disclosing confidential information from a Board of Supervisors closed session Jan. 29. After his censure — also after Kilgore's EDA report — Skeen said information on a proposed hotel in Weber City was disclosed at a Republican meeting earlier in 2024 or 2025.Kilgore said he was not at that meeting and did not disclose any information regarding the hotel matter.