State sets up four enterprise zones

Published October 17, 2013 by Robert Powell, III

The governor’s office has announced four new Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) designations Thursday in  Hampton Roads, the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia.

Zones will be in Portsmouth, Winchester and Scott County, and a joint zone will include Radford and Pulaski County. Each locality will use state and local enterprise zone incentives to create jobs, promote private investment and support the growth of the local economy.

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development handles the VEZ program. It supports job creation and private investment by providing state and local incentives, such as the Job Creation grant and the Real Property Investment grant to qualified businesses and investors in the zones. 

Businesses can earn up to $200,000 during a five-year period in Real Property Investment Grants and for Job Creation Grants, up to $800 per position per year over a five-year period, depending on the wages offered.

Since 1995, the program has supported more than $1 billion in investment and the creation of more than 40,000 jobs.