HAYSI, VA – OCTOBER 23, 2024 – An up to $200,000 grant from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) Tourism Capital Improvement Matching Fund to the Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority to be used to develop a trails center in the Town of Haysi was closed recently.
The funds, transferred from the VCEDA Dickenson County account to the tourism capital improvement matching fund will finance building construction, renovation and rehabilitation, the purchase of furniture, fixtures and equipment and other improvements related to the development of Haysi’s Russell Fork Trail Center on property owned by the Town of Haysi.
“VCEDA first became aware of this project in 2016 as the Town of Haysi began to develop plans for it and received an initial VCEDA grant of $150,000,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “The funding for the project recently approved will help to take care of a deficit in funding for the project which exists as project costs have climbed in the interim period. The center will serve as the town’s tourism marketing hub and has several additional uses projected as well. According to the application, there will be three part-time employees, one of which is new and two who are retained as a result of the project.”
In 2016, the VCEDA board approved an up to $150,000 grant to the town for the project which initially came from a recommendation in a 2010 Downtown Revitalization Master Plan for Haysi which recommended the transformation of the town’s vacant theater building into a centerpiece for downtown activity to be used as a springboard for revitalization.
“The Dickenson County Board of Supervisors and the Industrial Development Authority are proud to continue to support economic and community development projects in the Town of Haysi,” said Dana Cronkhite, Dickenson County director of economic development. “This project has been many years in the making and we are thankful for the final funding piece and support from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and its Tourism Capital Improvement Grant program.”
The old theater building in which the trail center will be located is approximately 8,830 square feet on two floors and is owned by the Town of Haysi. At the time of the original VCEDA application in 2016, the project had a total estimated cost of $513,564. Due to a floodproofing project by the Army Corps of Engineers, the scope of the project has now changed. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic also helped to significantly drive up the project cost, which is now estimated at approximately $2 million.
Additional funding for the project has been obtained from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the Appalachian Regional Commission, but a remaining budget deficit for the project has prevented the town from moving forward with it. The revised scope of the project now features a bottom floor with parking, a stage and backstage storage area, stairs and an elevator.
As now planned, the second floor would be a programmable space available for community utilization to provide a place for meetings, conferences, class instruction, new business incubation, social gatherings, visitor information with tourism and marketing products, a small kitchen, restrooms and storage area.
Letters of support for the project were provided by the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority and the Breaks Interstate Park.
The application also noted there is the potential to help new business start-ups with incubation space, as well as provide advertising and event space for existing businesses in town.
“I’m very excited to see the construction phase of Haysi’s Russell Fork Trail Center begin,” said Town of Haysi Mayor Larry Yates. “While this has taken some time and effort by many to get to this point, I’m very thankful for the support of our funding agencies, our design team and the construction crew.
“The Town of Haysi is looking forward to the new and exciting opportunities that will be made available to the town, the community and the region once this building is open for public use,” he added. “It will be another asset in Haysi’s economic and tourism toolkit that opens up better opportunities for collaboration between the many other developing tourism assets in Southwest Virgina. With the close proximity of our town to The Breaks Interstate Park, Spearhead Trails and other tourism and economic development entities, I hope to see the building used frequently.”
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.