Virginia Economic & Industrial Development \| Halifax Co. , VA News

IperionX sets new target for opening

IperionX 1 IperionX — Halifax County’s newest manufacturer — is making progress on its campus along U.S. 58 and plans to open by the middle of this year.

That’s delayed slightly from its original target for the first quarter. Company officials didn’t respond to a question from The Gazette concerning the delay.

The company first announced in September 2022 it was bringing a titanium demonstration facility to Halifax County.

That facility will be located in a 50,000-square-foot building — a former shell building constructed to lure a tenant — in the Southern Virginia Technology Park on the outskirts of South Boston, and IperionX has plans ultimately to expand the floor space by an extra 100,000-square-feet.

Huber donates to emergency services

The Huber Engineered Woods leadership team understands the vital role the emergency services play in and around the communities and plants.

Through employee nominations, they selected Halifax Volunteer Fire Department and Halifax County Rescue Squad to receive grants through the HEW business’ philanthropy budget.

Many of the employees and their families actively participate in the emergency services locally and in surrounding counties and take pride in bettering the communities.

HALIFAX IDA LEASES SECOND FACILITY TO IPERIONX

NOVEMBER 17, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HALIFAX IDA LEASES SECOND FACILITY TO IPERIONX

The Board of Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County (IDA), approved the execution of a lease for the 1092 Confroy Drive building, a 15,000 square foot building to IperionX for their second Halifax County location. IperionX first announced its selection of Halifax County of its Titanium Demonstration Facility (TDF) in September 2022 with an anticipated investment of $82 million and 108 new jobs in phase I.

“The IDA is pleased to see IperionX continue to invest and plan for their long-term growth and success in Halifax County,” said Rick Harrell Chair of the IDA Board of Directors.

Campaign launched to boost local workforce

In an effort to strengthen the local economy, promote community engagement and foster a greater sense of unity, a “Live Here, Work Here” campaign has officially launched.

The initiative — spearheaded by the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce and Halifax County Industrial Development Authority in partnership with Halifax County and the SoVA Bridge to Recovery Taskforce — aims to encourage residents to find employment opportunities right within their own community.

Halifax County has always been known for its natural beauty, tight-knit neighborhoods and a strong sense of community. Through the “Live Here, Work Here” campaign, the county is determined to enhance these qualities by promoting local job opportunities, which can, in turn, reduce commute times, lower environmental impacts, and boost the overall well-being of its residents.

IDA highlights growth at meeting

The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority received an update on recent progress at Friday’s meeting.

Executive Director Kristy Johnson presented data that showed improvement with local projects, and the ongoing plan to increase employment in Halifax County.

She highlighted the importance of key points including business growth, real estate and infrastructure, regional engagements and partnerships, and organizational sustainability. She added that dashboard will be created as a graphic that will show the county’s metrics year-by-year.

IDA approves budget, IperionX lease agreement

The Halifax County Industrial Development Authority approved the IDA budget for the coming year and ratified a lease agreement for the county’s Iperion X manufacturing plant on Friday.

With an otherwise light agenda for the June monthly meeting, the 2023-24 budget was the prime focus of the board discussion, with members expressing satisfaction at how the agency’s finances are shaping up in the coming fiscal year. The new budget takes effect July 1.

“It is a conservative budget, and I think [the IDA Finance Committee] put a lot of time and energy into [balancing information] from the current years and what we’ll have next year in the forecast,” said IDA treasurer Nancy Pool.

Executive Director Kristy Johnson said the budget has changed little from the current year’s package, which totals $2.3 million, but the IDA is prepared to handle any possible changes that could arise throughout the upcoming year.

More funding flows for fiber network across Southside Va.

On May 11, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office announced the Southside Planning District Commission and its internet partner, EMPOWER Broadband, were awarded $8.5 million to expand its fiber network and services to an additional 4,804 addresses in portions of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Halifax and Mecklenburg counties.

This 2023 Virginia Telecommunications Initiative award represents an additional project cost of $30.23 million and includes matching funds from the counties, Dominion Energy and EMPOWER.

This award supplements the previous $154 million project to which VATI contributed $69 million in 2022. This latest grant will include additional addresses in each of the counties, including over 2,000 within Greensville County, the newest partner to this regional broadband consortium. To illustrate the impact on each of the areas, the grant adds 153 addresses to Brunswick, 73 to Charlotte, 1,943 to Halifax, 2,041 to Greensville and 589 to Mecklenburg.

Work on schedule for South Boston boat landing project set to open in July

Boat Launch South Boston Town Council received updates on the Riverdale boat landing and hazard mitigation projects at a Monday evening work session.

Council also heard a report on the town’s use of its American Rescue Plan Act funds and mulled strategies for employee recruitment and retention.

Construction on the Greene’s Crossing Landing, near the Tucker C. Watkins Memorial Bridge in Riverdale, is well underway. The project is expected to be completed by the first of July. To date, Raab said the town has expended $370,000 in grant money for the project and has received back $71,000.