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The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County announced today notification has been received from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development that the application for amendment of the Halifax County/South Boston Enterprise Zone has been approved.

The amendment adds approximately 2,058 acres to the existing zone. New areas in the Enterprise Zone include Riverstone Technology Park, Virginia International Raceway, Sinai Industrial Park, Georgia Pacific/Halifax County Fairgrounds area, and a portion of Berry Hill Plantation. IDA Executive Director Mike Eades said the amendment could have significant impact on new and expanding business in the newly designated areas. Included are two significant state based incentives: the first being a direct grant for job creation for qualifying projects and the second a grant program that is directly tied to real property improvements. In addition, the amendment extends certain local incentives to qualifying projects. Among these are reductions in Business, Professional and Occupational License Fees, reductions in building permit fees, waiver of water and sewer connection fees, and a rebate of the portion of utility taxes paid by qualifying new and expanding firms. The amendment also extends the Halifax County
Hospitality Stimulus Program to the newly designated areas. All incentives are retroactive to January 01, 2006.

Eades thanked the Southside Planning District Commission for their assistance in the application process. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” he said. “They did the hard stuff such as the mapping and data analysis,” Eades explained. For further information on eligibility requirements and applicable incentives, businesses located in the Town of South Boston should contact Community Development Coordinator Tamyra Vest at 434-575-4209. Businesses located in Halifax County should contact IDA Development Director Patsy Vaughan at 434-572-1734.