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One of the most under-reported stories of the past year that we can’t overstate the significance of is the state of Virginia completing the purchase of Natural Bridge State Park – property that includes the 215-foot-tall limestone arch itself and accompanying 1,500 acres.
The Virginia Department of Conservation closed on the purchase June 15, which just so happened to be the 86th anniversary of the establishment of the Virginia state park system. The closing was a culmination of a 10-yearlong process of Natural Bridge becoming Virginia’s 41st state park. Rockbridge County Administrator Spencer Suter initiated the process in 2013, when he was new to his job. He had just received a courtesy call about a pending subdivision and auction of the property.
Thus began a series of events in which local and state officials scrambled to figure out a way to maintain public access to and protect from development the county’s geologic wonder namesake and top tourist attraction. The Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund acquired the property, paving the way for the state to begin managing Natural Bridge as a state park in 2016. The Trust for Public Lands, a national nonprofit organization that works to protect public land, acquired the property from VCLF in 2022 and took over the remaining loan balance responsibilities.
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when the Virginia General Assembly last year appropriated $6.8 million in state funds to pay off the remaining debt on the loan that financed the purchase of the property a decade ago. Because the state now owns it, NBSP will be eligible to receive state funding to make capital improvements such as electrical, water, sewer and HVAC upgrades. The acquisition should prove to be a boon for the local economy and tourism in general for this part of the state.
The Rockbridge area economy is actually heading in a positive direction as we begin 2024. Economic development projects are coming to fruition at the north and south ends of the county as well as in and around the cities of Buena Vista and Lexington.
Business development along the U.S. 11 corridor north of Lexington represents investments of more than $12 million and the creation of over 200 new jobs. Newly opened businesses include Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin’ donuts, Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. Construction is underway on two new hotels – a Tru by Hilton near the U.S. 11/Interstate 81 interchange and a Residence Inn by Marriott just outside Lexington at the intersection of the U.S. 11 bypass and U.S. 60 east.
A Dollar General Marketplace is planned for Fairfield, just off of Interstate 81’s Exit 200, and a new 7-Eleven is to go up at Timber Ridge, just off of I-81’s Exit 195. The Natural Bridge Hotel and Conference Center is under new ownership, with the promise of renovations in the upcoming year for the 152-room hotel, dining room and accompanying cottages.
The Rockbridge area’s newest industry, XFS Global LLC, a manufacturer of engineered fabric shelter systems, recently set up shop in the Natural Bridge Station industrial park, with plans to hire 60 employees. The company, which relocated here from Las Vegas, is operating in a 34,000-square-feet building that was formerly occupied by Heatex.
In Buena Vista, business is bustling at the Virginia Innovation Accelerator in the former Mundet-Hermetite factory building. Under the guidance of Annette Patterson of The Advancement Foundation, all sorts of upstart businesses are being spawned by ambitious and innovative-minded entrepreneurs. TAF has secured nearly $3 million in grants to carry out their plans for the business accelerator.
The Wilson Workforce Center, an initiative of Mountain Gateway Community College named for Buena Vista native and successful entrepreneur/philanthropist Joe Wilson, held its first classes in the renovated McCormick Center on Forest Avenue in Buena Vista during the fall semester. Nearly $5 million has been raised for the training center of industrial trades that is to go into the former Courtesy Ford business complex.
Also planned for Buena Vista is a residential school for skilled trades that is to be developed on a 285-acre tract of steeply sloped woods and meadows between Long Hollow Road and 32nd Street. The Rockbridge Creative Institute is the dream of Austin Rehl, an Ohio dentist and entrepreneur who presented his plans to Buena Vista City Council in August.
A lot of economic activity is indeed happening in the Rockbridge area. We would like to acknowledge the efforts of economic development directors Brandy Flint in the county and Kristina Ramsey in Buena Vista for helping make this happen. We also commend the foresight and resilience of the many entrepreneurial-minded individuals behind these business ventures who are offering such promising economic prospects for us in the new year.
