The VBRSP is a discretionary program administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to promote development and characterization of sites (containing a minimum of 100 contiguous, developable acres) to enhance the Commonwealth’s infrastructure and promote the Commonwealth’s competitive business environment. The program’s goal is to identify, assess and improve the readiness of potential industrial sites.

“The availability of large, project-ready sites is critical to attracting new investment to Virginia and catalyzing economic growth in all regions,” said Stephen Moret, President and CEO of VEDP. “Today’s economic development projects move with a rapid pace and require sites that can be delivered quickly. I want to congratulate the UVA Research Park on receiving the tier-four designation and appreciate the regional partners who have supported their achieving this important step.”

The “infrastructure ready” certification is the fourth of five tiers required to ultimately reach what is called “shovel ready,” or a tier five status. According to the tier four requirements of the VBRSP, all infrastructure is in place and all permit issues have been identified and quantified.

Tier five is completed as the last step when industry site occupant(s) are identified and permits are in place.

“Proactively ensuring that a site in the UVA Research Park is ‘shovel ready’ and meets a consistent set of standards is a best practice,” said Roger Johnson, Economic Development Director for Albemarle County. “It puts the community in a position to accommodate projects that produce quality jobs. It also demonstrates how the UVA Research Park is an excellent community partner.”

“We are proud to have completed the due diligence for this site at the UVA Research Park in compliance with shovel-ready standards and the recognition that the site is infrastructure ready,” said Deborah van Eersel, UVA Foundation Chief Administrative Officer. “A certified site such as this one provides many advantages to prospective companies, including cost savings and fast tracking their products to market. Our community benefits from added economic growth, job opportunities including career ladder progression for local residents.”

The UVA Research Park Business Ready Site can now be viewed on the VEDP’s website under Certified Sites.

“Site readiness is a high priority of the Central Virginia Economic Development Partnership,” shared the Partnership’s President, Helen Cauthen, “and we applaud the recent tier four designation of the UVA Research Park site. In addition, the GO Virginia Growth Plan for our region recommends that we ‘leverage’ the University of Virginia Research Park. This tier four designation gives us the opportunity to do just that. We look forward to working with the team at the UVA Research Park and the UVA Foundation to market this site to companies in our target markets.”

Pace Lochte, Assistant Vice President for Economic Development, University of Virginia states, “This Tier 4 designation opens the door for many economic development opportunities that would otherwise not be possible and further distinguishes Central Virginia as an attractive place for doing business. The UVA Research Park is a tremendously valuable asset to the University and to the community and will play a key role as we continue to expand our research portfolio.”