Isle of Wight


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Hampton Roads Alliance3 days ago
As the demand for nuclear-powered submarines increases, Newport News Shipbuilding said it’s working to hire 3,000 skilled trades workers this year and a total of 19,000 within the decade. Last year, the Hampton Roads Workforce Council reported that the region’s maritime shipbuilding vacancies could increase to 40,000 by 2030 if measures to build capacity weren’t taken, while U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said in December that the U.S. shipbuilding industry will need 150,000 new qualified workers in the next 10 years. As a result, NNS is working with the Navy’s submarine industrial base office and the Hampton Roads Workforce Council to reach potential new employes.
Hampton Roads Alliance
Hampton Roads Alliance4 days ago
According to Southern Living magazine, Colonial Williamsburg is one of 23 treasure troves of “authentic locales in the South that each offer an experience you can only have there.” In a special edition of this month’s magazine, an online survey among the magazine’s readers rates their favorite places across the South for its 2024 awards. More than 20,000 people responded and ranked City of Williamsburg, Virginia - Municipal Government as second in the South’s top 20 small towns!
Hampton Roads Alliance
Hampton Roads Alliance5 days ago
Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that FreezPak Logistics, LLC, a leading provider of full-service cold and dry storage services, is investing $77.5 million to construct a 245,000-square-foot cold storage facility in the City of Suffolk, VA - Municipal Government to serve the Mid-Atlantic region, via The Port of Virginia. The project will create 80 new jobs for the region! The Alliance was proud to work alongside Suffolk VA Economic Development Department #YesSuffolk and the @viVirginia Economic Development Partnership on this announcement. Read more: https://ow.ly/Ese750QTmLR

Isle of Wight, VA

Isle of Wight County is a progressive community that embraces change while protecting the integrity of its rich cultural and historical heritage. The County’s 319 square miles provide fertile ground for its most prosperous businesses, including Smithfield Foods, Keurig Dr Pepper, and International Paper. The County lives by its slogan, “Local Roots, Global Reach.”

Industry Highlights

The County has three targeted growth areas known as Development Service Districts (DSD) located along one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the County.

Shirley T. Holland Intermodal Park is located within the Windsor DSD. This County-owned park provides affordable sites close to The Port of Virginia, within both a Foreign Trade Zone and a Virginia Enterprise Zone, where businesses are eligible for federal, state and local incentives. Work is underway to create permit-ready sites on some of the largest publicly-owned tracts in the region, and the park is already home to three nationally recognized companies: Keurig Dr Pepper, Safco Products Company and World Market, a subsidiary of Bed, Bath & Beyond, which together employ over 700 people.

Located in the Camptown DSD in southern Isle of Wight, International Paper operates a mill with roots dating back over 100 years. In 2019 M&M Milling, a manufacturer specializing in grinding, blending and sizing of agricultural materials, joined ST Tissue’s and Franklin Lumber’s existing operations in the DSD. In addition, the Franklin Regional Airport is located in Isle of Wight along U.S. Route 58 and boasts a 5000-foot runway, as well as more than 60 industrially-zoned acres owned by the City of Franklin and jointly marketed by the County and Franklin/Southampton Economic Development, Inc.

Business is booming in northern Isle of Wight within the Newport Development Service District, where over 2,000 residential units and 1.1 million square feet of new retail and office space has been approved for development along the Route 17 corridor.

Quality of Life

Two historic towns are also located within the County: Smithfield is a popular tourist destination, and headquarters for Smithfield Foods. Windsor is a crossroads community along the U.S. Route 460 corridor, known as “the hidden jewel of Western Tidewater.”

Data

Industry Employment Breakdown

Industry # of Employees % of Workforce
Manufacturing 3,386 51.34%
Health Care and Social Assistance 703 10.66%
Transportation and Warehousing 604 9.16%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 533 8.08%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 361 5.47%

Source: EMSI

Demographics

Population
37,222
Median Age
45.5
Labor Force
19,443
Unemployment Rate
2.8%
Median Household Income
$75,240
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2019; Esri Business Analyst Online, 2024 Forecast; Esri Business Analyst Online 2019 Detailed Age Profile; Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), 2019 Forecast

Key Companies

Keurig Dr Pepper

International Paper

Smithfield Foods

ST Tissue

World Market

Isle of Wight County Economic Development Department

Mr. Chris Morello, Director
(P) 757-356-1969
cmorello@isleofwightus.net
www.insidetheisle.com

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