Radford wins $3.5 million state grant to clean up West Radford brownfield

Radford announced that the city and its Economic Development Authority secured a $3,500,000 Business Ready Sites grant from the state to remediate a brownfield and prepare the West Radford Commerce Park for business development. Mayor David Horton thanked staff and the EDA for the effort and singled out Kim Repass and EDA chair Abram Williams for their roles in shepherding the application and award.

"This last week... our new West Radford Commerce Park was awarded a $3,500,000 grant from the state to clean up the Brownfield area to help prepare it and move it forward for business activity," the mayor told the council. City staff said soil removal and initial bidding will begin in the winter, followed by slab removal and grading next year.

City Manager and department staff framed the grant as more than a property purchase: officials said the funding covers environmental remediation work that is expected to make the site ready for private investment, job creation and manufacturing recruitment. The mayor described the award as one of the largest such grants Radford has received in decades and praised the many letters of support from state and federal elected officials.

Next steps described by staff include drafting scopes for remediation bidding, coordinating site surveys and mapping, and working with the EDA to recruit follow-on private investment once the site is certified as remediated and ready for development. No specific private tenant was named at the meeting.

Council members and staff said the project is an early-stage, multi-year effort: soil removal was identified as the first contracting step, followed by grading and preparation for future construction. The council did not take additional action on the item during the meeting beyond the public acknowledgement and staff planning comments.