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Portsmouth EDA briefs on joining regional finance authority and two rail transloading investments tied to port export growth
Summary
Portsmouth’s EDA discussed joining the Eastern Virginia Regional Industrial Finance Authority and detailed two rail transloading projects — a two‑phase Belt Line/Raymont Logistics plan (~$56M; $800,000 state grant) and a Long Company project (~$26M seeking $750,000) — expected to create dozens of jobs and reduce truck traffic to the port.
Portsmouth’s Economic Development Authority heard a briefing Dec. 17, 2024, on a new regional partnership and two rail transloading projects aimed at expanding export capacity through the Port of Virginia.
Staff explained the Eastern Virginia Regional Industrial Finance Authority (EVRIFA), a regional cooperation vehicle the commonwealth authorized in December 2018 that allows member localities to enter revenue‑sharing and economic‑growth partnerships for selected projects. Staff said Portsmouth’s City Council adopted an ordinance on Dec. 10 to join EVRIFA and that Portsmouth’s appointments to the authority were expected to be considered once the EVRIFA board accepts the city’s membership.
EDA staff described two planned rail transloading facilities in Portsmouth tied to port export operations. The first is on a roughly 20‑acre Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad site on Martin Luther King Freeway; staff said the project will be built in two phases: a phase‑one container laydown and storage area (staff cited an initial cost of about $6.5 million) and a phase‑two installation of transloading equipment (staff cited about $50 million), for a combined figure staff presented of about $56,000,000. Staff said the project won an $800,000 award through a Virginia Port Communities grant announced earlier in the month and that Raymont Logistics, a global logistics operator based in Canada, will operate the facility. Staff estimated employment of roughly 30–40 workers at the completed facility.
The second project involves a CSX rail yard and an investment by the Long Company of Wisconsin to build a transloading operation primarily for agricultural commodities; staff estimated the project cost at about $26,000,000 and said the company is pursuing a $750,000 Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation industrial access grant to support track relocation. Staff said the Long Company project would create up to 14 full‑time jobs plus additional supporting positions for inspectors and truck drivers.
Board members asked for additional detail on the EVRIFA’s existing projects and staff said they would circulate information on the Kings Creek Commerce Center project in York County, the only active project staff identified to date, and bring EVRIFA experts before the EDA for a future briefing. Staff emphasized that membership in EVRIFA allows Portsmouth to participate on a project‑by‑project basis — it does not require automatic participation in all authority projects.
Staff said both transloading projects are intended to move commodities by rail into containers for export via the port, reducing truck trips to and from the port and minimizing local traffic and transportation impacts. The EDA did not take a formal vote on these projects at the meeting; staff noted further agreements and state approvals remain necessary.
