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Virginia Tech study recommends industrial uses for Pathway Park, flags entrance redesign as key hurdle
Summary
Virginia Tech advised Smyth County to focus on industrial development for the 46.2‑acre Pathway Park site, saying industrial scenarios generate faster payback and meet grant restrictions; the report urges a Route 11 entrance redesign to reach ‘tier 5’ readiness. Local officials raised concerns about water capacity, site size and long timelines.
Ashley Poshemas of the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement presented an ROI assessment for Pathway Park that modeled multiple industrial scenarios, concluding that industrial users (advanced manufacturing, food and beverage, plastics/chemical) would generate the strongest fiscal returns for the county on the site’s 46.2 developable acres.
Poshemas told the board the site has “tier 4” readiness and that redesigning the Route 11 entrance is the principal remaining improvement required to reach “tier 5” status and make the property competitive. She said the study modeled realistic development scenarios and estimated jobs, annual tax revenue and total economic output for each, using IMPLAN to convert projected activity into direct, indirect and induced impacts.
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