Open for Business
By JENNIFER NUGENT
Graffiti
Governor Manchin’s proclamation that West Virginia is now “Open For Business” has been backed by the arrival of several new businesses to the area that he announced in his State of the State Address in January.
Chesapeake Energy has moved to office space in downtown Charleston since the decision was made to locate their Eastern seaboard office here. They are currently looking into building a campus-like setting in the Capitol City for their offices.
Battelle Memorial, a $3 billion a year research corporation, now has a presence at South Charleston’s Dow tech park. Matthew Ballard, the executive vice president of Charleston Area Alliance, says that having Battelle in Charleston is a big deal because of all the research they do. To give some perspective on Battelle’s past accomplishments, they were the research company that provided most of the technology that provided the Xerox copying machine.
Another new addition to Dow Park is Applied Computing and Energy. The company creates software for manufacturers and plans to hire ten graduate level engineers in the area over the next two years.
New business doesn’t end there, however. Magnum Coal is moving their headquarters to downtown Charleston, bringing fifty to sixty new executives with it. The Alliance will continue to work with Governor Manchin this year to bring both domestic and international companies to the state. Of the work that lays ahead, Ballard states, “Looking forward in this coming year, we have a couple more international prospects we’re working on. We’re looking at specialty manufacturing in chemicals that can replace a little bit of some of the chemical industry we’ve lost in the past.”
The Alliance is focusing on the printing industry and how they can bring it to the state. Ballard explains, “Printing is more than just the actual printing. It’s the manufacturing of the presses, it’s the chemicals that go into the inks, it’s the printing itself.”He believes that the state is not promoting WVU Tech’s printing management program as much as they should be and the Alliance is trying to get the word out.“You can come to West Virginia and we have a great workforce, a trained workforce in this particular area, and we have a lot of the variables that you need to be successful in the printing industry (such as the chemical industry’s relationship with ink suppliers).”
The arrival of the long-awaited Clay Center has brought on its coattails the need for more impressive architecture like a new library. The proposed new library for downtown Charleston is still in its early stages. Fundraising is the first step in this project as the initial estimate for the cost ranges between $30-40 million. The proposal follows a facilities study that found that the current aged building, while beautiful and historic, has maximized space to its fullest potential and that major changes, such as upgrading the building’s heating and cooling and the electrical system and providing parking accommodations, are greatly needed. According to a brochure from the library, entitled “Main Library Building Project,” “it was determined (renovations) would not be the most efficient or cost effective method to improve services. In order to provide high level library services throughout the county, the system needs a new headquarters.”The new building will be located near the Clay Center and have a 250-space, two-level parking garage and a lot with an additional 116 spaces with easy access for school buses. It will have approximately 140,000 square feet with 9,230 square feet unfinished and offer at least 70 more computer stations, a preschool exploration center, a children’s programming area, a business resource center, a climate-controlled West Virginia room, meeting room spaces and much more.
Ballard is excited about the new library. He believes it will be a project similar to that of the Clay Center in that it will take several years before the actual construction begins.“I’ve seen the video of what the vision is and it’s absolutely amazing. I can’t think of a better compliment to the Clay Center than to have that downtown. Our current library is nice, it’s architecturally interesting, but I don’t think it’s very ADA compliant and there’s no parking. But this new library if it happens, I’ll be spending a lot of my time there.”
Some businesses are choosing to renovate older buildings in the area rather than watch them be torn down and replaced with new buildings. Bill Ellis, for example, recently purchased the old Stone and Thomas building downtown.Ellis plans to renovate both inside and out, using all but the first floor for office space and using the ground level for restaurants and retail locations.
We can’t forget the struggle over the waterfront development either. While no definite plans have been made, Susan Johnson continues to fight for development that she is sure will bring new life to the city. Ballard agrees that the city probably isn’t maximizing on its waterfront area as it could be. “I think some of the great cities are built around wonderful water facilities like our river and we can maximize it probably better than we are.” Ballard is upbeat about the path the Capitol City is on these days. “There’s a lot going on. Charleston, I feel, is on the upswing. Businesses have realized, people from out of the area have realized, that they can come to West Virginia. It’s a great place for them to live personally and they can bring their business here and find a great workforce at a low cost. I think our message is finally getting out.”
For more information on the Charleston Area Alliance, visit http://www.charlestonareaalliance.org.
For more information on the new library project, visit http://kanawha.lib.wv.us./
By JENNIFER NUGENT
Graffiti
Governor Manchin’s proclamation that West Virginia is now “Open For Business” has been backed by the arrival of several new businesses to the area that he announced in his State of the State Address in January.
Chesapeake Energy has moved to office space in downtown Charleston since the decision was made to locate their Eastern seaboard office here. They are currently looking into building a campus-like setting in the Capitol City for their offices.
Battelle Memorial, a $3 billion a year research corporation, now has a presence at South Charleston’s Dow tech park. Matthew Ballard, the executive vice president of Charleston Area Alliance, says that having Battelle in Charleston is a big deal because of all the research they do. To give some perspective on Battelle’s past accomplishments, they were the research company that provided most of the technology that provided the Xerox copying machine.
Another new addition to Dow Park is Applied Computing and Energy. The company creates software for manufacturers and plans to hire ten graduate level engineers in the area over the next two years.
New business doesn’t end there, however. Magnum Coal is moving their headquarters to downtown Charleston, bringing fifty to sixty new executives with it. The Alliance will continue to work with Governor Manchin this year to bring both domestic and international companies to the state. Of the work that lays ahead, Ballard states, “Looking forward in this coming year, we have a couple more international prospects we’re working on. We’re looking at specialty manufacturing in chemicals that can replace a little bit of some of the chemical industry we’ve lost in the past.”
The Alliance is focusing on the printing industry and how they can bring it to the state. Ballard explains, “Printing is more than just the actual printing. It’s the manufacturing of the presses, it’s the chemicals that go into the inks, it’s the printing itself.”He believes that the state is not promoting WVU Tech’s printing management program as much as they should be and the Alliance is trying to get the word out.“You can come to West Virginia and we have a great workforce, a trained workforce in this particular area, and we have a lot of the variables that you need to be successful in the printing industry (such as the chemical industry’s relationship with ink suppliers).”
The arrival of the long-awaited Clay Center has brought on its coattails the need for more impressive architecture like a new library. The proposed new library for downtown Charleston is still in its early stages. Fundraising is the first step in this project as the initial estimate for the cost ranges between $30-40 million. The proposal follows a facilities study that found that the current aged building, while beautiful and historic, has maximized space to its fullest potential and that major changes, such as upgrading the building’s heating and cooling and the electrical system and providing parking accommodations, are greatly needed. According to a brochure from the library, entitled “Main Library Building Project,” “it was determined (renovations) would not be the most efficient or cost effective method to improve services. In order to provide high level library services throughout the county, the system needs a new headquarters.”The new building will be located near the Clay Center and have a 250-space, two-level parking garage and a lot with an additional 116 spaces with easy access for school buses. It will have approximately 140,000 square feet with 9,230 square feet unfinished and offer at least 70 more computer stations, a preschool exploration center, a children’s programming area, a business resource center, a climate-controlled West Virginia room, meeting room spaces and much more.
Ballard is excited about the new library. He believes it will be a project similar to that of the Clay Center in that it will take several years before the actual construction begins.“I’ve seen the video of what the vision is and it’s absolutely amazing. I can’t think of a better compliment to the Clay Center than to have that downtown. Our current library is nice, it’s architecturally interesting, but I don’t think it’s very ADA compliant and there’s no parking. But this new library if it happens, I’ll be spending a lot of my time there.”
Some businesses are choosing to renovate older buildings in the area rather than watch them be torn down and replaced with new buildings. Bill Ellis, for example, recently purchased the old Stone and Thomas building downtown.Ellis plans to renovate both inside and out, using all but the first floor for office space and using the ground level for restaurants and retail locations.
We can’t forget the struggle over the waterfront development either. While no definite plans have been made, Susan Johnson continues to fight for development that she is sure will bring new life to the city. Ballard agrees that the city probably isn’t maximizing on its waterfront area as it could be. “I think some of the great cities are built around wonderful water facilities like our river and we can maximize it probably better than we are.” Ballard is upbeat about the path the Capitol City is on these days. “There’s a lot going on. Charleston, I feel, is on the upswing. Businesses have realized, people from out of the area have realized, that they can come to West Virginia. It’s a great place for them to live personally and they can bring their business here and find a great workforce at a low cost. I think our message is finally getting out.”
For more information on the Charleston Area Alliance, visit http://www.charlestonareaalliance.org.
For more information on the new library project, visit http://kanawha.lib.wv.us./
posted by Charleston West Virginia Economic Development
@ 12:57 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
This is incredibly exciting, especially all the new executives coming to Charleston!
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