During the past decade the Roanoke and western Virginia region has seen a growing demand for industrial and warehouse space. The supply of space never caught up with demand and even in today's slowing economic times, there is a shortage of available space and sites in many industrial sectors.

"Several factors have driven the industrial market over the past 25 years," says Bob Copty, president of Copty & Co. "Roanoke has a growing reputation as a superb place to do business and live, as well as a strong and cost effective work ethic of its industrial employee base." Roanoke was ranked as the 25th Hottest City by Expansion Management Magazine in its January 2001 issue. The region has made a successful shift from a utility dominated industrial base (former home of the Norfolk Southern Rail Road) to a diverse and dynamic industrial and business community. The area is home to significant industrial companies in the fiber optics, medical supply, automotive parts production, truck production, plastics and optics industries.

The majority of our new park industrial growth is taking place in the counties of Botetourt, Montgomery and Roanoke and also Roanoke City. The counties in this region are among the fastest growing in the state. Over the past 10 years the region has either developed or expanded more than 2,500 acres of industrial park land. The New River Valley growth is fueled by Virginia Tech, which has an already strong and expanding industrial base including Volvo White, Hercules and the Radford Arsenal.

Botetourt County has been successful with the rapid location of a variety of industries into its East Park development, Greenfield Park, and multiple other new industrial locations. Roanoke County recently opened the new Center for Research and Technology Park for high-tech companies off of Interstate 81 and is hosting an 80,000 plus-square-foot shell building in its Valley Gateway Park. Franklin County offers unlimited potential for industrial growth and is gearing up for the final design and location of Interstate 73 that will go directly through the county.

"In addition to the Roanoke Center for Technology, the most successful development in this part of Virginia, Roanoke City has designated 70 acres of older industrial land for redevelopment as the home of the new Bio-Tech initiative between the city, Carilon Health Systems and The University of Virginia," says Copty. "This is a major development opportunity for the entire region and is scheduled to begin construction as early as 2002."

The majority of new tenants have included relocation and expansion of FedEx, Airborne Express, Koyo Steering, Dynax, Precision Technologies, Altec Industries, Home Shopping Network and Advance Auto. No one tenant is absorbing a disproportionate amount of new space. Expansion in several sectors has created a shortage in the city's flex market, and there is little available warehouse or industrial inventory less than 50,000 square feet in size.

The range of rental rates varies widely between our older and new space. Older space leases between $2 and $4 per square foot, and new space will lease between $4.50 and $6.50 per square foot. Flex space is leasing in the $11 to $15 per square foot range. The vacancy rate for space less than 50,000 square feet is less than 3 percent. Vacancies for larger buildings are approximately 5 percent.

The overall region consists of almost a half million people and has the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia. The tenant mix for industry new to the area has been very diverse and includes manufacturing of automobile and heavy truck parts, optics manufacturing companies and bio-tech research initiatives.

Western Virginia will continue to see growth as a result of the aggressive recruiting efforts of the various economic groups such as the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance and American Electric Power's economic development team.

"The western region of Virginia is being newly discovered as one of the premier places to locate and grow small and mid-sized industrial companies," Copty notes. "Aside from boasting a great quality of life, superior work force, breathtaking beauty and low power costs, one important fact looms very large. A day's truck shipping distance from this region will put you within reach of two-thirds of the population of the United States."

Bob Copty is president of Copty & Company in Roanoke, Virginia.


©2001 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.