The City of Williamsburg has a new mechanism to promote economic development in the city.
In a unanimous vote, the Williamsburg City Council approved a proposed policy for distributing the city’s economic development incentives fund. The city approved $250,000 for the fund for fiscal year 2015 when it passed the budget in May.
Overseen by the Williamsburg Economic Development Authority, the fund encourages economic development by distributing grants to businesses interested in operating in Williamsburg. The adopted policy sets up five criteria to help determine which businesses qualify for funds, along with limitations on grant size.
City Economic Development Director Michele Mixner DeWitt said the policy was the result of a two-year process by the EDA that included researching trends, studying neighboring localities and determining best practices.
The fund is the first of its kind in Williamsburg.
Council members also discussed a resolution from the EDA regarding the future of the Williamsburg Shopping Center. That property and two bank buildings in that area at the intersection of Richmond Road and Monticello Avenue was sold Tuesday at a foreclosure auction to the lender for $14.1 million. The property, which includes the shopping center at 1234 Richmond Road, the vacant bank building at 171 Monticello Ave., and the Langley Federal Credit Union at 1222 Richmond Road, is assessed at $13.78 million.
At its meeting Wednesday, the EDA wrote a resolution encouraging the city to take control of the redevelopment effort at the shopping center. The resolution did not define “control” in the resolution, and established a subcommittee to explore further possible mechanisms for the city to utilize in the future. Individual EDA members, however, said that control could come in the form of the city purchasing a right of first refusal from the shopping center’s current owners, or buying the property itself.
Vice Mayor Paul Freiling, the City Council liaison to the EDA, said the resolution was a preliminary move and did not advocate for one course of action but rather emphasized the importance of the city’s role in redevelopment. Mayor Clyde Haulman agreed, saying it was part of an ongoing process.
“Control does not necessarily mean ‘purchase,’” he said.
Councilman Doug Pons said he did not think the city should consider buying the shopping center and should allow the private sector to operate on its own. Rather than controlling the redevelopment process, Pons said the city should seek to influence it.
Councilwoman Judy Knudson, however, said “control” was not a strong enough word to describe the city’s role in redevelopment. Knudson said the city had been too passive in redeveloping the shopping center, and that hopes for the property’s previous owner to redevelop had ended in foreclosure.
The discussion concluded with Haulman saying the city would continue to explore its options regarding the future of the shopping center.
“What can we do at the margins to get it to move in the direction we want?” he said.
On Wednesday, the seven-person EDA formed a six-person subcommittee tasked with providing “recommendations regarding effective mechanisms of control.”
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