Industrial Park and First Business
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Skiffe's Creek Industrial Park, a 20-acre park accessed from Blow Flats Road in the southeastern area of the County near Newport News, was formally opened Friday morning, April 30. The park has General Industrial (M-2) zoning and has been subdivided into small lots to accommodate small industrial, manufacturing, distribution, and contractor uses. It also lies within the James River Enterprise Zone, which can offer the possibility of incentives to qualifying companies locating businesses there. Available lots range in size from 1.72 acres to 5 acres and are served by public utilities. The owner, Mr. Don Wiggins, is a York County businessman and entrepreneur. He noted that, although there is quite a bit of industrially zoned property in the area, most of it is being offered in larger blocks. He believes a small-lot park with infrastructure in place will be attractive to companies whose size makes developing a stand-alone site difficult. Drucker and Falk, LLC represents the property.
Bay Welding and Fabrication, which was the first company to locate in the park, hosted a reception in its building after the ribbon cutting. Mike Eppard, owner of the company, moved his ten-year-old business last spring from Tyler Ave. in Newport News to an existing 12,000 square foot building on 3.84 acres. The company provides custom fabrication for regional manufacturing and other local companies. Services provided are sheet metal, heavy metal fabrication, and machining. Jobs vary from complicated prototypes to large production runs. Customers include Howmet Corp., Gateway 2000, Newport News Ship Building, Pem Corp., Tidewater Conveyor, and many others. Mr. Wiggins was joined by James City County Roberts District Supervisor David Sisk and James City County Economic Development Authority Vice-Chairman Skip Campana in cutting a ribbon at the entrance. Mr. Sisk remarked that this park is a welcome addition to the County's overall effort to encourage economic development. |
