EarthLink call center is first tenant to open at new Norton industrial park

A $10.4 million EarthLink call center that will create as many as 285 jobs became the first business to open in the new Project Intersection industrial park in Norton.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday joined a host of elected officials and local leaders for the grand opening of the nearly 30,000-square-foot facility.

“EarthLink’s decision to expand into Norton at Project Intersection reaffirms Virginia’s position as the top state for business and that Southwest Virginia is accelerating with growing job opportunities and company expansions,” Youngkin said in a news release. “We welcome Earthlink to booming Southwest Virginia and we look forward to seeing firsthand the positive impact they will undoubtedly have on the region’s prosperity and vitality.”

EarthLink, an internet service provider headquartered in Atlanta, called the opening of the center a “significant milestone” in its efforts to enhance customer support and expand its footprint in the U.S.

“We are excited to open our doors in Norton and start a new chapter at Project Intersection. This facility is not just a call center; it’s a future-thinking investment in the community and our company,” Glenn Goad, EarthLink’s CEO, said in a news release.

The Norton facility will be EarthLink’s only U.S. sales center, he said. “The combination of our technology and a high-quality workforce in Southwest Virginia will provide a consumer experience unmatched in our industry,” he said in the release.

The call center was made possible through collaborative efforts with local stakeholders, including state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County; Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County; and the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission, who played pivotal roles in attracting EarthLink to Southwest Virginia, according to the news release.

Duane Miller, executive director of the planning district commission, said Friday that the effort to recruit EarthLink took 18 months to two years and was delayed a bit by the COVID pandemic. He said he and a group of others, including legislators, visited Atlanta several times to persuade EarthLink to expand into Southwest Virginia.

Although the facility is new, EarthLink has been operating in Wise County for more than two years, working temporarily at the Lonesome Pine Business and Technology Park in Wise while the new facility was under construction.

The new building sits on a cliff above the intersection of two major four-lane highways, U.S. 58 and U.S. 23, which led to the industrial park’s name. The building offers a panoramic view of the Jefferson National Forest.

The industrial park has been more than five years in the making and included the support of a number of agencies and departments, including the Virginia Department of Energy, the Virginia Tobacco Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, Miller said.

More than $25 million in grants has been secured for the project.

Project Intersection totals about 200 acres of former coal mine land, and about 120 acres of it can be developed. Four building pads remain, and data centers and light manufacturing will be recruited.

The building’s location was made possible by the removal of a mining highwall feature that remained on the land, Miller said.

The industrial park and the building are owned by the Lonesome Pine Regional Industrial Facilities Authority, which includes Lee, Wise, Scott and Dickenson counties plus the city of Norton. The authority is leasing the building to EarthLink.

EarthLink, which will handle incoming calls for customers with questions and those who want to upgrade service, will serve as the anchor tenant of the industrial park, he added.

“Whenever you build an industrial park, the real big key is to get your first anchor tenant,” Miller said. “Then, you’re not just an industrial park looking for people, you’re an industrial park with an anchor tenant, and EarthLink will be a wonderful anchor tenant.”

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