“Vista” refers to a pleasing view, which Mount Airy and Surry County government leaders hope has been provided to a local company employing 60-plus people sufficient to keep it in town.
A decision on that is expected “in the next week or two,” Surry Economic Development Partnership (EDP) President/CEO Blake Moyer said Tuesday afternoon.
Both the city and county commissioners have approved incentives for the unnamed industry, with the code name “Project Vista” being used to conceal its identity from potential suitors outside Surry.
That is a real possibility, based on comments during a meeting last Thursday night when the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners approved a city incentives package in a 5-0 vote.
“This is a competitive project — this company is actively seeking options in other communities,” Moyer, the EDP official, said during a public hearing on the package preceding Thursday night’s decision.
It includes a cash incentive in the form of a property tax exemption and the donation of 25 acres at the municipal-owned Westwood Industrial Park to accommodate a proposed new 140,000-square-foot facility for the company.
While presently unnamed, it is described as a “legacy industry” by one city commissioner, in operation for more than 40 years.
The fact the company lacks its own building, and now leases one and needs to move, is the motivation for the expansion plans representing an investment of more than $80 million — here or elsewhere.
“This project has been actively seeking a location since October of 2023,” Moyer said during the public hearing.
He described the entity involved as “an upstanding member of the business community with extensive local ties and a quality reputation.”
The construction of the building envisioned at the industrial park would include new technology investments resulting in increased production capacity, according to Moyer.
Incentives deemed “critical”
“We need to participate in this process to retain this project,” Moyer said in requesting the incentives on behalf of the EDP.
Ron Sutphin, a member of the Executive Committee of the local economic group, also spoke during the public hearing.
He said the company involved “has been part of this community’s fabric for decades and always supports our local schools and our local community initiatives.”
In advocating approval of the incentive package, Sutphin said it was “critical,” given the competitive nature of the project.
He added that it represents an opportunity to support existing industry, a frequently stated objective of local officials.
The Surry Board of Commissioners had approved county incentives for Project Vista earlier last week.
County board member Larry Johnson, speaking at the city hearing, said the matter is “time-sensitive” in urging Mount Airy officials’ support for the company.
“Please, do what you can to keep them in Mount Airy,” Johnson told city council members. “It would be a wonderful thing for everybody to retain this company.”
City officials were eager to do just that.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Commissioner Chad Hutchens said before the unanimous vote.
“We definitely want to keep them in Mount Airy,” he remarked regarding the industry involved.
In addition to the land donation, the city incentive package includes a property tax abatement amounting to 80% of new levies that would be paid annually over eight years.
That’s based on a capital investment of at least $70 million by the industry for the expansion/relocation.
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