VCEDA, Scott County EDA Close on $100,000 Housing Development Grant

WEBER CITY, VA – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 -- An up to $100,000 grant from the VCEDA Regional Account to be used to finance site development and infrastructure including the installation of utilities for a proposed housing development at the Riverside Development in Scott County was recently closed between VCEDA and the Scott County Economic Development Authority (EDA).

The Riverside development is located at 420 Riverside Park Lane in Weber City, VA, and the plan calls for no fewer than 50 workforce houses being built on site.

The EDA has been in the process of developing the Riverside Project in southern Scott County over the past several years.  The nearly 100-acre property was first purchased by the EDA in December 2010 with a $2.02 million loan from VCEDA. In 2015, a call center building was constructed on the property, but later, the company went remote during COVID-19, leaving the building vacant. In 2022, VCEDA agreed to the Scott County EDA’s proposal to convert the Riverside Project to a mixed-use development. The vacant call center building was leased to a church in 2024. As plans have further developed, the EDA has also been focused on other aspects of the mixed-use development, including a significant housing component. 

“The EDA engaged a firm to design a master plan for the mixed-use development that would create lasting jobs, diversify housing and improve quality of life,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “Riverside has now been branded by the EDA as a mixed-use town center concept that will include workforce housing as the centerpiece, ensuring attainable living options for citizens including teachers, healthcare workers, public employees and service-sector professionals, according to the EDA’s application for funding.”

Additional residential offerings will include single-family homes, condominiums, apartments and waterfront homes.  Senior living and memory care facilities to serve an aging population are also planned in the future for the site, as well as community-serving assets including a day care center, church and grocery store.  Other commercial development in the plan includes retail, medical office and hospitality facilities. 

“The project positions Scott County to capture growth in both the regional housing market and essential service sectors,” said John Kilgore, executive director of the Scott County EDA. “The inclusion of workforce housing ensures the area can attract and retain critical labor – a necessity for supporting local employers, healthcare providers and schools. 

“By pairing residential development with services and amenities, Riverside is designed as a self-sustaining community that allows for continued economic development and increases local spending,” Kilgore added.

The grant funds recently closed will be used to assist with site readiness, engineering, infrastructure planning, utility coordination and construction and other pre-development activities essential to prepare for the actual workforce housing construction.

About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.

###

PHOTO CAPTION: VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher, right, presents a ceremonial check for $100,000 to Scott County EDA Executive Director John Kilgore to be used for proposed housing development infrastructure at the Riverside Development in Scott County, VA.