A bill that would make Smithfield’s planned Pinewood Heights industrial park eligible for additional state economic development funding is on its way to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk for his signature.

State Sen. Emily Jordan, R-Isle of Wight, sponsored Senate Bill 1275, which would reduce the acreage requirements for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program grant.

The grant, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s website, aims to identify and assess the readiness of potential industrial sites of at least 100 acres, or 50 acres if located in “GO Virginia Region 1 or 2,” both of which are located in the western part of the state. 

Jordan’s bill would allow areas of at least 25 contiguous acres, which would include Pinewood Heights, to qualify if they’re located in a locality with 35 or fewer incorporated square miles. Smithfield’s town limits presently span just over 10 square miles.

The bill passed the Senate on Jan. 30 and passed the House of Delegates on Feb. 18. Both votes were unanimous. Youngkin has until 11:59 p.m. on March 24 to sign or veto the bill.

“Passage of this policy will make it easier for smaller communities — like Emporia, Portsmouth, Franklin, and towns such as Smithfield and Windsor and others in the 17th Senate District — to access additional funds to attract new businesses and create jobs,” Jordan said in a recent newsletter to her constituents. “Currently, many of our localities are unable to qualify for these opportunities because they don’t meet the required number of contiguous acres for application.”

“We have had conversations with Senator Jordan’s office regarding her bill,” Town Manager Michael Stallings said. “Once guidelines become available, we will consider submitting an application for the pinewood heights project.”

The town has been working for the past 19 years to gradually transform the former Pinewood Heights neighborhood behind Smithfield Foods’ meatpacking plant into an industrial park. Since 2006, the town has received multiple $1 million matching grants from the state to relocate Pinewood’s residents and rezone the land as industrial. In 2007, the town raised its meals tax to the current 6.25% surcharge to pay for its share of the cost, according to past Times reporting.

By 2008, the first Pinewood residents began moving out and by 2014, Robert Livengood of pier-building business L&L Marine Inc. had secured the first rezoning of land in Pinewood Heights to conditional industrial. More than 80 lots remain under town ownership, according to Isle of Wight County’s online GIS map.

The Virginia Business Ready Sites Program has paid out 117 grants totaling $43.9 million over the past nine years, one of which was a 2017 grant of $2,025 paid to Isle of Wight County for the third phase of its Shirley T. Holland Intermodal Park on the outskirts of Windsor.