(Hometown News Publisher Tamara Pettit sat down with BDC Executive Director Anthony Clements to learn more about the role the BDC plays in our economic development and what the future holds for Hancock County.)
The economic development future looks bright for Hancock County as new business and industry locate here and others consider the region a viable location for their business, Getting good news on the economic development front wasn’t the case a few years ago as the steel industry continued on its downward spiral and the economic lynchpins of Northern Hancock County, Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort and Homer Laughlin struggled.
The Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle has been the lead agency in bringing business to our area for 30 years, but often their work is done quietly as they operate with non-disclosure agreements signed with companies considering several locations, both in-state and out-of-state. While the organization doesn’t make headlines everyday, the organization works hard everyday in partnership with the State of West Virginia Economic Development Offices, Brooke and Hancock Commissions and local municipalities to bring business and industry to our area.
The BDC was founded in 1994 with the goal of consolidating all the economic development agencies across Hancock and Brooke Counties to make the biggest impact.
“The partnership amongst all the local stakeholders has been the key to recent successes,” noted Anthony Clements, executive director of the BDC.
Who comprises the BDC Board and what entities do they represent? Luke Myers of Starvaggi Industries, currently serves as President and Dave Artman, CEO of Weirton Medical Center, serves as Treasurer. The two were selected by the Board. Membership on the Board consists of the two County Commissions, the municipalities of Weirton, Wellsburg, Follansbee and Beech Bottom each contribute financially to the BDC and receive one member on the Board. New Cumberland and Chester are not members. Large employers which contribute financially and receive one representative on the Board include Starvaggi Industries, Weirton Medical Center, Frontier, United Bank and Wesbanco. Each County Commission receives two representatives on the Board.
“The past twelve months have been a whirlwind of great opportunity and challenges,” Clements commented. The area has seen the closure of Cleveland Cliffs and the clothing distributor, Rue 21, (both in Weirton) as well as Pure Watercraft in Beech Bottom. “At the same time, we welcomed Form Energy to Hancock County, which has just begun the second phase of construction in the hopes of hiring more of the committed 750 jobs faster than originally planned.”
On a smaller scale, Clements noted successes such as demolishing dilapidated buildings in downtown Weirton to promote revitalization. The State of West Virginia accepted the BDC’s application to establish a BUILD WV district across all of Hancock and Brooke Counties to incentivize housing development.
As the conversation turned toward the future, Clements noted that many of the projects and initiatives the BDC is currently undertaking are years in the making, “These are long term investments in the community that take time, such as remediating brownfields. This will be a priority of the BDC moving forward, but the regional economy is different than what it was 15 years ago.” The BDC sees an opportunity to seize on the public and private investment coming into the area by also focusing on housing developments and undertaking what hurdles the local businesses are facing.