In the past three months, I have been meeting with community leaders and stakeholders and conducting several Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) visits with our companies in Jefferson County. I have witnessed an unique aspect of Jefferson County - the compassion and zeal of the citizens and businesses in the community. They want our community to grow and prosper and let the region know about the Jefferson County advantage.
The Jefferson County Development Authority (JCDA) is in the final stages of completing our new strategic plan for the board, and we hope to have it finished by December. The strategic plan will provide the JCDA with a guide map for our organization for the next four years and allow the JCDA to work in conjunction with the existing Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan "Envision Jefferson 2035". I would like to preview a few items from the plan:
The JCDA target sectors will include: Tourism/Hospitality, Light Industry, Warehousing and Logistics, and a variety of sectors related to Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing
The JCDA will integrate the community's priorities on quality of life.
Jefferson County is also completing a broadband analysis for the county with the assistance of the Region 9 Eastern Panhandle Planning and Development Council and Design 9 from Blacksburg, Virginia. The plan will identify and map the areas of the community that do not have access to FCC-defined broadband speeds. Upon completion, the study will provide the Jefferson County Commission with a working plan and cost analysis to complete the digital divide for the community.
The first three months of my tenure have been filled with optimism, enthusiasm, community spirit, and a warm homecoming. I know the JCDA board of directors and staff are eager and willing to work with the community to move forward. We will keep climbing ahead.
Dennis Jarvis II
Executive Director
Distillery Coming to Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Development Authority sold a 2.5-acre lot in the Burr Business Park to Wylie McDade and Brain Halbert of Shenandoah Valley Holdings, LLC. McDade and Halbert are building a 4,000-square-foot facility to be known as Devil’s Due Distillery for the production and distribution of alcohol. The facility will include a storefront and retail center. In addition, Devil’s Due Distillery plans to offer distillery tours, tastings and occasionally host educational events to promote the distilling industry.
“After several years of dreaming, researching, and planning,
we are finally set to open a craft distillery where we can focus
on creating traditional, small batch, grain-to-bottle bourbons, whiskeys, and seasonal spirits and liquors,” McDade said.
Devil’s Due Distillery will place great emphasis on trying to
obtain high quality, locally sourced ingredients and materials
to be used in our products.”
Construction of Devil's Due Distillery started at the end of July and is expected to take about six months to complete. Following the model of several other craft distilleries in the region, they expect to hire 1-2 people per year during the first ten years.
Free Training Opportunities
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the West Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a series of free webinars.
The Jefferson County Development Authority manages the Burr Business Park in Kearneysville. With its strategic mid-Atlantic location, the business park is only 45 miles from Washington Dulles International Airport and easily accessible from major transportation routes such as Interstate 81, Interstate 70, and Interstate 95. Shovel-ready lots offer utilities, including water, sewer, electricity, and telecommunications. Lots are one to five acres in size and may be combined to form larger parcels. Give us a call today at 304-728-3255 or email us at info@jcda.net.
The JCDA consists of a 15-member board of directors, including representatives from the county commission and each of the five municipalities within the county as well as industry, business, labor, education, and citizens representatives. The JCDA aims to increase and diversify the tax base for Jefferson County as well as provide new employment opportunities through the attraction of new companies and the retention and expansion of existing businesses.