Buena Vista City Council on June 5 approved, by resolution, a land swap and renewal of a lease of property that is intended to better serve Advanced Drainage Systems, The Advancement Foundation’s Virginia Innovation Accelerator and the downtown as a whole.
The city swapped a 2.058-acre parcel of land (designated as Parcel B) that it had been leasing to ADS with a 2.282-acre parcel of land that had been owned by TAF (Parcel C). Even though TAF is giving up more land than it’s gaining, Parcel B is seen as being in a location more favorable and more visible for future expansion of VIA.
ADS had previously been leasing two tracts, Parcel B and Parcel D (an adjacent 2.514-acre tract) of city land for storage of pipes that it manufactures. Under a lease renewal agreement with the same terms as the prior lease, ADS will be leasing Parcels C and D from the city for the same purpose. The lease is for 10 years at $3,500 per year with an option for renewal.
In effect, ADS will be leasing Parcel C instead of Parcel B, and TAF will own Parcel B instead of Parcel C. As part of the lease renewal agreement, ADS will be making improvements to the property it is leasing – putting up fencing and planting trees to screen from view the storage of pipes.
ADS has been operating in Buena Vista since 1966. It currently has 86 employees, including truck drivers. VIA, operating as a business incubator by providing space and resources for fledgling businesses, is in the former Mundet-Hermetite factory building. Multi-million dollar grant-funded renovations of the VIA building to create a commercial kitchen, food market space and public restrooms are on track for completion later this summer.
According to the city staff report, the land swap and lease renewal “address current challenges, enhance the area’s functionality and appearance, and strengthen partnerships with ADS and TAF. This collaborative effort supports economic development, aligns with the city’s strategic goals and ensures the continued growth of key stakeholders in Buena Vista.”
PARCELS depicted in this map are of land in the vicinity of The Advancement Foundation’s Virginia Innovation Center and Advanced Drainage Systems in Buena Vista, between the Maury River and the railroad tracks. Three of the four parcels were part of recent land transactions. See story at left for details.
