Heather Bell
hbell@ourvalley.org
The City of Radford is searching for a new economic development director to foster growth in the local economy, with the hopes of having the position filled by late March or early April.
Radford Mayor Dr. Bruce Brown announced the position at Monday’s Radford City Council meeting.
“The City of Radford is aggressively working to promote its local economy,” Brown said, reading from the city’s prepared statement. “In recent months, the national and local economy have been showing signs of movement away from stagnation. The stock market, jobs expansion, growth in building permits, increases in real estate sales, and private investment are all indicating positive trends.”
“The City of Radford is focused on nudging local economic development efforts from several angles,” he continued. “A Director of Economic Development will be sought with the specific goal of recruiting business for our commercial and industrial areas, as well as overall business development.”
The city’s current economic development director, Basil Edwards, has been named Director of Operations for the city. According to Radford City Manager David Ridpath, Edwards will “oversee workload measures, insurance services, city facilities, projects and information technology (IT)” for the city.
The city hopes to find an economic development director who will lead the effort for a long-term strategic plan for Radford. The position will be responsible for “developing and marketing Radford assets based on a strategic vision for a robust economy,” according the city’s announcement. “Elements of that vision will include market trends, overall property availability, retaining local graduates, as well as creating networking opportunities with institutions of higher education, real estate specialist and the state department of economic development.”
The new economic development director will be part of an overall plan to foster economic growth, according to the announcement.
“The City will be working over the next several months to get tools and assets in place as we embark on an extensive marketing and recruitment effort. Site identification and enhancement, infrastructure improvements, support companies and suppliers identified, workforce evaluation and training opportunities, brand advancement will all be a part of the economic development challenge.”
