PRINCE EDWARD — The Virginia Department of Transportation’s Dillwyn Residency is moving to Prince Edward.

“The board, the IDA board owns property out at the business park. And across the street from the YMCA there’s approximately 16.35 acres that we have agreed to sell to VDOT,” detailed Prince Edward County’s Economic Development Director and Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Secretary Sharon Carney Tuesday morning. “And they are going to use it—everybody’s been notified so it’s not a secret—that the Dillwyn regional office, what they call residency, is closing in Buckingham and they’re moving to Prince Edward.”

It will mean approximately 24 jobs on a facility planned for the site, though the jobs are not new to the state.

She believes the only part that’s not moving is the paint shop.

Everyone, she noted, has been told, including employees and Buckingham County officials.

The IDA technically owns the property, but has been working with the County’s board of supervisors.

The IDA, which met last week to approve the sale of the property, is scheduled to meet this Friday to approve its minutes from last week’s meeting that include the action. (The Attorney General, which represents VDOT, she said, wants to see that the minutes have been formally approved. The IDA typically waits until its next called meeting to take such action.)

VDOT, Carney detailed, hopes to start building in July.

“The model that they showed us, VDOT would like it to be a little bigger,” Carney said when asked about square footage. “The people who are gonna work there want it a little bigger, but that’s all gonna depend on how much money they actually can pull to build the project.”

Prince Edward would receive $640,000 for the sale of the property. The long-term downside is that with the sale of property to the state the County would not be able to receive real estate or personal property taxes related to the operation.

It’s one of the things you have to value, Carney noted, is this a fair trade for not getting taxes on that piece of property, Carney noted.

“But when we were evaluating it, the overall thought is it is $640,000 and not all of that 16 acres is really attractive,” she said noting that “it’s some tough land.”

She figures that only “eight, maybe ten acres of it that’s really, really buildable.”

“…It truly meets the goal of the property out at the business park,” Carney said. “I mean it is to recruit businesses and industries to the community and good-paying jobs.”

The IDA has approved the sale and work is underway on a purchase agreement. It will include the input of the County, IDA and Attorney General’s office attorneys.