The owner in cooperation with the county was recently approved for an $850,000 industrial revitalization loan to turn the abandoned mill into its very first brewery.

“We don’t have a whole lot of options in terms of places to gather, even if it’s just after five o’clock on weekdays or on weekends,” said Sean Adkins, director of economic development for Patrick County. “So, I know I’ll be the first in line when it does open.”

The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission’s new executive director, James Campos, said that increasing energy projects and developments in Southwest and Southside Virginia is one of his goals for the position. 

Campos’ background is in energy – he was the director of the office of economic impact and diversity for the Department of Energy during the Trump administration. 

The commission invests in economic development projects throughout Southside and Southwest Virginia, areas that were previously reliant on tobacco farming, to help them recover from the loss of that industry.

Hiring stalled in January across much of Southside Virginia, according to the latest monthly jobs report from the Virginia Employment Commission issued Friday.

While the national unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in January, the lowest level since 1969, jobless rates in Brunswick, Charlotte, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg and Pittsylvania counties climbed by roughly a point in the same period.

This first in the Thrive Rural Field Perspective Series describes the main trends and catalysts for change that emerged from scans of the primary approaches and practices currently being used in rural economic and community development and in rural public health and health care. It also highlights how accelerating connections between health and development can propel rural prosperity.