Overview
Integrated Engineering and Grant Support for Economic Development and Site Readiness
Timmons Group provided comprehensive engineering, planning, and grant support services to advance the Heartland Innovative Technology (HIT) Park in Prince Edward County, Virginia as a competitive, development-ready economic asset. Working in close coordination with Prince Edward County and the Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC), Timmons Group supported the County’s long-term economic development goals by securing critical funding, completing site due diligence, and designing infrastructure needed to attract large-scale industrial and technology employers.
Timmons Group played a key role in helping the County secure more than $1.5 million in grant funding from the Virginia Tobacco Commission and the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program (VBRSP). Grant services included preparing and submitting applications, assembling supporting documentation, developing maps and exhibits, and drafting clear, technically accurate narratives that articulated site readiness, project need, and economic development potential. These funds supported site due diligence and infrastructure design efforts essential to positioning the HIT Park for future development.
Engineering and planning services spanned multiple projects within the HIT Park, including site selection and due diligence studies, environmental and geotechnical assessments, wetlands delineation, utility planning and design, roadway and stormwater design, land surveying, and environmental permitting. Timmons Group also designed major water and wastewater infrastructure improvements to support long-term growth, including utility extensions, a 1.0‑million‑gallon elevated composite water storage tank, and a 2.0‑million‑gallon‑per‑day water booster pump station. In addition, the firm supported the planning and development of a 280‑acre data center park within the HIT Park, providing site selection assistance, grant support, and water and sewer infrastructure design.
Timmons Group has served the Commonwealth Regional Council and its predecessor organizations since 2005. In 2019, the firm completed a regional data center site selection study for the Mid‑Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation (MBC) that ultimately led to Prince Edward County’s purchase of the HIT Park. Building on this foundation, Prince Edward County, CRC, and Timmons Group partnered to pursue grant funding and advance site readiness efforts—work that supported an agreement with AVAIO Digital and helped bring a $5 billion private investment to the region. Collectively, these efforts positioned the HIT Park as a catalyst for long-term economic growth by expanding utility capacity, improving site readiness, and strengthening the County’s ability to compete for transformative economic development opportunities.
Funding Sources: Virginia Tobacco Commission; Virginia Business Ready Sites Program (VBRSP)
Funds Awarded: More than $1.5 million
