ABINGDON, Va. – At a ceremonial “board cutting” for the opening of Abingdon’s new Lowe’s store, local officials touted the project’s benefits to the town and county.
The 94,000-square-foot home improvement store is located just off Exit 19 in Washington County.
“It’s a nice store,” said Odell Owens, vice-chairman of the Washington County Board of Supervisors. “Any community benefits from a store like this opening.”
Store Manager Chris Bare said the store has created 150 jobs and will create about 25 more seasonal jobs in the spring. It also represents a $20 million investment, he said.
“We’ve been trying to get a store here for a lot of years,” he said, explaining that when a store hits a certain volume of sales like the one at Exit 7 in Bristol, Lowe’s likes to put another one nearby to take some of the pressure off.
“From what we’ve seen the first week, you wouldn’t know we’re in a slow economy around here,” he said.
The store opened its doors Feb. 5.
Commissioner of the Revenue David Henry said the store hasn’t been assessed yet for tax value, but if it’s valued at $20 million, then it will generate $112,000 annually in property tax revenue.
“In this economy it’s good to see somebody employing that many people,” said Abingdon Town Councilwoman Cathy Lowe.
Supervisor Tom Taylor said no economic development incentive money was given for the project. But, he said, “The incentive for this was done 20 years ago when we put in the sewer line out here.”
He said the county is still making payments on the sewer line that’s allowed for much of the growth around Exit 19.
dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701
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