It's official, Alpha Natural Resources making its home in Bristol

BRISTOL, Va. – Alpha Claus is coming to town.City leaders formally opened the door Wednesday and welcomed Alpha Natural Resources to Bristol – concluding months of negotiations to land the company’s new corporate headquarters on vacant land north of Sugar Hollow Park.

Alpha, the nation’s third largest coal company, announced plans last month to establish its new $20 million corporate headquarters on the city-owned site.

And the deal – which has only one more formal step – came with a little something extra. Mick Risdon, Alpha’s vice president of strategic sourcing and materials management, confirmed the company may add as many as 100 more jobs at the new facility.

“We will employ 200 people there when the building is completed in mid-2011 and it could be as many as 300 employees,” Risdon said.

Company officials previously announced they planned to shift 131 employees from the present Abingdon headquarters and employ an additional 69 in the new facility.

After the meeting, Risdon said the increase would likely occur over a period of time.

“It [building] would be designed so it would accommodate as many as that [300]. One of the reasons we’re in this, is the existing building was not able to accommodate the growth we’ve experienced,” Risdon said.

After the meeting, Mayor Jim Rector said he was struck by the potential increase in employment.

“He did say 300, didn’t he? I thought that’s what he said, but I was afraid to ask him,” the mayor said.

On Wednesday, the City Council unanimously approved $1.1 million in financial incentives, a transfer of the entire 79-acre Sugar Hollow business complex and a replat of that site to accommodate the 100,000-square-foot office building on 31 acres.

The 4-0 vote, with Councilman Jim Heaney absent, followed a 37-minute executive session during which council members and company officials reviewed the details one last time.

“We want to welcome you to Bristol,” Rector said. “Over my 16 years on this council, I’ve been involved with talking to a lot of business and industry and trying to get them to come to Bristol. You are the most professional group I’ve ever dealt with.”

Company officials returned the compliment, saying they look forward to occupying their new facility.

The lone remaining formality is for the city’s Industrial Development Authority to accept the deed from the city and transfer the land. That meeting is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.

Designers are currently completing design plans for the building’s interior and exterior.

“We’re also finishing survey work on the site itself, so we can locate the building in an appropriate position,” Risdon said. “We would anticipate, if this goes as we currently plan, doing some ground preparation in the latter part of January or early February, so we can start construction in early spring.”

Alpha already has an agreement with the adjoining property owner to access its site, Risdon said. The new Resting Tree Drive and a bridge across Beaver Creek isn’t scheduled to be completed until mid-2010.

In addition to money from the city, Alpha is scheduled to receive $4.4 million in incentives from the state and $1.9 million from Bristol Virginia Utilities. In the end, however, it wasn’t about the money, Risdon said.

“That [incentives] has been important, but the biggest factor has been to retain our headquarters operation in Southwest Virginia. That’s really where we want to be,” Risdon said. “The other states made some attractive offers to us, but it was really important we stay in Southwest Virginia.”

dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532