Tazewell secures funding for first phase of Clinch River Pavilion and Farmers Market project

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4 days ago

tazewell, va. — The popular farmers market in Tazewell will soon have a new and permanent home.
The town of Tazewell has been awarded a $296,500 grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission for the first phase of the Clinch River Pavilion and Farmers Market project. This project will provide a new home for the Tazewell Farmers Market while also providing a new option for community events and economic growth.
The farmers market is currently located off Fincastle Turnpike at the first Tazewell exit, but the new location will provide consistency for the market as well as shelter from rain and other weather, Tazewell Town Manager Leeanne Regon said.
'So the town council has agreed to allocate funds to match the Tobacco Commission award,' Regon said Tuesday. 'The town council has allocated the same. Without the tobacco commission awards we would not have funding to do this first phase. So the first phase will be site development and construction of the pavilion. And when it is not in use by the farmer's market, it would be available for other events.'
Regon said the Cumberland Forest Community Fund also has awarded a $15,000 grant to the town to construct a river walk area near the rear of the Clinch River Pavilion and Farmers Market property.
The new farmers market is planned at the site of the former bowling alley in North Tazewell. That location has already undergone significant improvements with the removal of the dilapidated structure and site remediation, which was completed through funding provided by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Brownfields program.
Regon said the development is a work in progress, adding the town is looking at the possibility of acquiring a pre-fabricated facility for the shelter. She said Delegate James W. 'Will' Morefield, R-Tazewell, and Senator Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell, are both backing and supporting the project on the state level.
The town is hoping that the new Clinch River Pavilion & Farmers Market will serve as a catalyst for a second project — the North Tazewell Business District Revitalization. Regon said the town has received a planning grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for that project which will allow for facade improvements for the properties in the business district as well as the redevelopment of a commercial property that is being transferred to the town of Tazewell's Industrial/Economic Development Authority.
'We would welcome just about any business,' Reagon said when asked what type of business would be sought for the redeveloped commercial property.
Regon said the town will seek a Community Development Block Grant in the future from the Department of Housing and Community Development for the business district revitalization plan.
Contact Charles Owens at [e-mail]