BUENA VISTA, Va. – A vacant and blighted industrial site in Buena Vista is set to get a makeover.
The Bontex Site, which used to be the Columbia Paper Mill, dates back to the 1860s.
It has been vacant since 2010, and the city just received a $200,000 state grant to do site assessments and redevelopment planning.
Over the past few years, the city‘s worked to track down the property owner who’s based in Taiwan. This year they were able to get the site added to the state and national historic registers.
10 News caught up with the City’s Director of Economic Development, she says that this will be transformational for the city.
“All of this work.. all of that’s really needed to do something... helps with the feel of the city as you’re coming into town,” Kristina Ramsey said.
The assessment work should be finished by February and the goal is to turn the site into a mixed-use space in the next five years by tapping into outdoor recreation and adding a restaurant, brewery or housing.