ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday that $126 million in Virginia Business Ready Sites Program development grants will be earmarked for nearly two dozen sites across the Commonwealth and two of the sites are in the Shenandoah Valley.

The city of Staunton will receive $9 million for its Staunton Crossing project while Rockingham County will get $4.5 million for the Innovation Village project.

Administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, this discretionary program partners with localities, utilities, and state agencies to fund infrastructure improvements that build operations-ready sites for employers and manufacturers ready to expand in the Commonwealth.

“Business-ready sites drive and accelerate economic growth, and our continued investments in site development position the Commonwealth to compete to win transformative projects that will bring hundreds and thousands of jobs to Virginia,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “A growing inventory of project-ready sites is a huge competitive advantage, and our investments in the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program were a big factor in Virginia being named America’s Top State for Business.”

While Virginia has only invested in site development at substantial levels for the last two years, the state’s investments are already generating results that will produce a strong and increasing return on investment to the state general fund.

Since the program’s inception, 45 sites have received funding, and to date, 3,720 direct jobs have been announced on sites that have received VBRSP grants. This year, 23 sites representing over 10,000 acres of developable land are receiving VBRSP funding.