Governor Youngkin announced last week that Highland County was one of four communities in the state to receive a Virginia Brownfield Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund (VBAF) grant. The $341,586 award will support the revitalization of the Highland Inn.
Located on Main Street in Monterey, the Highland Inn is part of Highland County’s economic development strategy to increase tourism through retreat conferences and cultural events. In 2021, Phase 1 of the revitalization effort successfully stabilized and restored the Inn’s exterior. Phase II will restore the Inn’s interior, completing the final step necessary to reopen the County’s only hotel.
The VBAF program assists local governments to redevelop brownfield sites in an effort to attract new economic development prospects. Brownfields are properties in which redevelopment is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials, pollution, or contaminants. The VBAF grant will fund the removal and remediation of lead paint from the historic Inn’s interior.