GO Virginia Region 8 Charts Course for Economic Growth with Updated Strategic Plan
The CSPDC recently updated Region 8’s Economic Growth and Diversification Plan. The Plan provides a blueprint to guide Region 8’s grant funding decisions, establishing a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the Shenandoah Valley’s economy through targeted investments in workforce development, entrepreneurship, industrial clusters, and site readiness.
The 34-locality region, spanning the CSPDC’s and the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission’s footprint, demonstrated strong economic momentum, with employment growing 4.4% over the past five years and average wages increasing 8.3% to reach $53,347. The region now supports over 253,000 workers across a diverse economic landscape.
The Plan identifies five targeted industries that are driving regional growth, collectively representing 56,158 jobs and accounting for more than one-third of recent employment gains:
- Agriculture & Value-Added Food
- Transportation & Logistics
- Manufacturing
- Life Sciences
- Information Technology & Emerging Technology
To support long-term growth of the targeted sectors, the Plan then develops economic strategies through GO Virginia’s Four Strategic Investment Priorities.
Talent Pipeline initiatives will increase skills availability, align career pathways with employer needs, strengthen regional talent retention, and attract workers to high-paying regional jobs.
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem strategies focus on filling early-stage funding gaps, supporting student entrepreneurship, and encouraging technology, innovation, and startup hubs throughout the valley.
Cluster Scale-Up efforts will build business-to-business connections, support expanding R&D capabilities, encourage sector partnerships, and increase access to capital for business growth.
Site Development investments will enhance the readiness of the region’s 75 business-ready sites, identify necessary infrastructure improvements, and explore opportunities for mega-site development through regional collaboration.
The GO Virginia Region 8 Regional Council will vote to adopt the Plan at their next meeting on October 28th. Once adopted, the Growth and Diversification Plan will be available at the GO Virginia Region 8 website.
GO Virginia is a statewide initiative that fosters private-sector growth and job creation through incentives for regional collaboration by business, education, and government. Region 8 encompasses 34 localities across the Shenandoah Valley, including the Central Shenandoah Planning District and Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission.
BRITE Bus Demonstrates the Value of Transit
BRITE Transit has debuted a promotional campaign highlighting the vital role that public transit plays in strengthening communities across the Central Shenandoah region. Through a variety of outreach efforts including social media and videography content, this initiative spotlights the ways public transit contributes to economic growth, social connection, and community resilience in our region.
The campaign began with a series of educational posts across its social media platforms with a clear message: investing in transit is investing in the health, strength, and future of our region.
This campaign is a celebration of the value of public transportation and reinforces the message that transit is an essential service. We hope you all will stay tuned as we share stories and BRITE Faces interviews with our riders, drivers, and partners who help make BRITE and Afton Express the vital services that they are for our community.
To follow along and share in the campaign, find BRITE on social media @britebus
Rocks to Roofs: A Housing Symposium for Tomorrow
Community leaders, developers, policymakers, and housing advocates will soon convene on Tuesday, October 21, from 8:30a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA, to explore the area’s most pressing housing challenges. Through presentations from Virginia Housing, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and other partners, attendees will explore ways to advance housing opportunities across the Rockbridge area.
The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) will also share its findings and housing solutions from its Regional Housing Study. In February, the CSPDC released its Regional Housing Study, funded by Virginia Housing and developed in partnership with Virginia Tech’s Center for Housing Research and HousingForward Virginia. The study offers an in-depth analysis of housing markets across the Central Shenandoah region and presents locally tailored strategies to address housing needs.
Rockbridge-area solutions featured in the study include:
- Empowering Economic Development Authorities to support housing development
- Expanding incentives for residential construction and rehabilitation
- Laying the groundwork for high-quality mixed-use development
Rocks to Roofs: A Housing Symposium for Tomorrow is a collaboration between Virginia Housing, Rockbridge County, Cities of Buena Vista and Lexington, Rockbridge Highlands Realtors Association, Central Shenandoah Planning District, and The Chamber of Commerce, Serving Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County. The official speaker lineup will be announced soon.
To learn more or register:
🔗 Rocks to Roofs: A Housing Symposium for Tomorrow
To explore additional materials related to the Regional Housing Study, visit our CSPDC Connects page.
CSPDC Undertakes Strategic Agency Assessment
In early 2025, CSPDC engaged the Southeastern Executive Research Institute (SERDI) to conduct an assessment of the agency. Through surveys and in-person focus groups, SERDI staff engaged with the Commission, local government managers, planners, and CSPDC staff to understand what’s working well, and how the agency can best serve its member localities.
SERDI executive director Jim Youngquist will present draft recommendations from the assessment to the Commission at the October 20th meeting, and then finalize the report. The surveys and focus group discussions were generally positive about the value that the CSPDC provides to localities and the ways in which we strengthen the region. It also recognized the need to expand awareness and understanding of our mission to all local elected officials and explore opportunities to provide new services to our localities such as enterprise GIS data management and mapping and water resources and stormwater management expertise.
VDOT Completes Phase 2 of Shenandoah Valley Rail with Trail Assessment
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has published its Phase 2 report for the Shenandoah Valley Rail with Trail Assessment. The report evaluates track and structure conditions in relation to requirements for the feasibility of future rail operations along the 49-mile stretch of the Norfolk Southern-owned corridor between Broadway and Front Royal.
The Phase 2 report, released in September 2025, includes five appendices: environmental desktop review, drainage and stormwater management, track rehabilitation, bridge load ratings, and public input from spring 2025 meetings in Timberville, Front Royal, and Woodstock. The assessment compares the engineering requirements and costs of restoring rail service with an adjacent trail to the previously studied rail-to-trail conversion. VDOT is conducting this as a fact-finding effort to assist the Commonwealth in determining next steps for the $35 million allocated for the corridor by the General Assembly through the 2020-2022 budget.
The final phase, Phase 3, will include cost estimates and documentation of assessment outcomes. VDOT expects to release the Phase 3 report this fall, followed by public engagement with in-person meetings and an online survey.
For more information and to view the Phase 2 report, visit the VDOT’s project page here: https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/staunton-district/rockingham-shenandoah-and-warren-counties—shenandoah-valley-rail-with-trail-assessment/