Local Incentives
Local Benefits and incentives in CHesapeake
Chesapeake, Virginia offers various performance-based incentives for new and expanding companies, including our Economic Development Investment Program (EDIP) grants, Foreign Trade Zone cost savings, and tax exemption opportunities for local business licenses and environmental restoration sites.
Economic Development Investment Program
We established our Economic Development Investment Program (EDIP) to promote committed investment partnerships between the City of Chesapeake and our business community. Based on job creation, wages, and company investment, the program offers Economic Development Grants to qualifying companies seeking either to locate a new facility to Chesapeake or to expand an existing operation within the city.
Program Details
- Grants are provided directly to the company for use at their discretion, and normally paid out over a 36-month period.
- The first payment is usually paid 12 months following issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
- Companies may be eligible for additional grants to assist with future expansions.
- The program is geared toward targeted industries that are technologically innovative, provide a strong potential for sustained growth, offer high-quality jobs for their employees, help to maintain the diversity of the city’s economy while complementing the city’s strengths and goals, and enhance the city’s business image.
Requirements
Companies with 50+ employees must:
- Be on Chesapeake’s targeted industry list.
- Invest at least $5 million or create a minimum of 50 new jobs within thirty-six (36) months of beginning operations.
- Demonstrate financial stability and future growth potential.
Companies with 50 or less employees must:
- Invest at least $500,000 and create 5 jobs within thirty-six (36) months of beginning operations.
- Have been in business for at least three (3) years.
| Companies with 50+ Employees | COMPANIES WITH 50 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES |
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Foreign Trade Zone
Twenty companies involved in international trade can leverage nearly 1,000 acres of industrial property located in Chesapeake, VA, within Foreign Trade Zone 20—now one of the largest in the United States at 10,000 acres.
Program Details
- Foreign Trade Zones allow businesses to import, store, and process goods and raw materials duty-free until they leave the zone for domestic consumption.
- Companies receive a cost savings by delaying payment of duties or by assembling goods that have a lower duty payment than the sum of their parts.
- Both the City of Chesapeake and the Port of Hampton Roads are committed to increasing the import/export and manufacturing activities within Foreign Trade Zone 20.
- The Virginia Port Authority serves as the grantee of this zone.
Additional Chesapeake Incentive Programs
We established our Economic Development Investment Program (EDIP) to promote committed investment partnerships between the City of Chesapeake and our business community. Based on job creation, wages, and company investment, the program offers Economic Development Grants to qualifying companies seeking either to locate a new facility to Chesapeake or to expand an existing operation within the city.
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONAL, AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE TAX EXEMPTION
The Chesapeake City Code provides a temporary exemption from the Business License Tax for qualifying new businesses.
The City of Chesapeake will provide a temporary exemption from Business License Tax for qualifying businesses newly locating in the City.
A Qualifying Business means a business that locates for the first time in the City of Chesapeake on or after January 1, 2012. The tax reduction shall apply to the business license year in which the Qualifying Business first locates in Chesapeake and the following business license year.
To learn more about eligibility, please download the BPOL Tax Exemption Guide.
BROWNFIELD RESTORATION PROGRAM
Allows the City of Chesapeake to exempt or partially exempt environmental restoration sites from local taxation annually for a period of time that does not exceed five years.
South Norfolk Incentives
The South Norfolk business district—fondly referred to as “SoNo”—is Chesapeake’s urban neighborhood. The community is lined with historic buildings and homes, boasting excellent access to major interstates, the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge, and Chesapeake’s working waterfront.
South Norfolk HubZone Program
The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Empowerment Contracting program was enacted into law as part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. The program falls under the auspices of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Program Details
- Encourages economic development in historically underutilized business zones—“HUBZones”—through the establishment of preferences.
- Promotes economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to more federal contracting opportunities.
South Norfolk Technology Zone
In October 2010, the Chesapeake City Council approved an ordinance to designate the South Norfolk Borough of Chesapeake as a technology zone. This technology zone acts as an overlay district and offers incentives to a new or existing business located within the designated area. For more information regarding the South Norfolk Technology Zone contact the City of Chesapeake Economic Development Department.
South Norfolk Revitalization District
Through the South Norfolk Revitalization District, the Chesapeake is authorized to offer a partial exemption from taxation of real estate for buildings and structures that are no less than 20 years of age and have undergone substantial rehabilitation, renovation, or replacement for commercial or industrial use.
This partial real estate tax exemption will stimulate the improvement of commercial and industrial properties in South Norfolk. Such improvements will not only enhance the character of the business community, but also increase the tax base of the South Norfolk Revitalization District. These new revenues will be returned to the district in the form of public improvements and investments.
South Norfolk Opportunity Zones
South Norfolk has two Opportunity Zones, which allow investors to receive tax benefits on currently unrealized gains by investing those gains in the qualified census tracts.
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