The site at 29th Street is one of three sites in Wood County recently approved for a $75,000 YesWV Site Readiness grant as part of a move to develop business-ready sites in the state and get them prepared for development. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Wood County was the recipient of three state grants to help develop business-ready sites in the area.

Governor Patrick Morrisey on Monday awarded $2.1 million in YesWV Site Readiness grants to develop business-ready sites across 23 counties in West Virginia as part of the Ready Sites Program and administered by the Division of Economic Development, according to a press release from his office.

The grants are designed to aid funding for engineering or architectural needs, including environmental and geotechnical studies, so that businesses looking to build in West Virginia have locations that are ready to accept large-scale projects.

“Speed to build is critically important when companies are deciding on a location to do business, build facilities, and create jobs,” Morrisey said. “This funding is going to ensure West Virginia is competitive and well-positioned to attract new industry and investment for years to come.”

The Wood County Development Authority & Parkersburg-Wood County Area Development Corp. will be receiving three $75,000 grants.

The site at Fort Boreman is one of three sites in Wood County recently approved for a $75,000 YesWV Site Readiness grant. The grants are designed to aid funding for engineering or architectural needs to get a site ready for development. (Photo Provided)

The release from the state said the grants will go towards what was listed as the 29th Street site, the Fort Boreman site and the Stone Ridge site in Wood County.

Morrisey noted that these awards are part of a broader effort to strengthen West Virginia’s inventory of business-ready sites. As competition for major projects continues to increase, his administration remains focused on reducing development timelines and ensuring communities across the state are prepared to compete for new investment, the release said.

Lindsey Piersol, executive director of the Wood County Development Authority, has appeared before area leaders discussing a number of prospects she has shown certain sites to but still needed some work before they were shovel-ready for development.

“The Wood County Development Authority is ecstatic that we’ve been awarded three additional YesWV Site Readiness grants in addition to the two we received in 2025,” Piersol said. “All three sites are over 50 acres and can be used for light manufacturing purposes.”

Even though each site in Wood County is different, the grant money can be used for necessary engineering plans including, but not limited to Phase I’s, Geotechnical studies, Wetlands delineation studies, cultural resources studies and endangered species studies, she said.

The Stone Ridge site is one of three sites in Wood County recently approved for a $75,000 YesWV Site Readiness grant. Development officials said the funding is to ensure West Virginia is competitive and well-positioned to attract new industry and investment. (Photo Provided)

It can also be used for utility studies for the extension or improvements of water, sewer, electric, gas, and/or fiber, site or industrial park grading plans, ALTA surveys (specialized boundary survey of a property), title search, development of site covenants and a traffic study, Piersol said.

Some of the sites have had a study or two done over time but none of them have all the items completed.

“Each site will be looked at individually to see what information is missing and the engineering work will be sought out after that analysis and correspondence with the property owners.” Piersol said.

She confirmed that all three sites have had prospects visit them during calendar year 2025.

“The importance of this program is to do the due diligence on a site prior to a prospect showing an interest in it,” Piersol said. “Every contiguous state to West Virginia (and many in the United States) have certified site programs.

“This will allow us to compete on an even playing field with other states in regard to recruiting prospects.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com