The Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Grant Program (POV Grant) provides a grant to certain Qualified Companies, as described below, to incentivize companies to locate new maritime-related employment centers or expand existing centers in specified localities in order to encourage and facilitate the growth of the Port of Virginia in accordance with criteria established by legislation. The statutory provisions for the POV Grant can be found at Section 62.1-132.3:2 of the Code of Virginia.
Guiding Principles
POV Zone Grants are made at the discretion of the Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) with the expectation that grants awarded will be used to assist a Qualified Company to locate a new operation or expand an existing operation within the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Subject to appropriation, a POV Grant is available from January 1, 2014 until June 30, 2020. The maximum amount of grant allowable per Qualified Company is $500,000 and the maximum amount of POV Grants allowable among all Qualified Companies in any given fiscal year is $5 million. For Fiscal Year 2015, the maximum amount of POV Grants allowable among all Qualified Companies is $2 million.
An otherwise Qualified Company that claims employees for the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit (Code of Virginia Section 58.1-439) or International Trade Facility Tax Credit (Code of Virginia Section 58.1-439.12:06) may not receive a POV Grant for those previously-claimed jobs.
How do I apply?
Review the full Grant Program Guidelines to make sure that your company meets the eligibility requirements.
Review the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will be required should your company be awarded a grant.
Request a “Grant Portal” which will be your single resource for completing the grant application and reporting requirements.
For more information, please contact:
Russell Held
Vice President, Economic Development
Virginia Port Authority
600 World Trade Center
Norfolk, VA 23510
Direct: 757-683-2115