The Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill is a large, publicly-owned site that will meet all required specs and timelines

  • 3,528+ acres of developable land
  • All infrastructure in place or available before needed by Project Cactus
  • Dual-feed 200 MW electricity work to begin Q3 2021, completed Q3 2022 (600 MW in 2.5-3.0 yrs.)
  • State and local commitment to fast-track permitting

Berry Hill stands ready to be a strategic East Coast location for Project Cactus

  • Easy access to skilled, competitively-priced labor in Danville-Greensboro areas
  • Site is within an 11-hour drive of almost half the U.S. population
  • Strong pipeline of regional talent and training assets
  • 8 metropolitan areas within 90 miles
  • 4 commercial airports within 90 miles
  • Site is located 50 miles from the Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) with non-stop service to LGA
  • Site is located 80 miles from the Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) Airport with non-stop service to LGA and JFK
  • Class I rail line on-site (Norfolk Southern) connects site to The Port of Virginia
  • Planned and fully funded 2-mile industrial connector road, which will connect the site directly to the designated Interstate 785.
  • Transportation analysis confirms the Southern Virginia Megasite is ready to support Cactus’ requirements

A shovel-ready site to meet Project Cactus' complex utility infrastructure requirements and production timeline

  • 3,528 acres (2,500+ developable acres)
  • 200-acre graded pad  expandable to suit your needs
  • Environmental, cultural, historical, wetlands, geotechnical borings studies, and confirmations in place

Berry Hill meets or exceeds all stated site requirements and timelines

Category Provider/Owner Current Status Project Specific Investments
Site

Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority 3,528 acres publicly owned; Zoned heavy industrial; 200 graded pad acres to accommodate 4M sq. ft. facility expandable as needed (existing) Existing 200 graded pad acres expandable to 300+ graded acres (first quarter 2021)
Electricity

American Electric Power (AEP) 69 kV t-line (>10 MW) on-site (existing); 138 kV loop fed t-line with redundant service (>200 MW capacity) (third quarter 2021)
Water  Danville Utilities Two independent sources; 6.75 MGD capacity available on-site (existing)
Sewer Danville Utilities 4 MGD capacity available on-site (existing)
Gas

Southwestern Virginia Gas Co. Gas gate on Williams-Transco Interstate Pipeline to serve Megasite (existing) Service extended w/in park to site (third quarter 2021)
Broadband Fiber Mid-Atlantic Broadband On-site with over terabyte capacity (existing)
Highway

US Hwy 311 – Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Primary Industrial Highway (US Hwy. 311) at site with capacity to handle 3,000 employees / shift (existing); New alignment of US Hwy 311 “2.4 Mile Connector Road” to existing interchange on future I-785 (Danville Expressway) (fully funded – completion 2024)
Rail

Norfolk Southern Class I rail within Megasite (existing) Rail spur extended w/in park to site (third quarter 2021)
Air Quality Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority Air attainment zone designation (existing)

We want to thank everyone for helping bring our tenth and largest, most advanced indoor vertical farm to life to create new jobs and increase access to healthier foods with better flavor. We are also excited about the future collaboration opportunities with The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research to build on our work with Fortune 100 companies to solve broader ag-related supply chain issues

David Rosenberg Co-Founder and CEO, AeroFarms

Companies in the Region

The region is home to major corporations such as Sunshine Mills, Litehouse, Monogram Foods, Panacea, Aerofarms, Essel Propak, Abbott Labs, Morgan Olson, Goodyear, Hitachi, Eastman Chemical, Presto, Alcoa, Owens Brockway, Elkay, Jti Leaf Services, Stora Enso, Supply Resources, Intertape Polymer, Danchem Technologies, Piedmont Precision Machines, Multiwall, Axxor, Amthor International, Hitachi, Sgs Kyocera. With its stable taxes, low business costs, and below-average cost of living, the region is a leader in industrial growth.

Additionally, there are more than 80 distribution centers within 50 miles including Sheetz, US Food, Performance Food Group, Publix, Harris Teeter, and Dollar General.

Explore the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) engages the resources of Virginia Tech, Danville Community College, Averett University, and other partners to grow innovation and stimulate economic opportunity. The Analytical Chemistry group offers elite testing services and the Advanced Materials team provides cutting-edge characterization and processing capabilities.   IALR proudly promotes sustainable solutions for enhanced agricultural production around the globe with the Plant Endophyte Research Center and access to a live bacteria library with over 2,000 endophytes. Most recently, IALR has partnered with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech to launch a Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center on IALR’s campus. The Center will leverage technology and research to accelerate advancements, economic development, and regional participation in the developing industry of indoor farming, which is expected to exceed $4 billion this year. The IALR campus also hosts offices for the Virginia Cooperative Extension.