Recycler seeks special use permit for former Grede site in Radford, Virginia

Tommy Bishop, a co-owner of Radford Trading LLC, has sought a special use permit (SUP) to convert part of the former Grede foundry site in Radford, Virginia, to process electronics and insulated copper wire, according to an article in The Roanoke Times.  

Radford Trading LLC has facilities in Chilhowie and Princeton, West Virginia. The proposed Radford location would focus on processing insulated copper wire and similar products as well as on electronics recycling, according to the article.

Radford Trading purchased six parcels measuring roughly 70 acres at the former foundry site that made steel parts for the automotive industry for $800,000 in 2015, the newspaper reports. Since that time, the site has remained largely untouched.

The SUP would be for two parcels at the site, according to the article, that both feature buildings to house the proposed operations.

In seeking the SUP, Bishop told city council that the company would invest nearly $5 million in the site and employ eight to 12 people with the potential for future growth, The Roanoke Times reports. He also said the company has cleaned up parts of the property and has begun working with the Virginia Department of Environmental Equality to further its cleanup efforts.

The newspaper notes that the Planning Commission voted 6-0 (one member was absent) to approve the project at a Feb. 20 meeting. A public hearing is set for the March 11 city council meeting, with Major David Horton telling The Roanoke Times that council likely would wait until March 25 to decide on the permit.