ISLE OF WIGHT, Va. (AP) -- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. is bringing a production and distribution center to southeastern Virginia, investing $180 million and creating as many as 800 jobs over the next five years, the company and state officials announced Friday.
The Waterbury, Vt., company will purchase for $15 million a 330,000-square-foot building on 64 acres to house coffee roasting, grinding, flavoring and packing of Green Mountain's specialty coffee business unit.
Gov. Bob McDonnell, who approved a $4 million grant to help Isle of Wight County court Green Mountain, said the economic development is "transformational" for the rural tidewater county along the James River.
The region suffered a huge economic blow in 2009 when International Paper closed its mill in Franklin, eliminating 1,100 jobs.
"The region continues to rebound after experiencing devastating job losses, and this project will put 800 Virginians back to work," McDonnell said in a statement.
Jon Wettstein, a Green Mountain vice president, credited Virginia's "appealing business incentives" and labor force in selecting the Isle of Wight location.
Green Mountain operates production and distribution centers in California, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and Canada.