West Virginia Regional Technology Park: A place for Innovation, Science and Technology in the Kanawha Valley

The West Virginia Regional Technology Park (WVRTP) in South Charleston is anchored by unique facilities ideal for transforming an abstract idea into a completed, market-ready product with existing office space and laboratories, new concepts, technologies or systems that can be created and refined at the park. The Tech Park is home to over 25 businesses and over 1000 jobs. Since Dow Chemical Company donated the technology park to the State of West Virginia in 2010, the Tech Park team has committed itself to grow a multi-tenant park dedicated to research, innovation, technological advancement and education. 

Upholding a History of Research and Innovation 

With over 30,000 patented discoveries developed on the tech park campus, the WV Regional Technology Park is the premier location for research and innovation. From providing space for startups to housing mature global businesses in pilot plants and laboratories for research and development, the park continues to uphold its long-standing reputation as a regional hub for research and innovation while seeking new ways to grow and advance.   

Advancing Science and Technology 

Offering flexibility and versatility to tenants is something that the Tech Park team is championing on the park’s 258-acre campus. The park understands that the growth of the park comes in many forms, from renovating existing facilities to suit the needs of tenants to constructing new buildings, like the recently completed building that will be home to the National Weather Service

The Tech Park is committed to providing a robust infrastructure that allows new and existing tenants to advance science and technology for our region and state, including:

  • Redundant utilities to help ensure reliability for tenants and their critical work
  • 24-hour maintenance crew on duty 365 days per year.
  • Dedication to workplace safety, celebrating 11 years without a lost-time accident on the campus 
  • Professional technicians support tenants with electrical, plumbing, pipefitting, certification of laboratory hoods, and more. 
  • Diverse and duplicative fiber network supplied by multiple internet service providers with speeds up to 100 gigabits. 

Supporting Workforce Development and Education

BridgeValley Community and Technical College 

BridgeValley Community and Technical College, located at WVRTP, plays a vital role in teaching West Virginians the skills needed to support industries that are critical to the State’s economic development.  

The Tech Park and BridgeValley are working collaboratively to bring a new community outreach program that, when launched, will bring K-12 students to the campus to learn about STEM through a program called Science on a Sphere, which projects planetary data onto a six-foot diameter sphere. 

Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) 

WVRTP, in partnership with RCBI, is establishing a High-Technology Manufacturing Initiative at an existing facility on campus, made possible by a $1,048,412 award from the Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Initiative. 

The expansion of RCBI’s training programs on the Tech Park’s campus meets the region’s growing demand for highly trained machinists while providing another opportunity for workforce development and customized training at the South Charleston campus. 

The future is bright and opportunity abounds at the WV Regional Technology Park. To learn more about the park or connect with the team, visit wvtechpark.com 

About The Author

Jordan Ferrell is the Director of Communications and Park Programs for the WV Regional Technology Park. She has a passion for promoting West Virginia and the communities where she lives and works. Before her current role, Jordan held various marketing and communications roles at the WV Department of Commerce and was the VP of communications for the Charleston Area Alliance. 

A West Virginia University alum, Jordan graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the P.I. Reed School of Journalism (now the Reed College of Media). She is the president-elect of the West Virginia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and also volunteers and serves on various local committees in the city of St. Albans, West Virginia, where she resides with her husband, son and two rescue dogs.