Vinton-based The Advancement Foundation held a VIP open house for its “Virginia Innovation Accelerator” in downtown Buena Vista yesterday. The 40,000 square foot former cigarette paper manufacturing plant is now home to a handful of small companies looking to “scale up,” at the Accelerator. The Virginia Innovation Accelerator could be a prototype for similar shared-space projects in other communities served by the The Advancement Foundation, which has received more than $800,000 in grants to upgrade the building and to add a commercial kitchen that will be shared. More on this story soon. Kathy Deacon is Vice President of Business and Resource Development for the Advancement Foundation:
