H. Garrett Hart III, Development Manager, Chesterfield County Economic Development

Chesterfield County is a thriving, affluent, suburban community located in the Richmond metropolitan area. Chesterfield is recognized for its prime mid-Atlantic location and a robust economy.  Chesterfield has historically been a leader in industry and is home to many of the Commonwealth’s largest industries such as DuPont, Honeywell and Philip Morris. With a population of 311,000, Chesterfield is the largest locality in the Richmond MSA and the third most populous county in the Commonwealth.

Garrett Hart (BA Marketing Management ‘81) is the Development Manager for New Business Attraction and is in charge of developing and executing a comprehensive business outreach program consisting of aggressive marketing and sales strategies to attract new business and investment to Chesterfield County, and assisting existing companies with expansion projects to strengthen the county’s tax base.  

Chesterfield County’s Department of Economic Development consists of 11 professionals working on all aspects of business attraction and assistance. Some recent activities include: the location of Mazda’s only North American engine remanufacturing facility, and the development of the Watkins Center, currently the region’s largest mixed use commercial, office and light industrial development project. With 10 new business location and 16 expansion announcements, the 2007/08 fiscal year has seen twice the capital investment and job creation of the previous fiscal year.  Currently, as a result of the weak dollar and increases in transportation costs, the County is seeing an unprecedented level of interest from foreign manufacturers. 

Garrett has enjoyed 27 years of assisting in job creation and increased capital investment in the Commonwealth of Virginia, highlighted with projects like Colonial Downs and Gateway 2000. Garrett began his professional career as the first Town Manager of the Town of Louisa, then becoming the County Administrator of New Kent County, Marketing Manager for the Virginia Peninsula Economic Development Council and Corporate Vice President of McKinney and Company.  Garrett is a founding member and past board member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association. He is a past chairman and honorary life member of the Southern Economic Development Council. Garrett holds the designations of Certified Economic and Community Developer from the International Economic Development Council and Professional Community and Economic Developer from the Community Development Institute. Garrett has served as an instructor for Virginia Tech’s continuing education programs in Economic Development (now called the Virginia Institute for Economic Development or VIED).