$14M New Markets Tax Credit Allocation Reactivates Shuttered Sawmill in Martinsville, Virginia

Utilizing $14M in New Markets Tax Credits, Giving Tree Lumber will reactivate a shuttered sawmill, creating over 70 jobs and restoring a critical piece of the region’s manufacturing infrastructure. The project will also establish Giving Tree as a key timber purchaser for local landowners, strengthening the regional forestry economy across Southern Virginia.

Giving Tree Lumber acquired and is recommissioning a high-capacity Southern Yellow Pine facility in rural Martinsville, Virginia. The site comprises of 23 buildings across 78 acres, and is equipped for efficient log handling, debarking, sawing, kiln drying, and by-product processing. $14M in New Markets Tax Credit funding will enable the company to reopen the facility, rehire displaced members of the community, and resume production as soon as possible.

Each Twain Lumber facility is managed by an experienced team with a focus on employee safety, operational excellence, and sustainable forestry practices. Giving Tree will create approximately 74 full-time equivalent jobs across manufacturing and administration, with 85% being accessible without a four-year degree. Employees will receive an average wage 75.8% above the MIT living wage in Martinsville, along with comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, and short- and long-term disability.

“Rural manufacturing can be a powerful engine for economic opportunity when the jobs it creates are truly good jobs,” said Traci Vaine, CEO of CEI Capital Management, LLC. “We look for investments that provide more than a paycheck. These are jobs that offer living wages, comprehensive benefits, opportunities to build skills and advance, and a clear path to a stronger economic future for individuals, families, and ultimately the broader community. This project is an example of what that looks like in practice, and the New Markets Tax Credit helps make this kind of investment in rural communities possible.”

Beyond direct employment, reopening this sawmill is expected to generate additional economic activity throughout the region, benefiting other local businesses that support timber production.

Giving Tree is strategically located in rural Martinsville, Virginia. Within an 80-mile radius of the site, local landowners manage extensive Southern Yellow Pine forests that are nearing the end of their growth cycle and require harvesting. By establishing themselves as a key purchaser of this lumber, Giving Tree will provide essential support to these landowners, ensuring they have a reliable outlet to sell their wood and materials.

“We are proud to support a project that delivers both economic and community impact. Giving Tree Lumber stood out as a compelling investment, combining meaningful rural job creation with the opportunity to bring a capital manufacturing facility and community asset back into operation,” said Troy McClelland, VP of Tax Credit Services at Dudley Ventures/Valley Bank. “By reactivating this shuttered sawmill, the project is expected to create quality jobs while providing a pathway for many displaced local workers to return to the industry and community they know best.”

Through this project, Giving Tree Lumber will serve as an economic catalyst for Martinsville and surrounding rural areas. Reopening this shuttered facility will create high-quality employment opportunities and establish a dependable market for local Southern Yellow Pine timber.

“Giving Tree Lumber is exactly the kind of project the New Markets Tax Credit was designed to support— bringing a major rural manufacturing facility back online, creating quality jobs, and strengthening the regional economy,” said James Heffner, Principal of Impact Marketplace. “We’re proud to have helped Giving Tree navigate the NMTC process and bring together the financing needed to make this investment in Martinsville a reality.”

With support from the New Markets Tax Credit Program, Giving Tree Lumber is helping to revitalize the regional forestry industry, strengthen local supply chains, and generate lasting economic benefits for workers, landowners, and businesses throughout underserved Southern Virginia for years to come.

“We could not have successfully completed this financing without Impact Marketplace’s guidance and persistence. They helped us navigate a highly complex NMTC transaction, solve problems along the way, and ultimately bring together the financing needed to move this important project forward,” — Lawrence Martin, partner and CFO of Giving Tree Lumber.