A Megaregion at an Inflection Point
Once the economic heart of Virginia, the BRIC megaregion faced decades of disruption, from the decline of tobacco, textiles, furniture, and rail-based industries to shifting global trade patterns. Through sustained reinvention, the region has rebuilt its foundation by investing in workforce development, site readiness, advanced manufacturing, and biomedical research.
Today, the BRIC megaregion is positioned for a new era of growth. Realizing that opportunity requires coordinated leadership at a scale that matches how modern industry operates: across labor sheds, supply chains, and infrastructure networks that cross local boundaries. Industry scales across corridors, not counties. BRIC exists to provide that megaregional alignment, bringing business leaders together to help define priorities, elevate outcomes, and advocate for the investments that matter most.
A Competitive Advantage at Scale
The Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor is already a major driver of Virginia’s economy, with strong growth, industrial capacity, and expanding advanced manufacturing.
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Alongside Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Richmond, BRIC strengthens statewide competitiveness and bridges urban and rural growth.
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Since 2020, BRIC’s real GDP has grown 13%, supported by positive net migration and a growing workforce pipeline.
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The megaregion includes 20+ site-ready industrial locations totaling about 5,000 acres of available land, with the potential to support up to 45,000 jobs.
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Manufacturing employment in the megaregion has grown more than four times the statewide rate since 2020.
Vision 2050: Defining the Next Chapter
Formed in 2025, BRIC is leading Vision 2050, a comprehensive, once-in-a-generation planning effort to define the megaregion’s long-term economic direction and first wave of priorities. Guided by a regionwide steering committee and supported by nationally recognized consultants, Vision 2050 will result in a Strategic Plan and Implementation Playbook focused on growth clusters, infrastructure investment, funding strategies, and coordinated action.
While Vision 2050 is underway, BRIC is also actively advocating for near-term priorities, including increased investment in Route 220, one of the megaregion’s most critical economic corridors.
Business Leadership. Megaregion-Focused.
BRIC is guided by CEOs and senior leaders from across the megaregion, working alongside higher education and philanthropic partners to align priorities and advance long-term economic outcomes.
At megaregion scale, BRIC:
Convenes senior leaders across the corridor
Aligns local, regional, and state priorities around shared economic outcomes
Advocates for strategic infrastructure and investment
Elevates data, performance, and real-world results to policymakers and funders
Helps scale initiatives that require coordinated regional action
