HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — The City of Hopewell, along with 19 other towns, cities and counties across the Commonwealth, will soon be getting a facelift thanks in part to $24.7 million in grants recently given out from Virginia’s Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF).

The IRF grants are aimed at helping localities renovate and restore historic buildings and districts in industrial declines, such as the Lamb Arts Center in Hopewell, which will be given $850,000 to renovate a blighted building and transform it into the non-profit’s new home.

According to the grant announcement, the new center will create four new full-time jobs immediately, plus another 45 part-time jobs within five years. With the expanded facilities, the Lamb Center will be able to provide “community art classes, open studios, exhibitions, special events and venue rentals, providing a safe and reliable space for nonprofits to expand their youth after-school programming.”

The transformation of older, vacant or blighted structures into productive, usable spaces is crucial to catalyzing economic growth to create thriving communities,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

By far the biggest project jump-started by the fund this year is the White Mill redevelopment in Danville, which will receive $5 million in state funds and an expected $34 million in private investment.

The old textile mill, a 20-acre property with over 650,000 square feet of floor space, is setting high expectations, with a projected 100 jobs to be created and 150 new units of housing planned.

Other highlights of the grant include the restoration of the historic Lilliston Building in Onancock, the hometown of former governor Ralph Northam, and a new brewery in the western town of Pulaski.

You can view a full list of the grants awarded this year here.