The New River Valley may be getting as many as 60 new jobs.

FedEx announced Wednesday that it plans to build a 37,000-square-foot, $4 million facility in Pulaski County that will replace its Radford facility.

The new operation will be about three miles from Interstate 81's Exit 98, on approximately 10 acres in the Pulaski County Corporate Center.

The company says it expects to hire 60 employees and independent contractors over three years in addition to the 50 who will transfer from Radford when the new operation opens in September, said David Westrick, a spokesman for FedEx Ground.

The new facility is part of a nationwide network expansion to improve FedEx's daily package volume capacity. Since embarking on the expansion program in 2002, FedEx has expanded or relocated more than 500 facilities.

"We're hoping this is the start of a prosperous 2009," said Shawn Utt, Pulaski County's director of community development. "They were a very good company to work with. They asked very little of the county."

Basil Edwards, Radford's director of economic development, said the city worked with FedEx last spring and summer but couldn't keep the company in the city's industrial park. There simply wasn't enough available land.

"We just couldn't make it work," Edwards said. "They needed a minimum of seven acres. They wanted to stay up there, but it just didn't work out."

Edwards said he's not sure how much the move will affect employment in the city, since he doesn't know how many FedEx employees live in Radford. But the company has been leasing the building since 1995, he said.

"We will need to find another use for that facility," Edwards said.

There was open dialogue among Radford, Pulaski County, the New River Valley Economic Alliance and FedEx Ground, but in the end, the best option was to move the facility to Pulaski County, said Aric Bopp, executive director of the New River Valley Economic Alliance.

"It's always disappointing when you lose industry," Bopp said, "even when it's to a neighboring county."

Utt said the county communicated with Radford throughout the process. You don't want to make a neighbor mad, not even over dozens of new jobs, he said.

"The businesses will come and go, but Radford's going to be there a while," Utt said.

Keeping the facility in the New River Valley is a plus, especially with the state of the economy, Bopp said.

"Every little bit helps, so 60 jobs is a wonderful announcement," he said.

Because FedEx considers the move an expansion, there will be no down time for the facility, Westrick said.

"One day will be the last day [at the Radford location] and the next business day the new location will be open," Westrick said. "We're planning for a smooth transition."