Welcome to Virginia Main Street!

Welcome to the Virginia Main Street blog. This space is devoted to making downtown and community development information available to you in an easy to use format.

We will be updating this blog regularly, so either bookmark this page in your browser or better yet, sign up for an rss feed which you can do here.

The Virginia Main Street blog is here to assist you, so if you have any suggestions for topics or questions about your downtown or our services, e-mail us.

Congratulations to our 2009 VDDA Award of Excellence Winners!

Congratulations to Rocky Mount, Winchester and Harrisonburg!  The 2009 Virginia Downtown Development Association (VDDA) awards were announced at the annual meeting in Fredericksburg this November. The VDDA awards recognize organizations, individuals and governments for their achievements in revitalizing downtowns across Virginia.

Several Main Street communities were honored in the categories of  Business Development, Promotions and Marketing category which honors excellence in developing, promoting and marketing the activities and programs of revitalization districts, as well as Building Development & Improvements which recognizes achievements in improvements and redevelopment projects.

Organizational Development

- Population 0-24,999

Award of Excellence – The Centers @ 319, Smithfield & Isle of Wight CVB

Award of Excellence – Advanced Preservation Workshop and Proceedings Manual, City of Fredericksburg

Business Development, Promotion & Marketing

- Population 25,000-74,999

Award of Merit – Taste of Downtown, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance

Award of Excellence - Shop Charlottesville, City of Charlottesville

- Population 75,000 and greater

 Award of Merit –  PortsEvents, Portsmouth Partnership

Award of Excellence -  Restaurant Week Marketing Campaign, Downtown Norfolk Council

Commercial Revitalization Plans & Streetscapes

- Population- 0-24,999

 Award of Merit – Kilmarnock Main Street Streetscape, LandMark Design Group, Inc.

Award of Merit – Court Square Enhancement Project, Town of Woodstock

 Award of Excellence - Downtown Floyd Revitalization, Hill Studio

- Population 25,000-74,999

Award of Excellence - Downtown Refurbishment Project, City of Charlottesville

Building Development & Improvements

- Population- 0-24,999

Award of Merit- N. Morris Building (Rocky Mount), Spectrum Design

Award of Merit  –  Union Bank Building,  Preservation of Historic Winchester

 Award of Excellence – George Washington Hotel  (Winchester), Old Town Development Board 

- Population- 25,000-74,999

 Award of Excellence -    The Urban Exchange Building, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance

- Population 75,000 and greater

Award of Merit – MovieLand, Commonwealth Architects

Student Entry

Commercial Revitalization Plans & Streetscapes

Award of Excellence -  Revitalization Plan for the Traditional Business District in the Town of Tappahannock, Laura Baker (VCU, Master of Urban & Regional Planning Program)

John Marlles Commitment Award -  David R. Tynch (Portsmouth)

Community-building “Stars” named by Virginians for the Arts

Two Main Street communities pulled top honors in the Virginians for the Arts’ Arts Build Communities Awards. The awards recognize arts organizations that best demonstrate the ability to enhance the community, lift spirits, and build a better quality of life. 

Read more "Arts Build Communities" stories here.

The Barter Theatre in Abingdon was named Shining Star:  With 150,000 annual patrons, The Barter Theatre was selected for the extraordinary impact it has had on the Abingdon community, the region, and on the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The theatre, Abingdon’s 10^th largest employer, was founded in 1933 during the Great Depression, when patrons could exchange vegetables for a ticket. It was awarded the Shining Star designation, since it has stood the “test of time.” 

For more on its economic and community development impact, read The Barter Theatre’s story.

South Boston’s Prizery Center for the Performing Arts was named Rising Star:  “Founded only in 2004, the Prizery has galvanized support for the fine and lively arts across the region, and it has become a mecca of performances, exhibits, and classes. Housed in a donated circa 1903 building, which underwent a $7 million adaptive re-use overhaul, today it is a major regional attraction for visitors and business prospects.  Among its significant programs supporting K-12 education, The Prizery operates a unique Pre-K Arts Academy for every public-school four-year-old, partnering with the Halifax County Public Schools. Its work has helped spawned businesses that include three restaurants, a retail art gallery, a clothing boutique, a home décor shop and an artists’ guild. The organization has sparked an entirely new way of community thinking about the region’s potential in a post-tobacco, post-textile era.” 

For more on the economic and community development impact, read The Prizery’s story.

Eighty other community arts assets were nominated for awards. For a full list of recognized organizations and communities, read the November 23 press release.  Awards will be presented at the ArtWorks for Virginia Conference 2010 Luncheon on January 27, 2010, in Richmond, Virginia.

Local investment may boost local retail spending

The Town of Rocky Mount is working with its Main Street program to invest in an innovative strategy to boost retail spending. The project, coordinated by the Community Partnership for Revitalization (CPR), was branded “5 on us’ by the economic restructuring committee.

“5 On Us” will incorporate $5 vouchers redeemable at participating local merchants in the uptown and downtown areas. The cash vouchers are as good as cash toward purchases of $20 or more.  The community’s goal is to spark new spending in a slow economic time.

Funded by the town, the investment could total as much as $35,000, generating more than $120,000 for non-grocery, non-gas retail spending.  For more details, read about the project in a recent Roanoke Times article: “Rocky Mount tried to ring up sales with coupons“.

Through the project, CPR is also working with merchants to complement the coupons with additional promotions and a broader “shop local” campaign. Efforts like this to spur spending in traditional commercial areas can be coordinated through specially designated districts, such as the Arts and Culture Districts and Virginia Enterprise Zones, which allow for targeted tax, investment, and regulatory incentives.

Communities struggling with the decline in retail sales throughout the cCommonwealth will no doubt watch the effort closely to see if it can be implemented in other communities.  Virginia Main Street will keep tabs on the effort here, and when the program is rolled out, we’ll post more details.

Virginia Tourism site can send visitors to your Main Street

Did you know that Virginia.org receives six million visitors a year?  The goal of Virginia Tourism Corporation is “more people, staying longer, spending more money,” and your community can be a part of this.

Check out the city, town and county link to see if yours is listed. No? Reach out to your local tourism center, chamber of commerce or convention and visitors bureau to get your area connected. If you do have listing, it’s a good idea to check this out once and a while. Select your town name. Does the link work or connect to the wrong site? Does your local area Web site have a link to your community’s Main Street site? More travelers are staying local, and your Main Street may be just the right place for those travelers to visit.

Make sure they can find you.  For more information on services of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, visit: www.vatc.org.

How green is your Main Street?

How green is your Main Street? The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), and Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association (VHTA) have partnered for the Virginia Green program. This is the statewide campaign to promote environmentally friendly practices in Virginia’s tourism industry – and it’s one more opportunity to market your community.

Certification is given by the DEQ and applications can be found at their Web site. The program originally began as Virginia Green Lodgingm but it is growing to include many more aspects of the tourism industry. Just a few of the focus areas for qualification are optional linen service, recycling, elimination or minimization of styrofoam disposables, water and energy conservation, and green events.

Greening your Main Street has benefits beyond the environment. It make economic sense! Conservation efforts can have a direct correlation to dollars saved. Some of the benefits of joining are: a listing on the Virginia Green Web site, use of Virginia Green logo, and an increase in environmentally conscious visitors.

As easy as 1, 2, 3: A downtown market analysis tool at your fingertips

A proper market study can be an expensive and complicated pursuit.  It’s a major community project that requires time, commitment, and the active involvement of a group of dedicated people.  And let’s be realistic too. Considering that dedicated group is volunteering their time outside of work and family responsibilities, completing and implementing a market study is one of the more difficult tasks of a Main Street organization. It’s certainly not motivating like the excitement of planning a  festival.

Thankfully there are Main Street experts and enthusiasts who understand this challenge. Through a cooperative effort, the University of Wisconsin Extension and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Main Street Program created a Downtown and Business District Market Analysis toolbox that is available online. Beyond the user-friendly quality of the tools, it’s free.

This toolbox is designed to help local business leaders, entrepreneurs, developers, and economic development professionals understand their local marketplace and identify business and real estate development opportunities that make sense for their communities. The well-designed Web site presents essential tasks in an easily understood format.

There are three key parts, understanding market conditions, understanding market opportunities and developing market-driven strategies. Each section simply builds upon each other. The first includes tools to analyze current building uses, business mix, trade area size, economic and consumer data, consumer attitudes and business operator needs. The second presents market analysis techniques for seven sectors including retail, service businesses, restaurants, entertainment and theater opportunities, residential units, office space, and lodging facilities. And the final section guides the user in developing realistic conclusions and recommendations for today’s marketplace.

If updating the market study is one of your organization’s 2010 work plan priorities, then give this valuable resource a test run. Identify that one economic restructuring committee member with a knack for details and the Web, pass on the Web address and explore away. At a minimum, peruse the Web site to gain a basic understanding of how a market analysis works. Go to: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/downtowns/dma/index.cfm for more information.

Arts and the economy converge at South Boston conference

Economic development and arts professionals convened in South Boston last week to explore strategies for harnessing the “creative class” in their communities. The conference, “Art and the Creative Economy,” featured notable speakers presenting examples of how small towns and cities have enhanced their economies by embracing the arts. The term “creative class,” as coined by Richard Florida, describes the class of workers that earn their living from their ideas and not machinery.  These individuals may be artists, designers, scientists, and researchers, to name just a few. As manufacturing leaves more small towns, this “creative class” just may be the economic boon that can make the difference.

The Prizery, a shining example of adaptive reuse for a tobacco warehouse, made a great venue for the conference. Featured speakers included Joy Gieseke, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Joy spoke about the organic growth of Mineral Point’s artist community, emphasizing that it is not an artist commune, but just a town that supports its artists. Today, Mineral Point is a town of 2,600 residents with 17 galleries and 30 artists living in town.

Marian Van Landingham spoke about her involvement with the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. Her work is an excellent example of how an artist studio and workshop can become a top tourist destination.

The keynote address was given by Mayor Joseph Riley of Charleston. He gave examples of how art has enhanced the renaissance Charleston has experienced since his first term in 1975.

After several more speakers, the day concluded with a bus tour of South Boston and Halifax including a visit to artist Bob Cage’s Sculpture Farm, Parson-Bruce Gallery and Convergence Art Guild. Later that evening, many folks from the conference attended the Suzanne Vega concert held in the Chastain Theater.

Welcome VMS intern Margaret Barre

Virginia Main Street welcomes its newest team member, 2009-10 intern Margaret Barre. Margaret will graduate in 2010 from VCU’s Masters program in Urban and Regional Planning  with a focus on urban revitalization.

After growing up in New Orleans, Margaret received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. She then  followed a dream of living at the beach by moving to San Diego where she pursued a variety of jobs including mortgage loan processor, interior plantscaper and pastry chef. Ten years of fun in the sun later, an opportunity to start a real estate appraisal business brought her to the east coast and eventually to Richmond. She and her husband Max are both Certified Real Estate Appraisers and live in Ginter Park with a brown dog.

At Virginia Main Street, Margaret will work with communications projects including the Virginia Main Street Monitor, the monthly electronic updates, and the VMS Blog (look for her upcoming entry on South Boston’s Art and the Creative Economy conference). She’ll also get out in the field with VMS staff, and assist in providing support, training, and technical assistance to VMS communities.  Welcome Margaret.

The Art of Downtown: Revitalization with an arts and culture approach

Download the Fall 2009 Main Street Monitor for a look at revitalization efforts centered on arts and cultural assets around the commonwealth. 

The Art of Downtown: Revitalization with an arts and cultural approach features include

• 10 tips for building on your community’s cultural assets
• 7 best practices for implementing a mural program
• 3 elephants, a wolf, and one big chair.

Downtown Lynchburg shines for cabinet community day

Governor Timothy M. Kaine, his cabinet and members of his senior staff conducted their sixteenth and final Cabinet Community Day on a sundrenched, autumn Tuesday, Oct. 20 in downtown Lynchburg.  The Governor holds four Cabinet Community Days every year, visiting eight regions of the state twice over the course of the administration.  Executive Director Angela Hamilton of Lynch’s Landing enjoyed showing off the inspiring results of the local revitalization efforts.

After helping administer H1N1 flu vaccines to students at a local elementary school and lending a hand to the James River Association’s Extreme Stream Makeover, Kaine and his crew lit up downtown for lunch at the Depot Grill, a long-time local favorite and former train depot on Lynchburg’s Historic Riverfront, followed by a walking tour. 

Hamilton led the group up a steep 9^th Street incline from the waterfront to the shops on Main Street.  Once there, they were rewarded with a warm greeting from 9^th Street Parlor owner, Ralph “Chopper” Wilson, and the sweet aroma of fresh cupcakes from the new Taste Selects Confectionery.   Chopper recently completed work on the Parlor Lofts residential space above these storefronts.  For the residents, that baked goodness must be a temptation not easily refused. 

Market On Main Grocery Under Construction

The tour continued down to a neighboring storefront under renovation, where the Market on Main, a downtown grocery owned by Rodney Taylor, will be located.  Nearby, the recently-opened Celebration Bridal and High Peak Sportswear demonstrated a thriving retail presence that has returned to Lynchburg’s Main Street.  When asked by the Governor what incentives were used for the rehabilitations, the property owners gladly praised the Historic Rehabilitation and New Market Tax Credits as essential.

Special thanks to Angela Hamilton and Lynch’s Landing for advocating a vibrant vision for downtown Lynchburg and representing the potential of Main Street efforts for Virginia.