Hopewell Celebrates Virginia Main Street Designation

A kickoff event celebrating Hopewell’s designation as an official Virginia Main Street (VMS) community was held Thursday, January 12 at the Beacon Theater in downtown Hopewell.

At the event, the VMS staff presented the town with road signs signifying its designation as a Main Street Community and joined with local officials in remarking on the community’s past and future revitalization efforts.  Food and beverages were sponsored by the John Randolph Medical Center and local restaurants, Lucky Start (formerly Pearl River) and Stone’s Diner.

In attendance at the event were Mayor Moore of Petersburg and Patrice Lewis, a representative for Senator Warner, who each read letters expressing support and enthusiasm for Hopewell’s designation.  Hopewell Mayor Christina Luman-Bailey recognized attending business and industry leaders and representatives from Ft. Lee, Colonial Heights, Prince George and Chester for their commitment and regional support.

“This is not only about Hopewell, but about the entire region, and we look forward to seeing the ‘Wonder City,’ Hopewell’s historic nickname, take on a rejuvenated role in the region,” stated Mayor Luman-Bailey.

Thursday’s kickoff event followed several prior trainings for volunteers and partners of the Hopewell Downtown Partnership (HDP), the organization who spearheaded the application process for designation and will lead the local Main Street program.  This training will be the first of many intensive services the organization will receive as a newly designated VMS community.

“We have come a long way,” commented HDP Board President Jim Poe, “but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to realize our vision for a fully revitalized downtown.  That said, together with the town, the state, local businesses and citizens, our volunteers and future staff will help make Hopewell an even more pleasant place to work, live and visit.”

For more information about Hopewell’s revitalization efforts, contact Jim Poe at (804) 400-3200 or etpoe@aol.com.

St. Paul Celebrates Main Street Designation

Residents of St. Paul, one of four newly designated Virginia Main Street communities, recently gathered to formally recognize the distinction and enlist new volunteers at a kick-off event in November. Attendees included more than 40 residents, Mayor Kyle Fletcher, Vice-Mayor Sharon Steele, Town Councilmember Monty Salyer and members of St. Paul Tomorrow, led by current Chairperson Lou Ann Wallace.

The Saturday event coincided with a visit from Santa Claus aboard the CSX Santa Train and a downtown holiday bazaar. On hand for the delivery of Virginia Main Street  signs were DHCD staff Jackie Stump, Jeff Sadler and Doug Jackson. Pictured at right: Mayor Fletcher, Jeff Sadler, and Jackie Stump. 

In remarks to the group, Mayor Kyle Fletcher spoke of the town’s potential as a destination along the Clinch River and the potential of the Main Street effort to benefit not just residents of St. Paul, but the entire region of communities in the Clinch River Valley.

After the event, St. Paul Tomorrow Secretary Suzy Harrison commented that the community had been looking forward to receiving the signs, but noted that volunteers had already begun taking advantage of Main Street resources, including a recent educational and technical assistance visit from Kathy Frazier of Frazier Associates to begin a full improvement study of downtown facades.

From Farmers Market to European Bakery

24 of the 25 designated Virginia Main Street communities have active farmers markets. In addition to being great places to buy locally-grown produce, eggs and meat, farmers markets also serve as small business incubators. As pointed out in Ashley Fletcher Frampton’s article, Entrepreneurs Get Start at Area Farmers Markets, the low start-up costs and captive audiences at farmers markets allow entrepreneurs to develop a following, experiment with pricing and marketing, ramp up sales and move on to larger ventures or permanent storefronts.

And, that seems to be exactly the scenario followed by Lynchburg’s Lorraine Bakery. After years of baking breads and pastries at home, in 2007, Petra Hackman, her husband Steve and their children rented a temporary stall at the Lynchburg Community Market.  The family’s beautifully-crafted, European-style breads quickly garnered a loyal following. A year after setting up their temporary stall, the Hackmans were able to establish a permanent store front still in the Community Market known as the Lorraine Bakery. The bakery now offers more than two dozen different types of European-style breads in addition to pastries, crepes and other sweet and savory delights. According to one fan, “it’s a little bit of Europe in Lynchburg.”

Lynchburg’s Community Market opened its doors in 1783 and is purported to be the third oldest farmers market in the country.  Perhaps it is also the third oldest business incubator in the country. For a truly “local” experience that shouldn’t be missed, and to scout out new up and coming businesses, take a trip down to your community’s farmers market or stop by the Lynchburg Community Market when you are in the area. The market is open year-round, Tuesday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tourism Marketing Grants Announced

Governor McDonnell recently announced that the Virginia Tourism Commission (VTC) will award $635,000 in matching grants to 35 local tourism initiatives.  The grants, which require a 3-to-1 match, will help local and regional entities attract visitors by leveraging local tourism marketing dollars.

Several designated Virginia Main Street (VMS) communities and their partners will receive grant funds. Some communities will use the funds to promote local festivals (Waynesboro – Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival and Winchester – 85th annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival). Others will promote driving trails (Harrisonburg & Luray – Shenandoah Music Trail), the Civil War (Farmville – Best Part of the Civil War – The End) and outdoor recreation (Harrisonburg, Staunton & Waynesboro – SVTA Outdoor Recreation and Family Traveling Marketing Campaign and Waynesboro & Abingdon – Virginia Appalachian Trail Smart Phone Application). Still others will use the funds for branding (Luray – Luray and Page County: So Much to Love) and comprehensive destination marketing, research and strategic planning (Abingdon). For a complete list of the funded projects, see the Governor’s announcement.  

Tourism is an important source of revenue and jobs in Virginia. In 2010, tourism generated $18.9 billion in revenue, provided $1.3 billion in state and local taxes and supported more than 204,000 jobs. 

“The VTC Marketing Leverage Grant program is an excellent resource … to boost tourism,” Alisa Bailey, president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation.  

The next round of Marketing Leverage Program grants will open Spring 2012. Localities interested in applying should visit www.vatc.org for more information.

Harnessing the Potential of Social Media

Most businesses that use social media do so passively, using top-down, one-way communication to tell their customers about things.  Often businesses don’t engage people by starting conversations or asking for ideas and input.  This lack of engagement leads to missed opportunities for increased sales and valuable customer feedback. The people over at Inc. Magazine have a great number of how-to’s available for business owners looking to establish themselves in the growing realm of social media. 

Start here for a comprehensive overview, The Business Owner’s Social Media Toolkit.  This set of resources will connect you to expert insight on how, when and why to use blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, Flickr and other forms of social media.

The 30 tips for using social media in your business will assist you in positioning your business in a productive and profitable way and are a must-read before you set up any online promotional campaign.  With thoughtful preparation, hopefully you will be able to turn “likes” into loot!

Guest Blogger: Randy Jones on DHR’s Revised Guidelines for Conducting Surveys of Historic Resources

People who know Virginia Main Street know that historic preservation plays an important role in the success of the program. Most VMS communities, for instance, feature downtown historic districts that are listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Listing these districts in the state and national registers bolsters economic revitalization efforts in VMS downtowns as it opens the way for owners of historic buildings that contribute to a district to pursue tax credits in order to rehab a building. Registering a historic district demonstrates a VMS community’s commitment to preservation and has the additional benefit of boosting a locale’s ability to attract heritage tourists. Rehabbed buildings that result in new residential apartments and living spaces can also attract new residents to a downtown, thereby providing a residential base that supports local downtown businesses. 

For these reasons and others as well (e.g. community pride, education, cultural values, sustainability, planning), it is important for communities to identify their historic resources through comprehensive surveys. As the state agency that deals directly with the listing of districts and individual properties on the state and national landmark registers, the Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has established guidelines for conducting architectural and archaeological surveys. We have titled this document, “Guidelines for Conducting Historic Resources Survey in Virginia.” Also known simply as The DHR Guidelines, this manual has been extensively revised and updated, a process that involved several years and much public input. The revised 178-page guidelines are now available as a PDF on the DHR website  or can be directly accessed through this link.

The revised guidelines — which are now DHR’s official policy for the documentation of historic resources with which DHR is involved — are intended for lay persons and professionals in the preservation field. Thus, as it states in the introduction, The DHR Guidelines “not only covers basic material, but also includes advanced historic resources documentation concepts and approaches.”

Any questions about the guidelines can be addressed to David Edwards(david.edwards@dhr.virginia.gov) at DHR, who oversaw the revision project, which involved many agency staff members as well.

Waynesboro Applying to Become Designated Appalachian Trail Community

Waynesboro City Council unanimously approved a resolution to support city staff in gaining recognition as an official Appalachian Trail Community on October 25, 2011.  This designation would officially recognize the ongoing partnership between the city of Waynesboro and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and provide the city with promotional and economic development support.  Benefits of this designation are numerous and Waynesboro is the perfect fit.  As Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc.’s Executive Director Kimberly Watters noted, downtown is already very hiker-friendly, and the city’s trail angel program receives rave reviews  from hikers year after year.

Harrisonburg and VMS affiliate Pearisburg are two of only three communities in Virginia with this designation, and VMS looks forward to adding Waynesboro to this list.  Other communities along the Appalachian Trail should consider applying to be a designated community as well. This brochure and application lays out all the benefits of partnering with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Downtown Culpeper offers speciality store the right location

The concept of a store specializing in olive oils, high end vinegars and out-of the-ordinary spices is just right for downtown Culpeper, a district that has earned a reputation among epicures. Fine dining and quality provisions from merchants and a popular farmers’ market has made Davis Street a destination. However, that reputation alone may not have been enough to lure Taste Oil Vinegar Spice.

George Farrar and Jan Davis, the emerging entrepreneurs behind the retail store and tasting room also considersed Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Warrenton and several other small towns, as reported at Fredericksburg.com (Ditching a commute, adding some flavor).

Fredericksburg had a lot of appeal for us, but it was an additional 30 miles,” Farrar said. “One of the goals was to cut down on commutes. Warrenton would have been a little closer, but we couldn’t find a storefront that was small enough for us.”

A 1,200-square-foot space was available in Culpeper, and sizewise, it was a great fit for this business. At a time when large-inventory department stores demand extremely large spaces at the edge of town, many downtowns are well positioned for smaller footprint specialty stores.  Additonally, it is clear that the active work that Culpeper Renaissance, Inc. has done over the years resulted in an atmosphere that is attracting businesses, keeping the storefronts filled and providing destination shopping that no big box can match. 

This big-picture, hands-on perspective is one presented by National Trust Main Street Center Business Development Consultant Todd Barman, who has spent time recently helping Bristol, Radford, Luray, Blackstone and Altavista establish strategies. Altavista has pursued a community strategy to offer small, manageable spaces for emerging entrepreneurs in a larger vacant building by creating Altavista Arts and Antiques.

Locavesting: “Investing in Main Street instead of Wall Street”

Those who follow the VMS blog are well aware of the benefits of sustaining local investment by urging consumers to eat local foods and to shop in local stores. Amy Cortese insists that this same approach is applicable to portfolio investments. Her most recent publication, Locavesting: the Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It (Wiley & Sons, June 2011), guides readers through the ideas and advantages of investing in local businesses.

Cortese coined the term “locavesting” to describe the movement to rebuild sustainable communities by investing in businesses within 50 miles of where you live. Early in her book, she challenges readers to imagine what the world would be like if 50 percent of investments were made within a 50-mile radius. She agrees that 50 percent is idealistic, but not maybe not five percent and certainly not one percent.

“Right now, there’s an estimated $26 trillion that Americans have invested in the stock market…just imagine if only one percent of that $26 trillion was diverted to locally-owned companies. I think that would have a huge impact.”

Locavesting is about restoring the bonds between investors and companies in a system where locally-owned companies may be ignored by larger financial establishments. It’s about coming up with new ways to make investment capital more accessible to the companies that create jobs, healthy communities and promote sustainable growth.

Locavesting is capitalism for Main Street.

Partner in Promotion: The USDA Farmer’s Market Promotion Program

On October 13, 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $9.2 million investment in the promotion of local farmers markets through the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP). As the FMPP website states, “These grants are targeted to help improve and expand domestic farmers’ markets, roadside stands, community-supported agricultural programs, agri-tourism activities and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities.”  Farmers’ markets are integral parts of many VMS communities across the Commonwealth and many currently existing activities could be enhanced and expanded through accessing the resources of the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

Though grants have been awarded for 2012,  exploring examples of activities and programs who have successfully gained this funding can help VMS communities prepare for accessing these funds upon the next request for proposals.  The USDA also provides multiple other grant and loan opportunities for rural communities, ranging in scope across the four points of the Main Street Approach.  For direct assistance from the USDA, contact Errol Bragg, director of farmers’ markets and local food marketing, at (202)720-8317 or errol.bragg@ams.usda.gov.