Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro In Top 20 “Micropolitans” Nationwide

Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro’s economy ranked among the country’s strongest micropolitan areas, reports the March issue of Site Selection Magazine.  The Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro area is tied at #13 in the national ranking and is top-ranked for Virginia. The only other Virginia locality to make the list, Martinsville, came in at #32.  

The U.S. Census Bureau defines a micropolitan region as an “urbanized area” based around a town or city with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 people.

The magazine’s criterion for ranking includes capital investment and job creation. Six local projects met at least one of the three criteria for successful micropolitan cities — at least $1 million in new capital investment, a minimum of 20,000 square feet of new construction and creation of at least 50 new jobs.  

The six companies that catapulted the Staunton/Waynesboro micropolitan into the top 20 are:

1. Cadence <$15.9 million expansion>
2. Fisher Auto Parts <$3.5 million expansion>
3. Innovative Refrigeration Systems, Inc. <$1 million expansion>
4. PPI/Time Zero, Inc. <$1.15 million expansion>
5. nTelos, Inc. <$2.34 million expansion>
6. Lumos Networks <$1.2 million expansion>

“2011 was a great year for our community. Investment and interest are up,” said Amanda Glover, Assistant Director of Economic Development for the City of Staunton.  “Companies know we can provide a really strong work-life balance. When they see the success of our long-term businesses, they know they’ve made the right choice.”

When asked to list why she believes the Staunton/Augusta/Waynesboro micropolitan area is attracting this kind of investment, Glover says, “We have location, labor and logistics. We offer access to two interstate highways, as well as rail and air. We are centrally located among 11 colleges and universities. We are just a couple of hours from Washington D.C., Richmond and Norfolk. Plus, the Shenandoah Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the country.”

The same issue of Site Selection Magazine reports that statewide, Virginia’s new corporate facilities and expansions increased 44% over the previous year, boosting Virginia among the top five in the national ranking for new corporate facilities.  Site Selection now ranks Virginia #5 nationally in 2011, up from #10 in 2010.

Nominate a business for the 2011 Tayloe Murphy Resilience Award

Nominations are being accepted through June 30 for the 2011 Tayloe Murphy Resilience Award.  

The award, given by the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, is a unique competition honoring entrepreneurial businesses  that demonstrate sustained vitality and commitment to Virginia communities facing high unemployment, high poverty and low entrepreneurial activity.

Each year five Resilience Award winners receive the recognition and resources to help their company continue to grow and succeed, including ongoing media coverage for their business and community, opportunities to engage key business and government leaders, and enrollment in a week-long Executive Education course at Darden—valued at $8,000 to $12,000.

Luke Harris (left) and David Stone of Solid Stone Fabrics show the 2010 Tayloe Murphy Resilience Award, which their company won in the wholesale category.

David Stone, Main Street entrepreneur and Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association (MURA) board member, was awarded the Resilience Award in 2010, its inaugural year.  Stone, owner of Solid Stone Fabrics,  secured his next round of funding after meeting a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) official at the award ceremony.  Read more in the Martinsville Bulletin article of September 8, 2010.

Cities in Virginia that qualify based on rates of unemployment, poverty, and self-employment for the 2011 Resilience Awards competition include Bristol, Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Colonial Heights, Covington, Danville, Emporia, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Galax, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Hopewell, Lexington, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Norton, Petersburg, Portsmouth, Radford, Richmond, Roanoke, Waynesboro, Williamsburg and Winchester.

Qualifying counties include Accomack, Alleghany, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buchanan, Carroll, Charles City, Charlotte, Craig, Cumberland, Dickenson, Dinwiddie, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lee, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Nottoway, Page, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince George, Pulaski, Richmond, Russell, Scott, Southampton, Sussex, Tazewell, Washington, and Wise.

Nominate a business here, or complete the full application.

Uptown Martinsville’s Downtown Improvement Grant at work

Virginia Main Street’s Downtown Improvement Grant provided Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association (MURA)  an opportunity to roll out a long-planned district awareness and shop local campaign. The effort, broadly dubbed “This is Uptown,” includes a number of strategies, such as a loyalty card offering discounts with merchants across the district.

The free cards are limited to 500, 350 of which have been distributed since the February initiative kick-off.  “The cards have been a terrific tool for our board members to get out and talk about the district,” says newly hired Executive Director Laura Bowles. “And that’s what they’re for; to introduce, or re-introduce, the region’s residents to what’s available in Uptown Martinsville.”

So what’s available Uptown?  “Independently owned shops where you can get a variety of surprising, unique products sold by service-minded merchants and artisans,” says Bowles.  “There really is a lot.”

Watch videos of  Bowles promoting local shopping and the loyalty card program on two local television programs. She’s practically ready for one of the shopping networks, and her knowledge of local produts like a shopping basket by Baskets by Design and made-to-order suits at Draper and Ferrell Clothiers make it clear that she walks the talk.

Martinsville Courthouse Historic Virginia Site of the Month

The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) posted a new slide show for their web feature “Historic Virginia, Site of the Month.”  This month DHR features images and highlights of the changing nature of the circa-1824 Henry County Courthouse, which found new life in 2010 thanks to grants from Save America’s Treasures and the local Harvest Foundation.

The site and courthouse have gone through considerable alterations since Martinsville was established as the seat of Henry County in 1791, with a log courthouse originally built in 1793. A two-story brick courthouse was built in 1824, but all that’s immediately recognizable of that structure are the four columns of the front portico.  Today the 1929 remodeled courthouse is a “contributing” building to the Martinsville Downtown Historic District.

The preservation of the building was spearheaded by Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society (M-HCHS), who from1996 through 2010 worked diligently in phases to restore the courthouse building and adaptively reuse it for the community. In partnership with the County and national and local advocates, M-HCHS reports that the project, originally estimated at more than $1 million, was accomplished for less than $200,000.

The restored building now houses a Heritage Center & Museum, the historical society, and an information center for the New College Institute.  Additional information about the sites in downtown Martinsville can be found on the Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association website.

Five places to beat the heat on Main Street

A fountain and gingko trees cool off this Harrisonburg pocket park.

It’s going to be a real scorcher.  While not everyone can spend the day on a shady river bank to wait out the record highs this week, you can seek out your own cool spot in your downtown district.

1. The historic theater.  Summertime is a great time for an old-fashioned movie matinée. The daytime prices are cheaper, and those well-insulated theaters stay cool even in summer. Try Staunton’s Visulite, or the Radford Theater.

2. The ice cream stand. Linger with a cone or cup at your local ice cream stand or shop. In Harrisonburg cool off at Kline’s Dairy Bar, established in 1943.

3. The town breezy spot.   Each community has a place where you can catch the breeze. In some towns, it’s an alley or street between buildings through which the wind funnels. In Martinsville, it’s the farmer’s market, where the currents crossing Baldwin Block are pretty reliable.

4. The shade of a street tree. Thank goodness for foresight, investment, and care that went into planting and maintaining shade trees along our streets. Find a bench in the shade, sit still for a bit, and wave at passersby. Old Town Manassas has created a great spot for this with last year’s streetscape improvements.

5. Local shops and restaurants. Merchants have their own ways of beating the heat–whether it’s frosty air conditioning or effective ceiling fans hung from tin-covered ceilings.  Stop in and say hello. Lynchburg’s Market at Main combines the traditional lunch counter with well-selected goods in an inviting space.

No matter where you are though, don’t over do it, drink lots of water, and check in on your elderly neighbors who may not fare as well in the heat.  Send your recommendations for cool spots downtown to Doug.

Virginia Main Street Downtown Improvement Grants awarded

Seven designated Virginia Main Street (VMS) communities have been awarded VMS Downtown Improvement Grants in a special initiative marking the program’s 25th anniversary.

Successful proposals in the competitive process demonstrated: 

• Measurable impacts or deliverables;
• Committee or volunteer project leadership/involvement;
• Partnerships and resource leveraging;
• Local government involvement or support;
• Up-to-date program reporting; and
• The ability to complete the project using the $2,500 (plus leverage) by Dec. 2010.

The funded projects in alphabetical order are:

Culpeper:  A downtown banner project will carry forward the VMS-supported identity campaign and leverage donated design time, community volunteer hours, and an in-kind local government contribution. 

Harrisonburg:  A pilot tourism project will engage a collaborative team in the development, trial, and measurement of a concierge and resort-based educational and promotional campaign.

Martinsville:  A print and Web marketing campaign will promote Uptown Martinsville as a destination and include the development and production of a brochure and loyalty cards that shoppers will use to receive special discounts and offers at participating Uptown businesses.

Orange:  A landscaping project will expand a recently successful collaboration between the Orange Downtown Alliance, local garden clubs, and the Town of Orange into a district-wide effort, leveraging volunteer hours and contributions.

South Boston:  A participatory art and history project will engage a collaborative team in painting fire hydrants as part of the community’s strategic arts and heritage economic repositioning.

Staunton: A downtown banner project will extend an existing effort into a transitional, gateway portion of the district, leveraging an existing investment and increasing the engagement of a stakeholder group at the margins.

Winchester: A pedestrian oriented kiosk and signage will implement recommendations from an ongoing wayfinding planning process.

Congratulations to the successful communties, and good luck on the projects.

Tourism magnets on Virginia’s Main Streets

It’s no newsflash for Main Street communities that cultural heritage and history-based tourism can bring meaningful revenue downtown. Here are a few examples of strategic investments and attractions affecting Main Street communities. They’re gathered by our friends at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR). To sign up for DHR’s news clips, contact: Randy Jones.

Tourism and Rail in Lynchburg: When city and state officials worked toward getting a second Amtrak train from Lynchburg to Washington, D.C. the idea was to get travelers to Washington. But there are also things to see and do in Lynchburg. And the city’s tourism officials are working on making the Hill City a destination for those getting on the train in Washington. In April, the region will participate in a Virginia Tourism Corporation advertising blitz in D.C. metro stations. To learn more, read the article in the News and Advance.

Natural History in Martinsville: Visitors to the Virginia Museum of Natural History can examine and compare different specimens of dinosaurs, as several large skeleton casts of dinosaurs will be on display in the new exhibit: Messages from the Mesozoic, including a 40-foot-long Acrocanthosaurus and a 12-foot-long feathered Deinonychus, both of which date back more than 100 million years. The dinosaurs on display are believed to have roamed in Virginia and other places. The only pieces of evidence of dinosaurs in Virginia found so far are footprints, or other trace fossils. For more information, read the Martinsville Bulletin article.

Frontier Heritage in Smyth County: The Appalachian Regional Commission awarded a $17,500 for the Settlers Museum in Smyth County. The museum plans to undertake development of a master strategic plan, including a physical assessment of its historic farm structures to prioritize critical structural repairs, development of concepts for additional programming, and an agricultural tourism feasibility study. The museum’s 67 acres feature a restored 19th-century living history farm complete with farmhouse and eight original outbuildings, plus the restored 1894 one-room Lindamood school. For more information read the article in Southwest Virginia Today.

Towns that build entrepreneurs

 

Economic restructuring in five Oklahoma towns built from existing assets to support entrepreneurial climates.

A recent Daily Yonder article was forwarded to the VMS Blog from the City of Martinsville, which is pulling together community investment in their central business district through the Uptown Partners project. 

 ”The Town that Builds Entrepreneurs” uses data from Oklahoma communities to demonstrate the power of the Main Street economic restructuring approach: an incremental effort to build on existing assets while diversifying the business mix. The communities focused on quality of life, including the natural beauty that surrounds them, and they built from the industries that had shaped the towns. They even partnered across jurisdictional boundaries.

In Martinsville-Henry County, the community is pulling together to put a similar strategy to work using the unique assets of the area, such as its furniture-making history, cultural and arts assets, the New College Institute- an uptown educational resource, and the area’s potential for uptown housing.  

Martinsville’s Main Street program, Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association (MURA), is one of the uptown partners working to foster a climate specifically conducive to entrepreneurs. Track the community’s progress at: www.uptownmville.com.

Virginia’s Main Street in the news

The Sunday, April 5 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch had several articles of note about Virginia Main Street communities.  First was an article about Abingdon’s latest downtown promotion, then an article about Page County’s (including Luray) attempt to be designated as the “Cabin Capital of Virginia.” Then yet another article, this one talking about the Lynchburg Museum’s new exhibits.

Lynchburg, Altavista and Manassas all were noted for their recent milestone acheivements.

An editorial in the Star Exponent of Culpeper extolls the signs of a strengthening economy as evidenced by the entrepreneurial spirit in Culpeper’s Historic Downtown.  The Martinsville Bulletin ran a story on another entrepreneur who is doing his part to revive a local economy hit hard by factory closings.

Lastly, at least for now, the Franklin News Post has an article on Rocky Mount’s uptown facade inprovement program.

New media

Question: What took 89 years for the telephone; 38 years for the television; and 14 years for the cell phone?  The answer? How long it took for each of these communication devices to be adopted by 150 million users.

In only five years Facebook has attracted more than 175 millon users – and it’s not just for college kids anymore.  This “social media” network has captured the attention of everyone from grandmothers to corporations.  It has also captured the time of many an innocent Web-surfer.  A CNN.Money/Fortune magazine article says:

Try logging in to quickly check a message, and you may find yourself scrolling through new baby photos from that guy who used to sit next to you in Mr. Peterson’s English class.  Soon you’re checking the friends you have in common. This addictive quality keeps Facebook’s typical user on the site for an average of 169 minutes a month, according to ComScore. Compare that with Google News, where the average reader spends 13 minutes a month checking up on the world, or the New York Times Web site, which holds on to readers for a mere ten minutes a month.

You can read the whole article here.

Half of the population of the USA has a Facebook account and more than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook every day.

So how can you use this to promote your downtown?  The general idea is that you want to help people connect to your downtown; the services, the special events, the retail promotions and the whole neighborhood feeling. 

In short, you want them to be friends with your downtown.  There are some inherent shortcomings of using Facebook for promotions, but only you can decide if this free outlet will be worthwhile to you.

Here are some examples of how some designated Virginia Main Streets are doing it (be forewarned, you’ll have to sign up to view them):

Staunton; Lynchburg; Harrisonburg; Martinsville; and Martinsville again.