Virginia’s Appalachian Trail Communities

The Appalachian Trail Community™ designation program is a new program of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, designed to recognize communities that promote and protect the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). The program serves to assist communities with sustainable economic development through tourism and outdoor recreation while preserving and protecting the A.T.

Completed in 1937, the 2,180-mile-long Appalachian National Scenic Trail is one of the longest, continuously-marked footpaths in the world. It spans through 14 states, ranging from Georgia to Maine. Virginia is home to 544 miles of the Appalachian Trial, more miles than any other state! There are 20 Appalachian Trail communities, 10 of them are in Virginia. From north to south, these are: Front Royal, Harrisonburg, Waynesboro, Buena Vista, Glasgow, Troutville, Pearisburg, Bland, Abingdon and Damascus. This year, Abingdon, a VMS community, was designated an Appalachian Trail Community™.

“Our town has long offered a respite for the weary hiker,” Abingdon Mayor Ed Morgan said in a written statement announcing the designation. “The Virginia Creeper Trail, which begins in Abingdon, is a natural connector to the A.T.” The designation ceremonywas held on Sept. 11, 2012.  Abingdon now joins the cities of Harrisonburg and Waynesboro, both designated Virginia Main Street communities that have embraced their proximity to the trail in their economic restructuring efforts, creating programs that attract hikers to their downtowns, as well as providing amenities and activities that are tied to the A.T.

Front Royal, Buena Vista and Pearisburg are VMS Commercial Affiliates.

Nestled 18 miles west of the A.T in the Shenandoah Valley, Harrisonburg is filled with locally-owned restaurants, museums, art galleries and shops.  Harrisonburg offers special packages for A.T. Hikers to make their stay an easier and more pleasant one. During their annual Valley 4th celebration, hikers are invited to participate in the parade.

The City of Waynesboro is located three miles from the junction of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. “The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s community designation for Waynesboro strengthens the city’s effort in becoming a premier outdoor recreation destination,” stated Katie McElroy, Waynesboro’s tourism director. “The opening of the first phase of the South River Greenway is key to Waynesboro’s commitment to the outdoors,” explains C. Dwayne Jones, director of Waynesboro Parks and Recreation. 

Plan your Appalachian Trail adventure and stay, shop and dine in any of these great Virginia communities.

Winchester’s Main Street Agriculture – Save the Date!

On Saturday, Oct. 6, Winchester’s downtown walking mall will be filled with excitement for local farms.

Farm Bureau is partnering with the Winchester Old Town Development Board, Winchester Main Street Foundation and Virginia Main Street program to produce an extraordinary community event promoting Frederick County agriculture and a renaissance in community life!

The purpose of the event is to educate and promote the importance of agriculture to Winchester/Frederick County residents while building community relationships that produce quality community life and local prosperity for farmers, businesses and residents.

The day will highlight Frederick County agriculture with farmers and vendors providing local foods, educational displays and activities for children. Look for downtown restaurants to offer “local plates,” meals featuring fresh, local produce, meats and dairy products. There will be cooking demonstrations, advice for gardeners and live animals. The George Washington Hotel will host a wine garden, and of course, there will be lots of fun for all!

For more information, visit Winchester’s Main Street Agriculture’s Facebook page.

Virginia Enterprise Zone 2013 Designation Round

DHCD’s Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) program has just finished facilitating three regional how-to-apply workshops to spread the word about the upcoming designation round.  On October 1, 2012, the program will begin accepting applications to fill the positions of two zones that are due to expire at the end of this year.

Much like VMS, the Enterprise Zone program is a partnership between state and local government that can be an effective tool in stimulating job creation, private investment and revitalization in your community, especially when promoted as part of a comprehensive package of economic development efforts.  In fact, several Main Street communities currently have EZ designations.  To see which ones, check out the VEZ Map.

To learn more about how the Enterprise Zone program could become an instrument in your community’s economic development toolbox, visit the Enterprise Zone website or contact Lauren Fink at Lauren.Fink@dhcd.virginia.gov.

Gentlemen of the Road stopover in Bristol

Bristol, TN/VA is a unique place.  “Two States; One State of Mind” is their motto, but navigating two sets of  building regulations, garbage pickups, tax codes and general government type operations can get a bit confusing.

Famous Bristol Sign Across State Street

However, Christina Blevins, executive director of Believe in Bristol, Bristol’s Main Street organization, bridges the gaps everyday in a positive, energetic and infectious manner.

Her coalition’s building skills recently paid off when Mumford & Sons were looking at communities  in which to hold their traveling Gentlemen of the Road music festival.

Already known worldwide for the Rhythm & Roots Reunion and as the Birthplace of Country Music, Bristol had an inate attraction for the band.  However, the ability to coordinate the many moving parts that an all day outdoor festival requires, in addition to the evenings music selections across the street (and consequently across the state line), Bristol cinched the deal.

Already, Bristol is getting tons of press about this event, but the real lesson is to be prepared when opportunity knocks.  Keep building relationships, offer value to all of your partners, understand the needs of your stakeholders, offer assistance without reservation and become indespensible.

Read more about the festival here, here, here, here and here.  Discounted tickets are on sale June 1.

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.

Virginia Main Street Announces Community Designation How to Apply Workshops

Virginia Main Street (VMS) will be accepting applications, due June 16, for up to four additional communities to be designated in FY2012. 

This intensive approach to downtown revitalization is ideal for DHCD Commercial Affiliates and other smaller localities with pedestrian oriented historic commercial districts that are committed to community-based revitalization strategies. In this expansion round, VMS will focus on economically distressed communities that serve as a focal point for regional economic recovery. 

VMS will consider start-up efforts on an equal basis with communities that have existing downtown improvement organizations. More information about this unique opportunity will be available at three How to Apply Workshops in May. Please register here for one of the following workshops:

South Boston
May 16, 10 a.m.  
Hope Classroom, Southern Virginia Higher Education Center
820 Bruce Street, South Boston 24592

Marion
May 17th , 10:30 a.m.
Garden Party Room
212 East Main Street, Marion 24354

Richmond
May 18th, 1 p.m.
Main Street Centre, Floor 12 Conference Room
600 East Main Street, Richmond, 23219

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.

Greening Your Downtown

On November 3 and 4, the Virginia Downtown Development Association (VDDA) hosted their annual conference, this year focusing on sustainability in a traditional downtown environment. The conference was held in Charlottesville, where the 40 participants were able to witness first-hand the benefits of employing “green” development strategies.

Charlottesville is committed to having a green downtown by 2025. At the conference, the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) presented several strategies that Charlottesville is employing to make its vision of a sustainable downtown a reality. For example, the innovative City Hall and Police Building Green Rooftop Project, in which conventional rooftops are replaced with large gardens, has been highly successful in reducing stormwater runoff and pollution while also reducing cooling costs in the summer.

How is your community “going green?”

Visit the Virginia Municipal League’s Go Green Virginia website to learn about strategies incorporated in the Green government challenge.

Designated VMS communities are also encouraged to fill out the National Trust Main Street Sustainability Survey by November 17 to help shape national strategies and  for a chance to win a flip video camera.

Twenty-five Treasures on Main Street – Which is your favorite?

Minds Wide Open contest features Main Street communities

Minds Wide Open, a statewide celebration of women in the arts, will highlight thousands of special events across the commonwealth between March and June of 2010.

While any individual or group can participate by presenting at least one public program focused on women, and related events are taking place in nearly every part of the state, Standing Ovation Vacation packages are being given away as part of a promotional sweepstakes.  And five of the communities featured are Virginia Main Street Communities: Abingdon, Staunton, Manassas, South Boston, and Winchester.

The arts getaways feature superb accommodations, value-added gifts and goodies, plus tickets to cultural arts events like outdoor theater, concerts, dance performances, and exhibits. Random weekly drawings run through June, and there’s no cost or commitment to enter your chance to win. Register now and while you’re there, check out the upcoming arts events in your community and beyond.