Cluttered storefront windows that reflected empty sidewalks, bricked-up windows, and faded, paint-flaked advertisements from the 1970s are characteristics of many small towns which have seen the days of tobacco, bustling freight trains, assembly lines, and factories wane.
Casualties of Virginia’s changing economic structure has been Virginia’s Main Streets, but because of the Virginia Main Street Program, twenty-one communities are seeing their downtowns revived.
“People are starting to feel more pride,” said Lafayette Dickens, Program Manager of Downtown Blackstone Incorporated, a (c)3 non-profit coordinating the efforts in Blackstone, Virginia. “We want people to come and feel good about being here and being associated with the town. And when one business owner keeps up the appearance of their storefront, it encourages others to do the same, so the effect is cumalative.”
Dickens has been working with the community for two years.
Michael Lysczek, President of the Board of Directors for Rennaisance, the non-profit operating in Culpepper, has been a resident for twenty-one years and a member of the board off and on for fifteen years.
“It really is a domino effect,” said Lysczek. “People who believed that this was a waste of effort are saying now we were right. I know this old crimudgin, and I can say that because we have been friends for a long time now, he was a developer in our area and he said it would never work. He now shakes his head and can smile about it.”
Each community applies for grants and assistance, but the business owners are expected to act as investors and to work on the different commitees throughout the restoration progam.
Downtown Blackstone received a $1 million dollar block grant from the state; the business owners have met and seen it by an additional $2 million.
“Once they see the positive changes and know they are being supported, it attracts others,” said Lysczek. “We had business migrating to the frindges of town to the strip malls leaving a big hole in our downtown. Now we have businesses in downtown that attract international attention. It is amazing what renovating an old boarded up trainstation started.”
Virginia Main Street Program
Virginia Main Street Program, founded in 1985, was a reaction against an earlier movement which promoted the idea of bulldozing older establishments and erecting new, efficient buildings, said Dickens.
“We are about restoring, preserving, and promoting what is already here,” said Dickens. “We look at what new business could compliment the already existing ones. Maybe some don’t think we need another restaurant or this or that, but some competition is healthy. And this approach has worked.
MAP: Twenty-Two Towns Get Second Chances
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The Four Pronged Approach
The Main Street Approach is a branded method that has four parts: design, promotion, organization, and economic restructuring.
“It is a tried and true method,” said Dickens. “The way we are doing things is the way that has already been proven effective in others areas.”
Each aspect has committees made up of outside experts and consultants, business owners, and community members. The committees meet, discuss, and network continually and are supported by a larger network of governmental experts and consultants.
“The design aspect was decided with the help of professional design team,” said Dickens. “We have a four color palette that is used not only to unify the look of the town, but to accentuate the buildings preexisting architectural features like the tin façade on the Gibbs Accounting building.”
New Business Tackle Old Buildings
“We wanted something special,” said Angie Sklutz, co-owner of Blackstone Bistro, which now occupies what was an empty building. “A bistro is more like an English pub and not a café. Every town has a café. This is someplace people can come and socialize.”
To overhaul the building, Sklutz and Mary Wrights, had to repair water damage, update electrical, and bring the building up to code.
“Everyone was so helpful,” said Sklutz. “We just took it one thing at a time, and there was a lot of paperwork, but it all got done.”
The Coca-Cola factory was another building that had stood empty and then stored tires; the upstairs had become the roosting place for a large family of bats.
“They’ve had a recent eviction,” said Bill Laminche of Dominion Carpet, an active business that now operates out of the downstairs of the factory. “We lived with the bats for over a year. We had to wait for them to leave then seal up the openings so they couldn’t get back in and would go elsewhere.”
Laminche’s building is one of a group now owned by the Epes family who operate a embroidery business out of a new addition.
Old Businesses Stand the Test of Time
Blackstone Emporium, a staple of downtown, has a long storefront opposite an antique mall that was formally a grouping of hotels.
“If you look at the building, you can still see them,” said Dickens. ”But the appearance looks much fresher.”
Many older businesses’ tired facades gave the town a depressed look.
“It attracts new business,” said Mary Winn, co-owner of Blackstone Emporium. “We’d always tried to keep up our appearance, but some things were cost prohibitive. We received some of the grant money and then spent a good deal of our own. What I think is best is that we know our efforts are being supported and it is sustainable change. We are not alone in what we are doing.”
New Businesses Mean New Jobs
When Blackstone Coffe and Bistro was still in its early stages, other businesses, like Virginia Barbeque, were cutting back.
“I came in one day and the owner said he couldn’t afford to pay me my salarie,” said Rita Ingram, former employee of Virginia Barbeque and current Kitchen Manager at Blackstone Coffee and Bistro.
Ingram has three children under ten and has lived in Nottoway county all her life and has worked at different establishments, some of which are no longer in business. She says there is limited opportunity.
“When you have a job, whether you like it or not, you happy you got it,” said Ingram. “I like where I work. I enjoy going every day that is why I haven’t missed but one day all year. And I like working downtown. I see more and the day goes faster. Sometimes it don’t feel like work but feels like you are visiting friends. I just made you breakfast, gentlemen. How you like it? I’m getting interviewed now.”
Ingram’s happiness with her current position is evident, but with the unemployment rate at just higher than the state average and the business and population projected by the census as trending down, the success of Virginia Main Street takes on more significance than aesthetics.
SLIDESHOW: Rita Ingrim Serves Up Some of the Realities of Main Street
Reviving Main Streets: Twenty-two small towns get second chances to be vital parts of their communities
by Dawn Dickson Van Ness
Cluttered storefront windows that reflected empty sidewalks, bricked-up windows, and faded, paint-flaked advertisements from the 1970s are characteristics of many small towns which have seen the days of tobacco, bustling freight trains, assembly lines, and factories wane.
Casualties of Virginia’s changing economic structure has been Virginia’s Main Streets, but because of the Virginia Main Street Program, twenty-two communities are seeing their downtowns revived.
“People are starting to feel more pride,” said Lafeyette Dickens, Executive Director of Downtown Blackstone Incorporated, a (c)3 non-profit coordinating the efforts in Blackstone, Virginia. “We want people to come and feel good about being here and being associated with the town. And when one business owner keeps up the appearance of their storefront, it encourages others to do the same, so the effect is cumalative.”
Dickens has been working with the community for two years.
Michael Lysczek, President of the Board of Directors for Rennaisance, the non-profit operating in Culpepper, has been a resident for twenty-one years and a member of the board off and on for fifteen years.
“It really is a domino effect,” said Lysczek. “People who believed that this was a waste of effort are saying now we were right. I know this old crimudgin, and I can say that because we have been friends for a long time now, he was a developer in our area and he said it would never work. He now shakes his head and can smile about it.”
Each community applies for grants and assistance, but the business owners are expected to act as investors and to work on the different commitees throughout the restoration progam.
Downtown Blackstone received $1 million dollar block grant from the state; the business owners have met and seen it by an additional $2 million.
“Once they see the positive changes and know they are being supported, it attracts others,” said Lysczek. “We had business migrating to the frindges of town to the strip malls leaving a big hole in our downtown. Now we have businesses in downtown that attract international attention. It is amazing what renovating an old boarded up trainstation started.”
Virginia Main Street Program
Virginia Main Street Program, founded in 1985, was a reaction against an earlier movement which promoted the idea of bulldozing older establishments and erecting new, efficient buildings, said Lafeyette.
“We are about restoring, preserving, and promoting what is already here,” said Lafeyette. “We look at what new business could compliment the already existing ones. Maybe some don’t think we need another restaurant or this or that, but some competition is healthy. And this approach has worked.
MAP: Twenty-Two Towns Get Second Chances
The Four Pronged Approach
The Main Street Approach is a branded method that has four parts: design, promotion, organization, and economic restructuring.
“It is a tried and true method,” said Lafeyette. “The way we are doing things is the way that has already been proven effective in others areas.”
Each aspect has committees made up of outside experts and consultants, business owners, and community members. The committees meet, discuss, and network continually and are supported by a larger network of governmental experts and consultants.
“The design aspect was decided with the help of professional design team,” said Lafeyette. “We have a four color palette that is used not only to unify the look of the town, but to accentuate the buildings preexisting architectural features like the tin façade on the Gibbs Accounting building.”
New Business Tackle Old Buildings
“We wanted something special,” said Angie Sklutz, co-owner of Blackstone Bistro, which now occupies what was an empty building. “A bistro is more like an English pub and not a café. Every town has a café. This is someplace people can come and socialize.”
To overhaul the building, Sklutz and Mary Wrights, had to repair water damage, update electrical, and bring the building up to code.
“Everyone was so helpful,” said Sklutz. “We just took it one thing at a time, and there was a lot of paperwork, but it all got done.”
The Coca-Cola factory was another building that had stood empty and then stored tires; the upstairs had become the roosting place for a large family of bats.
“They’ve had a recent eviction,” said Bill Laminche of Dominion Carpet, an active business that now operates out of the downstairs of the factory. “We lived with the bats for over a year. We had to wait for them to leave then seal up the openings so they couldn’t get back in and would go elsewhere.”
Laminche’s building is one of a group now owned by the Epes family who operate a embroidery business out of a new addition.
Old Businesses Stand the Test of Time
Blackstone Emporium, a staple of downtown, has a long storefront opposite an antique mall that was formally a grouping of hotels.
“If you look at the building,” said Lafeyette, “You can still see them, but the appearance looks much fresher.”
Many older business’s tired facades gave the town a depressed look.
“It attracts new business,” said Mary Winn, co-owner of Blackstone Emporium. “We’d always tried to keep up our appearance, but some things were cost prohibitive. We received some of the grant money and then spent a good deal of our own. What I think is best is that we know our efforts are being supported and it is sustainable change. We are not alone in what we are doing.”
New Businesses Mean New Jobs
When Blackstone Coffe and Bistro was still in its early stages, other business, like Virginia Barbeque, were cutting back.
“I came in one day and the owner said he couldn’t afford to pay me my salarie,” said Rita Ingram, Kitchen Manager at Blackstone Coffee and Bistro.
has three children under ten and has lived in Nottoway county all her life and has worked at different establishments, some of which are no longer in business. She says there is limited opportunity.
“When you have a job, whether you like it or not, you happy you got it,” said Ingram. “I like where I work. I enjoy going every day that is why I haven’t missed but one day all year. And I like working downtown. I see more and the day goes faster. Sometimes it don’t feel like work but feels like you are visiting friends. I just made you breakfast, gentlemen. How you like it? I’m getting interviewed now.”
Ingram’s happiness with her current position is evident, but with the unemployment rate at just higher than the state average and the business and population projected by the census as trending down, the success of Virginia Main Street takes on more significance than aesthetics.
SLIDESHOW: Rita Ingrim Serves Up Some of Realities of Main Reviving Main Streets: Twenty-two small towns get second chances to be vital parts of their communities
by Dawn Dickson Van Ness
Cluttered storefront windows that reflected empty sidewalks, bricked-up windows, and faded, paint-flaked advertisements from the 1970s are characteristics of many small towns which have seen the days of tobacco, bustling freight trains, assembly lines, and factories wane.
Casualties of Virginia’s changing economic structure has been Virginia’s Main Streets, but because of the Virginia Main Street Program, twenty-two communities are seeing their downtowns revived.
“People are starting to feel more pride,” said Lafeyette Dickens, Executive Director of Downtown Blackstone Incorporated, a (c)3 non-profit coordinating the efforts in Blackstone, Virginia. “We want people to come and feel good about being here and being associated with the town. And when one business owner keeps up the appearance of their storefront, it encourages others to do the same, so the effect is cumalative.”
Dickens has been working with the community for two years.
Michael Lysczek, President of the Board of Directors for Rennaisance, the non-profit operating in Culpepper, has been a resident for twenty-one years and a member of the board off and on for fifteen years.
“It really is a domino effect,” said Lysczek. “People who believed that this was a waste of effort are saying now we were right. I know this old crimudgin, and I can say that because we have been friends for a long time now, he was a developer in our area and he said it would never work. He now shakes his head and can smile about it.”
Each community applies for grants and assistance, but the business owners are expected to act as investors and to work on the different commitees throughout the restoration progam.
Downtown Blackstone received $1 million dollar block grant from the state; the business owners have met and seen it by an additional $2 million.
“Once they see the positive changes and know they are being supported, it attracts others,” said Lysczek. “We had business migrating to the frindges of town to the strip malls leaving a big hole in our downtown. Now we have businesses in downtown that attract international attention. It is amazing what renovating an old boarded up trainstation started.”
Virginia Main Street Program
Virginia Main Street Program, founded in 1985, was a reaction against an earlier movement which promoted the idea of bulldozing older establishments and erecting new, efficient buildings, said Lafeyette.
“We are about restoring, preserving, and promoting what is already here,” said Lafeyette. “We look at what new business could compliment the already existing ones. Maybe some don’t think we need another restaurant or this or that, but some competition is healthy. And this approach has worked.
MAP: Twenty-Two Towns Get Second Chances
The Four Pronged Approach
The Main Street Approach is a branded method that has four parts: design, promotion, organization, and economic restructuring.
“It is a tried and true method,” said Lafeyette. “The way we are doing things is the way that has already been proven effective in others areas.”
Each aspect has committees made up of outside experts and consultants, business owners, and community members. The committees meet, discuss, and network continually and are supported by a larger network of governmental experts and consultants.
“The design aspect was decided with the help of professional design team,” said Lafeyette. “We have a four color palette that is used not only to unify the look of the town, but to accentuate the buildings preexisting architectural features like the tin façade on the Gibbs Accounting building.”
New Business Tackle Old Buildings
“We wanted something special,” said Angie Sklutz, co-owner of Blackstone Bistro, which now occupies what was an empty building. “A bistro is more like an English pub and not a café. Every town has a café. This is someplace people can come and socialize.”
To overhaul the building, Sklutz and Mary Wrights, had to repair water damage, update electrical, and bring the building up to code.
“Everyone was so helpful,” said Sklutz. “We just took it one thing at a time, and there was a lot of paperwork, but it all got done.”
The Coca-Cola factory was another building that had stood empty and then stored tires; the upstairs had become the roosting place for a large family of bats.
“They’ve had a recent eviction,” said Bill Laminche of Dominion Carpet, an active business that now operates out of the downstairs of the factory. “We lived with the bats for over a year. We had to wait for them to leave then seal up the openings so they couldn’t get back in and would go elsewhere.”
Laminche’s building is one of a group now owned by the Epes family who operate a embroidery business out of a new addition.
Old Businesses Stand the Test of Time
Blackstone Emporium, a staple of downtown, has a long storefront opposite an antique mall that was formally a grouping of hotels.
“If you look at the building,” said Lafeyette, “You can still see them, but the appearance looks much fresher.”
Many older business’s tired facades gave the town a depressed look.
“It attracts new business,” said Mary Winn, co-owner of Blackstone Emporium. “We’d always tried to keep up our appearance, but some things were cost prohibitive. We received some of the grant money and then spent a good deal of our own. What I think is best is that we know our efforts are being supported and it is sustainable change. We are not alone in what we are doing.”
New Businesses Mean New Jobs
When Blackstone Coffe and Bistro was still in its early stages, other business, like Virginia Barbeque, were cutting back.
“I came in one day and the owner said he couldn’t afford to pay me my salarie,” said Rita Ingram, Kitchen Manager at Blackstone Coffee and Bistro.
has three children under ten and has lived in Nottoway county all her life and has worked at different establishments, some of which are no longer in business. She says there is limited opportunity.
“When you have a job, whether you like it or not, you happy you got it,” said Ingram. “I like where I work. I enjoy going every day that is why I haven’t missed but one day all year. And I like working downtown. I see more and the day goes faster. Sometimes it don’t feel like work but feels like you are visiting friends. I just made you breakfast, gentlemen. How you like it? I’m getting interviewed now.”
Ingram’s happiness with her current position is evident, but with the unemployment rate at just higher than the state average and the business and population projected by the census as trending down, the success of Virginia Main Street takes on more significance than aesthetics.
SLIDESHOW: Rita Ingrim Serves Up Some of Realities of Main Street
