In Case You Missed It: May 2023 Digest

Posted on by Department of Housing and Community Development

During the month of May, the Virginia Main Street (VMS) team published eight blog posts, highlighting the latest community vitality-related news, events and more! Here’s a recap:

Recognizing National Small Business Month

  • Even though National Small Business Month has ended, your local Main Street program should still work to support entrepreneurs and small businesses. Click here to learn more about what you can do!
  • Helping small businesses is one of the key ingredients to creating a vibrant downtown! To fully-bake that vision, you will need to employ a comprehensive approach, one where strategies are implemented through a broad range of activities. That’s where the time-tested Main Street Approach proves worthwhile! Click here to learn more about Economic Vitality and how it fits into this Approach.
  • Thriving communities work daily to attract, grow and support small businesses. In recognition of National Small Business Month, the VMS team featured three individuals who participated in a Community Business Launch (CBL) program in 2022 and opened a thriving small business for local residents and tourists alike. Click here to learn more!

Recognizing Historic Preservation Month

  • Historic preservation is an essential facet of the work we do on Main Street. Successful Main Street efforts are build on the guiding principle that district economic development is obtained by leveraging and preserving its unique historic and cultural assets. Click here to learn more!

Supporting Black-Owned Restaurants & Food Service Businesses

  • The Local Initiative Support Coalition (LISC) recently created the Black Restaurant Fund to invest in the growth of Black-owned restaurants and food service businesses with an equity-like investment program. Click here to learn more!

Creative Placemaking

  • Public art is a key component in creative placemaking. It’s a no brainer really: enhancing your environment increases residential and tourist footfall, which, in turn, improves local economies. Click here to learn more and check out a few examples!

VMS Community News

  • Seeking to develop stronger connections between Farmville’s historic commercial district and anchoring educational institutions, particularly Longwood University (LU), Farmville Downtown Partnership (FDP) partnered with students from Dr. Alec Hosterman’s COMM 430 – Public Relations Campaigns class, which is the capstone course for public relations students, to create project-based work plans that help the organization friend-raise and fundraise. Click here to learn more!
  • As part of an ongoing streetscape improvement project on Piccadilly Street, the City of Winchester has turned street parking spaces into parklets designed by local artists. Click here to learn more!

Stay tuned for lots more great content in June!