In 2021 the Downtown Lynchburg Association (DLA) embarked on a project to give an economic boost to the historic Fifth Street District as part of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) FY22 Virginia Business District Resurgence Grant (Resurgence) program. The vision for a revitalized Fifth Street corridor is a thriving business center in a beautiful setting of rehabilitated and new buildings with complementary streetscape surrounded by attractive, safe, and diverse neighborhoods. As part of a strategic planning process, DLA worked alongside the Fifth Street Community Development Corporation (CDC) to identify projects as first steps toward creating a stronger neighborhood commercial district and, possibly, incorporating it into the organization’s service area.
One key grant project outcome was working with Progressive Urban Management Associates (PUMA) on a strategic planning update and long-term funding roadmap to assess the financial feasibility of expanding the DLA service area to include Fifth Street. If the planning process showed that it made sense to include Fifth Street, the Resurgence grant would fund at least one implementation project to activate its participation with DLA.
In a nutshell, the plan identified a path forward for Fifth Street that met Virginia Main Street’s (VMS) guidelines for boundary expansion. Fifth Street businesses and properties are now included in DLA services, including small business marketing and promotion, the Downtown Lynchburg Gift Card program, storefront tenant matching, placemaking and more. As part of its service plan, DLA seeks to maintain the culture of the Fifth Street neighborhood commercial area by preserving and promoting black business and property ownership.
The Downtown Lynchburg Association worked with the CDC to execute some placemaking and beautification projects from the Fifth Street Corridor Master Plan, including:
- A community-led mural, which contains sculptural and painted elements, was designed and completed as a collaboration between the University of Lynchburg, Vector Space, the Fifth Street CDC and Christina Davis, local muralist, who designed and executed the painted elements of the mural with help from Junior League; and
- A series of three neighborhood clean-ups, in partnership with Junior League of Lynchburg, to beautify Fifth Street and surrounding side streets.
Building on its activation in the area, DLA identified:
- Potential properties for participation in the VMS Financial Feasibility Grant (FFG) program; and
- Several move-in ready retail spaces along Fifth Street for its first cohort of Community Business Launch (CBL) participants, which will add new businesses in previously underutilized commercial storefronts.
Visually, Fifth Street is a small commercial district immediately adjacent to the Central Business District. It connects to downtown, in terms of both building scale and setbacks, and the area is well served by pre-existing pedestrian infrastructure. Simply put, through the planning process, it was clear that Fifth Street should have access to services that DLA can provide. As a result, the businesses on that street will now have a promotional powerhouse behind them, helping to increase exposure and, therefore, their potential to stay in business.
Image Credit: Downtown Lynchburg Association (DLA)
Virginia Main Street 