Hopewell Downtown Partnership (HDP), along with their City of Hopewell partners, recognizes an emerging opportunity to leverage the city’s industrial prowess in innovative and beneficial ways for downtown and the community. By delving into Hopewell’s history as an industrial boomtown and embracing its current assets as a manufacturing epicenter, HDP embarked on a project aimed at developing new markets, fostering a more sustainable localized economy, and instilling a stronger sense of identity and pride in the community.
Partially funded by a FY24 Virginia Main Street (VMS) Downtown Investment Grant (DIG), HDP launched a three-pronged initiative to enhance the Hopewell Downtown Historic District’s economy and brand, with a focus on small-scale manufacturing. The initiative explores the small-scale or small-batch manufacturing pipeline and includes the following components:
- Engaging with the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Brandcenter in a “place branding” effort for downtown that incorporates both local industry and the riverfront to create assets for the community and makers alike.
- Employing economic gardening principles to identify and recruit smaller manufacturers in Hopewell’s industrial supply chain to downtown.
- Culminating with the launch of local branding and the community’s first-ever Made in Hopewell conference and tradeshow.
The initiative is well underway, and HDP is now gearing up for the inaugural Made in Hopewell conference and tradeshow, scheduled for Friday, October 4th (National Manufacturing Day). Business recruitment materials are already live, and HDP is seeking up to 30 entrepreneurs, side hustlers, or small companies from the greater Hopewell-Prince George region to highlight during the conference. ‘People’s Choice’ winners at the conference will be awarded micro-business grants and other incentives.
Some of the small-scale manufacturing categories they are recruiting and highlighting include:
- Lifestyle: Sporting Goods, Home Goods, Apparel
- Hardware: Furniture, Machinery & Tools, Welding
- Tech: Electronics, Software, 3D Printing
- Food & Beverage: Beer, Mead, Coffee, Artisanal Items
To learn more about Made in Hopewell, scan the QR code below!
Image Credit (HDP logo): GuideStar
Virginia Main Street 