Virginia Main Street

In late 2023, Downtown Blackstone, Inc. (DBI) was awarded a $75,000 Virginia Main Street (VMS) Downtown Investment Grant (DIG) to support major improvements to Blackstone’s Town Square, located in the heart of downtown. Over the past several years, DBI, working in close partnership with the Town of Blackstone, has transformed the square into a more people-centered and functional public space that better serves residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

While prior revitalization efforts emphasized beautification, the DIG-funded improvements prioritized activation and functionality—ensuring the space can accommodate a variety of users, events, and programming. These enhancements have added a level of polish and intentional design that makes Blackstone’s Town Square more welcoming and capable of supporting community gatherings.

The most significant improvement was the addition of a large pavilion to cover the existing paved stage and open event area. Constructed by GreyFox Outdoor, with concrete footers generously donated by local partner S. Walker Construction, this open-air pavilion features a heavy timber frame with exposed trusses, warm wood ceiling planks, and a durable standing-seam metal roof. Designed as a flexible, all-season gathering space, the new structure creates a highly functional, covered area that can be used year-round for events.

In addition to the pavilion, several complementary improvements were made to further enhance the functionality, aesthetics, and visitor appeal of the Town Square. These upgrades included the installation of new flowers and trees to introduce more greenery and shade, an information kiosk to better orient visitors and share community information, and EV charging stations designed to capture highway travelers and encourage them to stop, explore, and spend time in downtown Blackstone.

A notable feature of the project is the new custom metal LOVE sign, fabricated by C. Bennett’s Industrial Maintenance and Welding LLC. This highly visible and locally crafted element not only adds a distinctive sense of place to the square but also directly supports one of the local Main Street organization’s key Transformation Strategies—Military Connections. The LOVE sign helps strengthen the visual and symbolic connection between downtown Blackstone, Fort Pickett, and the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center, celebrating the community’s strong military presence, heritage, and sense of patriotism while reinforcing downtown as a welcoming destination for service members, families, and visitors alike.

The pavilion and other elements of Blackstone’s Town Square were recently activated through the reintroduction of the Hometown Jams concert series, providing an opportunity for the community to experience the enhanced Town Square. Residents and visitors gathered for an evening of live music, socializing, and community connection, fully utilizing the covered stage area and surrounding amenities.

This event marked an important milestone in the evolution of the Town Square, signaling a renewed commitment to regular programming and increased public use of the space. The successful return of Hometown Jams not only demonstrated the value of the new improvements but also celebrated the square’s continued growth as a vibrant, people-centered gathering place that supports community life.