Virginia Main Street

Since the inception of Cambridge Retail Advisors (CRA) – Economic Development (ED), our guest blogger, Joe Lawlor, has worked tirelessly for the advancement of small businesses alongside a dedicated team of passionate professionals. He brings over a decade of small business consulting and mentoring experience spanning retail, restaurant and service sectors. In that time, Lawlor has worked with over 100 businesses from Maine to … More Addressing the Technology Gap in Your Downtown

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has begun soliciting applications for the 2022-2023 Survey and Planning Cost Share Program to help local governments in meeting their preservation planning goals! Cost share projects are funded through a partnership between DHR and a local government and/or regional planning district commission, and eligible projects usually encompass a … More Virginia Department of Historic Resources Opens 2022-2023 Survey and Planning Cost Share Program

Let us celebrate Black History Month together across Virginia as a community committed to embracing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging! Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community, spaces that can serve all members of the community, tell a fuller American story and promote positive change. Here … More Inspiring Placemaking Projects That Tell a Fuller American Story

Last year, the Town of Rocky Mount received a grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Preservation Trust Fund, totaling $100,000, to further develop and connect a downtown park with hiking trails and stream-side relaxation at the upper reaches of Furnace Creek to the heart of Rocky Mount in Franklin County. Demonstrating the importance of leveraging … More Rocky Mount Leverages Natural Amenities by Connecting Wooded Trails to Downtown

In March 2020, Main Street America (MSA) conducted a small business survey on the economic and community impacts of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. They heard from more than 5,000 small businesses across the nation, and you can see the results from that survey here. Now, MSA once again turns to Main Street communities, eager to hear … More 2022 Main Street America Small Business Survey

In late 2021, more than $3.6 million in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grants were awarded to support 13 projects focused on expanding workforce development and talent pipelines in key industries, fostering business and improving infrastructure. Of those awards, $674,304 went towards the creation of an innovation hub in downtown Farmville that will … More Project Seed: New Innovation Hub Coming to Farmville

The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (TRRC) is committed to developing a diverse economy in Southern and Southwest Virginia, offering several grant and/or loan programs to help achieve this goal and accomplish specific economic revitalization objectives. Learn more about two of these programs below: The Southern and Southwest Virginia Programs seek to invest in projects promoting … More Tobacco Commission Opens Southwest and Southern Virginia Funding Programs to Advance Economic Growth

In observance of Black History Month, Virginia Main Street will highlight places and projects around the state that celebrate black history by not only preserving the past, but planning for the future. In historic preservation there is a saying, “Preserving the Past for the Future.” The value of history and historical places does not exist … More Black History (and Future) on Main Street

Recently, Matt Lawless, the Town Administrator in Scottsville, Virginia, was featured on DHCD’s Partners for Better Communities podcast to discuss how he makes things happen, so to speak, bringing creativity, passion and care for people and place to his position as a local administrator. Doug Jackson, Capacity Development Specialist for Virginia DHCD, takes us behind … More Public Service Profile: Scottsville Town Administrator, Matt Lawless, Reflects on Organizing a Community

Recently, the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) opened three funding programs: VTC Recovery Marketing Leverage Grant Program | Maximum: $20,000 and $10,000 (2 funding levels) The coronavirus has had a devastating impact on the tourism and hospitality industries in Virginia. As the Commonwealth reopens for business, the VTC Recovery Marketing Leverage Grant Program seeks to spur … More Virginia Tourism Corporation Opens Three Funding Programs to Support Local & Regional Tourism Efforts