News
From the Director's Desk
As you can see, our intern has been very busy. Have you seen the youtube videos completed by Dawn Van Ness? If not, just click the thumbnails below. Wonderful things continue to happen in Blackstone! The work is exhilarating and like a roller coaster ride at times but well worth it in the end. I get comments all the time that our town is looking great and I will add that the future looks bright! The new era has officially begun but don't take my word for it, come downtown and see for yourself! Experience it firsthand.
CLICK FOR PHOTO GALLERY OF COMPLETED FACADES (Mission Accomplished)!!!!
These include the H.L. Jackson Building, the Allman properties at 105 and 107 W. Broad Street, Blackstone Emporium, the Blackstone Antiques Mall, and 106 N. Main, the Blackstone Herb Cottage and many more.
Town Square Plans (Have you seen them? Here they are)
BIG NEWS: New Apartments and Commercial spaces being built in the downtown district
DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION UPDATE
JUNE
- Count'em FIVE, yes 5 new businesses are opening in the Historic district in the coming months plus one is relocating from the shopping center and Bradford Heat & Air is now located downtown at 108 W. Irvin Street (that totals 7 new businesses all together)!
- The fly-in brought lots of pilots and ultra lights to the area and it was free to the public
- DBi organized a companion event Art Show which took place downtown after the fly-in
- Video clips are up for several businesses and a column has been added on the Business Directory for video and there will be an icon there which will play the video when clicked on
- A field trip to Petersburg's Friday for the Arts gave us great contacts and ideas see pictures
- Dawn Van Ness produces video clips to help promote local merchants click to see them now
MAY
- DBi gets an Intern
- Town Council elections took place and we congratulate the new council members and thank those that have served us so diligently in the past
- DBi distributed its first ever e-newsletter
- Dinwiddie Avenue West was completed and Elm and Broad streets were re-paved
- Intense focus has been put on the "hole" to develop a budget and make decisions on the specific materials that are going to go into the actual design.
- DBi is planning a social to honor our volunteers on May 22nd at the home of the Allmans
- The rehab of the Borum properties, the HL Jackson and the Doswell Building is in full swing
- A new business, "Hidden Creek", now occupies the back of the Antiques Mall.
- Bradford Heat & Air now has an office downtown at 108 W. Irvin Street
- There will soon be two new businesses moving into the downtown district
- The last of the stoplights have been installed representing a $350,000 physical improvement to the downtown commercial area
- The Washington Post wrote an article on the Carriage Museum that has been circulated from Florida to New York and many points in-between, in fact it appears to have gone viral, which in this case is a good thing
APRIL
- A new Restaurant, the Classic Grill opened and has been very well received. They sell footlongs, hamburgers, fries, etc. and have a "Happy Days" appeal located at 130 N. Main Street at the corner of Main and Tavern where Larry's Carland used to be
- Our first Cruise-in took place at the Classic Grill and about 30 cars showed up
- DBi organized a companion event that focused on the major furniture stores in town and others displayed baloons to let the cruisers and visitors for the Blackstone Retreate at VUMAC know that they were offering specials for them
- Additionally, April saw dirt being moved to level out the mounds that have occupied "the hole" for the last several months and paving has begun on Dinwiddie Avenue West as well as Brown Street and other areas throughout town.
MARCH
- The Small Town and Merchant program kicked off on the 29th with a seminar at the fire station and about 27 local business people attended. Eight local businesses were evaluated and given pointers and tips on how to improve their business.
- the Chamber Annual Dinner was a big hit
- Councilman Dunc Quicke and I attended the Virginia Main Street 25th Anniversary Milestone Achievement Awards at the Craddock Terry Hotel in Lynchburg, VA where Blackstone will receive recognition for Private Investment: for creating the climate for more than $1 million in private investment! My hats off to all the property owners who stepped up to the plate to make this happen especially during the economic downturn we have been experiencing. But that is the stuff we are made of here in Blackstone Virginia!
- Plans have been presented to Town Council regarding the layout for the green space that the hole will be converted into. Town Square Plans can be viewed here (click the link)
FEBRUARY
- Tweaking of a pocket-sized map of the downtown that will serve as a directory for visitors, including tourists and soldiers. Talks have been ongoing regarding the maintenance of the town. Contact has been made with Joseph Irby II about his vacancy since Mahaney Nationwide has relocated their office.
- Two meetings have taken place with the major "car guys" in the area as a preliminary session for organizing a cruise-in/fly-in event. The kick off would highlight the opening of the "Classic Grille" by local entrepreneur, Louis DeNitto in the former location of Larry's Chevrolet at the corner of Main and Tavern.
- Having received communication and proposed plans for the Town Square, questions and discussions have ensued as we work the plan closer to the point where it can come off the drawing board and be made into a reality.
January
- The contractor's meeting was held at the DBi office. All pending construction items were reviewed and a progress report was given. Temperatures have delayed both the completion of the CDBG project as well as the construction of the street , Dinwiddie Avenue west, next to the Bon Secours Medical Center.
- On Wednesday and Thursday, January 27th & 28th, I attended the annual Main Street managers' retreat which took place in Radford, Virginia. The focus of the training this year was on mission based financial planning and budgeting as well as mission based fund-raising.
- Yearend eports were sent to Virginia Main Street as required
If you haven't been downtown in a while, be sure to notice the new awnings that have been put up!
THE VERY LATEST HAPPENINGS
Notable accomplishments in 2009
1. We played a major role in increasing the level of participation in the CDBG project ultimately achieving a total private investment of 1.6 million dollars into the Downtown District of Blackstone!
2. DBi helped recruit Town & Country Cleaners to Blackstone after Cavalier Cleaners left and a local property owner helped by recruiting a tenant, Just Sew Embroidery, formerly Mary Lou's of Farmville, and renovating a space for them in an existing building.
3. DBi partnered with the Rotary Club to pick up litter, paint faded curbing and plant shrubs for beautification of the Historic District.
4. The Design committee helped a local business resolve an awning problem they couldn't on their own, in similar fashion to "12 on your side".
5. We oversaw and approved every detail of the Facade Program and loaned out $100,000 to local businesses under the CDBG Loan pool, 100% of the available proceeds! This created jobs and enabled local businesses to purchase equipment for start up or expansion.
6. DBi designed an attractive Recruiting packet for businesses looking to locate here in Blackstone.
7. We are developing a visitor map to show the location of downtown businesses and parking. We are also creating a detailed "Google" map that can be added to our website for the same purpose.
8. We produce and distribute colorful newsletters that detail our activities in hard copy and electronic form.
9. DBi has increased our presence on the Virginia.com tourism website from 2 to 17 listings!
10. If your business has a website, we have added an icon beside the name of your business on the business directory page of the DBi website. Clicking on the icon opens a links to the website of the your business.
11. DBi has added Blackstone to the National Park Service website of Main Street Communities which literally puts the town on the map as a tourist destination!
12. DBi has partnered with the Chamber and local merchants to organize the Grand Illumination, Holiday Open House, and the annual Blackstone Christmas Parade.
Blackstone has a full service dry cleaners now. Have you taken them any business? Check them out at 116 E. Broad which is next door to the J.C. Penney Catalog Store.
The procedure for signs and property improvements (Design Guidelines)
Below is something new that I recently added to the site that might interest you. This is a link to many pictures of what Blackstone looked like back from the early 1900s up through the early 80s. It is interesting to see some of the buildings that are still here and some of those that have been lost or altered over time. If you are up for a little nostalgia click the thumbnail and take a trip to the past.
Old Photos of Historic Blackstone
NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION (click thumbnail for photos showing the progress of work)
116-118 W. Broad St. 113 E. Broad St. 103 W. Broad St. 115-117 S. Main St.
113-115 North Main Street 119 S. Main St. 110 S. Main St. 100 S. Main St.
WHAT NEW BUSINESS WILL MOST LIKELY SUCCEED IN DOWNTOWN BLACKSTONE?
I get asked this a lot and it is a very good question. The research done by the marketing firm of Arnett Muldrow seeks to answer that very question in the following summary:
The D.B.I. Newsletter, Downtown Happenings is published quarterly, and distributed throughout the district. Copies are also available at the D.B.I. office and for download below. If you would like to contribute to this publication, please contact the D.B.I. office or D.B.I. Press Secretary Lucia Malon.
Lucia Malon, Benchmark Community Bank
434-676-2666 x1114
Downtown Happenings March '08 Edition
Downtown Happenings November '08 Edition (pdf 640kb)
Downtown Happenings March '09 Edition (pdf 818kb)
Downtown Happenings Summer '09 Edition (pdf 1,406kb)
