Hampton’s Phoebus Partnership and Newport News’ Hilton Village Main Street are part of the latest cohort to reach the top tier of the Virginia Main Street program.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the two organizations received the designation in December.
But exactly what the program offers is as “wide and varied” as the participating localities, according to Courtney Mailey, Virginia Main Street state coordinator.
The Virginia Main Street program is housed under the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. It was established in 1985, trailing the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s founding of the national-level main street project by about eight years.
“It was really an experiment in the Midwest to see what tools and techniques in economic development could put new life into old buildings that were vacant and abandoned,” Mailey said.
“At that time in the ’70s, suburban retail was really doing a number on traditional commercial downtowns. Those storefronts were emptying out and the businesses that were located in them were really struggling.”
After seeing early success in pilot towns in Indiana, Illinois and South Dakota, the program spread into New England and the South. Now, nearly all states manage a main street program and have designated hundreds of participating local organizations nationwide.
The Virginia Main Street program continues doing much of the same work 40 years later, though participating localities are often experiencing “different stimulus, different reasons for economic dislocation” than they were in the 1970s, Mailey said.
“Sometimes the communities we’re working with are not even experiencing decline,” she said. “They’re learning how to manage rapid growth.”
“New life”
Virginia Main Street says areas with participating local programs collectively generated upwards of $2.6 billion in public and private investment as well as the creation of more than 8,200 businesses and 27,000 jobs.
“They receive guidance pointing to resources that will help them meet their local goals,” said Rebecca Rowe, who oversees the Virginia Main Street program as associate director of the Department of Housing and Community Development’s economic development division.
The guidance provided to local main street programs ranges from board development training, retail market data and architectural services to branding and logo development and money in the form of grants.
Rowe said one such grant is Virginia Main Street’s financial feasibility grants. Organizations that reach the top tier Virginia Main Street designation can pursue grants up to $25,000 to study ways to redevelop historic “white elephant” structures in a community.
Rowe said it’s what helped Danville with the overhaul of the more than 500,000 square foot White Mill Building, a 1920s-era textile mill into a mixed-use development called Dan River Falls with spaces for offices, retail and apartments.
“Now what had been a massive blight when you drove by the city is being revitalized and will respond to a number of economic development needs,” she said.
The Phoebus Partnership and Hilton Village Main Street were designated middle-tier Main Street communities in late 2022 before receiving the highest designation this past December, thanks in part to the organizations’ strong relationships in Hampton and Newport News.
“They had strong local government support and strong neighborhood support,” Mailey said. “They had that strong public-private partnership and the willingness to make progress for the future.”
One big focus of the Virginia Main Street program is helping communities and organizations build up the capacity to engage in economic development work, according to Rowe.
Joe Griffith, Virginia Main Street manager for the Phoebus Partnership, said it’s done just that.
“The Main Street program has helped the Phoebus Partnership leverage the exceptionalism of Historic Downtown Phoebus in ways we previously didn't have the capacity or resources to manage,” he said.
In addition to helping Phoebus secure grants to “breathe new life” into its historic buildings, Griffith said the program supports their work on an updated small area plan for the district. The Phoebus Partnership received a $60,000 grant last May for the study into redevelopment possibilities and infrastructure needs in the community.
“It allows us to take a meaningful look at giving new purpose to vacant lots and older buildings while improving our connectivity as a community,” Griffith said. “All that planning goes into justifying the physical improvements, whether public or private.”
JB Crowley, Hilton Village Main Street’s executive director, said the program has helped strengthen their community revitalization program.
“Having a robust economic development program right here at home, focused on the Greater Hilton area, keeps our merchant district front and center, relevant and ensures our vitality,” Crowley said.
Similar to Phoebus, Hilton Village received a $50,000 grant for a small area plan that is expected to be finalized by summer.
“(The plan) is expected … to create a redevelopment strategy for 96 Main Street, the historic Bank of Warwick building and guide best practices for signage, public art and creative placemaking,” Crowley said.
While reaching the pinnacle of the Virginia Main Street program may seem like the end of the road for participating communities, Rowe said it doesn’t mean it’s time for an organization to rest on its laurels.
“That designation as an Advancing Main Street community is not the destination … (it) is really just kind of moving you into the next phase of the journey,” she said. “Organizations are cyclical, economies are cyclical, communities are cyclical.”
“The work is never done.”
