Downtown Tour Presents Rare Opportunity
Downtown Buena Vista is opening its doors to the people who help share its future.
On Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m., Main Street Buena Vista will host “Inside Downtown Buena Vista: A Building Tour.” The tour will invite City Council, the Planning Commission, city department heads and community partners to walk through downtown together, taking a closer look at the buildings, businesses and people that make up the heart of the community.
The tour will provide an opportunity to see firsthand some of downtown’s vacant and underutilized buildings and learn more about their potential for revitalization. These spaces represent opportunities to bring new investment, businesses and activity to downtown while preserving the historic character of Buena Vista. By stepping inside these buildings and learning directly from property owners, participants can gain a better understanding of the work needed to bring these spaces back into productive use.
“You can drive past an empty building so many times that you stop seeing it,” said Jen Carpenter, executive director of Main Street Buena Vista. “But you cannot understand its challenges, or its possibilities from the sidewalk. Step inside, meet the owner, see the real work involved, and the conversation changes.”
At the same time, the tour is designed to showcase more than vacant or underutilized buildings. Participants will also have the opportunity to meet business owners who are actively investing in downtown, learn about the ways their businesses are growing and expanding, and see the work they are doing to support the continued revitalization of the district.
Planned stops include the Bank Building at 141 - 149 W. 21st St., approximately 10,900 square feet of vacant space that still holds its original terrazzo flooring and pressed tin ceilings, alongside the historic library, Junction 245, the Virginia Innovation Accelerator, Art on Magnolia, and the Buena Vista Visitor Center. Participants will meet property and business owners in their own spaces, learn what each building needs, and see both the obstacles to redevelopment and the investment and restoration work already underway.
The tour is modeled on a similar building tour in Phoebus, a formerly incorporated town in Hampton. Carpenter learned about this through a format she brought back from Main Street America’s national conference. Its purpose is to build shared understanding and stewardship among the people responsible for downtown policy, investment, public services and redevelopment, while also highlighting the businesses and property owners who are actively working to strengthen downtown.
“Downtown revitalization does not belong to one organization or one department,” Carpenter said. “It is shared work. It takes a community to rebuild a community.”
Because members of City Council and the Planning Commission are expected to attend, the city clerk will issue the appropriate public meeting notice. Community members are welcome to attend; final route and access information will be included in the official notice. For more information, visit mainstreetbuenavista.org.
