Editorial
Momentum appears to be growing for restoring downtown Buena Vista to some of its former glory. A number of restoration projects are underway and others are in the planning stages. The two biggest projects that have been completed to date are Mountain Gateway Community College’s Wilson Workforce Training Center in the old Courtesy Ford building and the Virginia Innovation Accelerator in the old Mundet-Hermetite Factory Building, which also now houses Junction 245 and the Buena Vista Visitor Center.
An eclectic blend of city officials, business persons, interested citizens and representatives of Main Street Buena Vista went on a walking tour one evening two weeks ago to take a closer look at some of the historic buildings. The group was even allowed to spend a few moments inside a few of these aging structures, in an exercise to imagine what could be as a transformation of downtown continues to evolve.
Many in the group accepted an offer to don pandemic-era masks to avoid breathing in the dust and particles of decay as they climbed the stairs within the three-story former First National Bank building to survey its deterioration and contemplate future possibilities. The building dates to 1889 and has been vacant for more than a decade-and-a-half.
The group visited the newly relocated visitor center inside the VIA that prominently displays story- and photo-panels depicting Buena Vista’s rich history. They walked through Junction 245, which features products for sale of fledgling entrepreneurs, many of whom are producing their wares elsewhere in the VIA building.
The group was given a glimpse of portions of the old courthouse, once the headquarters for the Buena Vista Company that planned the city, not normally accessible to the public. The bottom floor houses the Buena Vista branch of the Rockbridge Regional Library but in an area behind the library there remain fully intact jail cells once occupied by inmates. Group members climbed the stairs to the second floor, which a few years ago held the administrative offices of the Buena Vista schools.
On the itinerary was a visit inside Art on Magnolia, a restored downtown former retail space that now serves as an art gallery and a venue for receptions and special events. At the rear of the gallery is Little Beasties Art Studio, where art classes are regularly held for youngsters and other aspiring artists.
The group traipsed to a lot adjacent to the American Legion building where new development is under construction. Wayne Oyler, a local businessman whose past ventures include the transformation of the city’s old firehouse into a dance studio, is building a structure that is to house retail space on the ground floor and apartments upstairs.
The objective of the tour was to showcase what is now transpiring downtown and to allow folks to imagine what the future could be. Leading the tour was Jen Carpenter, executive director of Main Street Buena Vista who has been enthusiastically extolling the benefits of investing in downtown.
“Downtown revitalization does not belong to one organization or one department,” said Carpenter in an advance press release for the tour. “It is shared work. It takes a community to rebuild a community.”
WAYNE OYLER (gesturing, at left) addresses the gathering at his building under construction that is to be a combination of retail businesses and residential apartments.
