FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeff Crook, DCB President January 10, 2023 JCrook@DowntownColonialBeach.org
Colonial Beach Is One Giant Step Closer to Becoming A Designated Virginia Main Street Town
COLONIAL BEACH, VIRGINIA, January 1, 2023—At year’s end 2022, Downtown Colonial Beach was notified that the organization’s application to proceed to the second tier of the Virginia Main Street Program had been approved. This second tier—Mobilizing Main Street--is a two-year stage that provides targeted organizational programming to develop all the various tools and resources that are required to become a full Virginia Main Street town.
The application for Mobilizing Main Street was a competitive process and Colonial Beach was chosen as one of 10 Virginia localities approved out of a much larger pool of applications. In congratulating Downtown Colonial Beach on being accepted to this stage of Main Street designation, Courtney Mailey, Virginia Main Street Program Manager said “We are excited to work closely with the Downtown Colonial Beach, Inc. over the next couple years and look forward to increasing the capacity of Colonial Beach's local Main Street initiative, together.”
Jeff Crook, President of Downtown Colonial Beach reacted to the news, “Downtown Colonial Beach has been diligently working through the first stage of becoming a full Main Street town—Exploring Main Street—for several years and we are now ready to take the next big step towards our ultimate objective. We continue to progress toward our vision that Colonial Beach be as economically revitalized, historically preserved, culturally rich, and equitably shared as possible, and full Main Street membership will be a crucial step in that effort. I am very proud of the efforts of our founders, past and current board members, many volunteers, and the support of the town, all of which have enabled us to get to this stage.”
Colonial Beach Town Council was informed of Downtown Colonial Beach achieving Mobilizing Main Street status at a council meeting on December 28, 2022 and the council members were very gratified with the news. In fact, Mayor Robin Schick applauded the effort and said “Main Street designation is one of the most critically important steps to preserving our small own charm while balancing growth. I wholeheartedly support this effort, as we work to turn our Town vision statement into reality.”
Virginia Main Street (VMS) is the state affiliate of the National Main Street Center (NMSC), a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation which has the goal of bringing revitalization to small towns and commercial districts across the United States. NMSC is a nationwide, grass roots network of more than 2000 neighborhoods and communities committed to preserving and revitalizing downtowns through preservation-based economic development.
VMS nurtures successful local revitalization programs across the state based on the Main Street Approach. From 1985 to 2021, the VMS program has created more than 7,500 businesses; 25,000 jobs; and generated more than $2.1 billion in public and private investment across the state. If you would like more information contact us today