Nestled in the heart of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Wytheville, Virginia has always served travelers. At an elevation of 2,200 feet, it is a popular mountain resort for folks escaping the south's summer heat and humidity. It is also a favorite stopover for travel between the Great Lakes region and the beaches of Florida. Wanting to bring this historic town into the present, enhance business opportunities and a sense of community, all the while honoring it's past, the city decided it was time for an upgrade.

A primary goal for the streetscape was to make Downtown Wytheville a destination appropriate as a starting point for the abundant recreational opportunities of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Other goals set by the City Council were to create a new Main Street identity that celebrates the town's history, attracts new businesses, provides seamless support for community events, and ultimately creates an enduring legacy for future residents.

For this ambitious endeavor, the town sought the assistance of several tried-and-true partners. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development provided supplemental funding. The second partner was Hill Studio, a multidisciplinary firm an hour away in Roanoke, Virginia. Hill Studio has revitalized more than 60 Virginia towns through its "Community by Design" process. Greg Webster, lead project designer, and Director of Landscape Architecture at Hill Studio led the project in collaboration with the Town of Wytheville and worked closely with the Main Street Manager, John Woods, who is also a Landscape Architect.

Acknowledging History
Sewing historical and natural references into a patchwork of paving design, the design team worked to strengthen the legacy of the historic clay brick sidewalks that remain in the surrounding residential neighborhood but had been replaced over the years on Main Street. A variety of brick patterns were used to reflect the diversity of brick sidewalks found in the surrounding historic district. The approach provides a sense of variety, interest, and uniqueness, and the patterns provide a cue in wayfinding to intersections, boutique shops, and cafes.

 

Granite pavers etched with historical images of Downtown Wytheville's vibrant past were placed at crucial tree bed locations along the sidewalks. The markers provide junctures of discovery while reinforcing the legacy of the town to visitors and residents.

Since the late 1800s, angled parking was used on the extra-wide Main Street. It was important to retain that character as part of the new identity. Even with on-street parallel parking, existing walks were already appropriate in width and could support community events. While it was adjusted to improve ADA accessibility and stormwater drainage, angled parking was retained without affecting the current capacity for customer parking.

Historic mountain towns often present challenges regarding storefront accessibility. Most historic buildings along Main Street were built at least a century before the current accessibility standards. Finish grades were adjusted in large enough areas to rise and meet storefront entrances gracefully, without resorting to short dramatic changes right at doorways.

Subtle Nuances with Big Impact
A request by the town was to include an integrated sound system along Main Street to lightly play music for strolling shoppers during holiday seasons or to provide a subtle relaxing ambiance. Hill Studio worked with Stage Sound Design out of Roanoke to develop a system that could be subtly located in the plant beds. The system also provides public announcements for emergencies or town events.

Wytheville also challenged the design team to incorporate a network of over five miles of independent underground conduits for streetlight power, coordinated traffic signal systems, community event electrical systems, the integrated sound, public address system, public fiber-optic wi-fi, and a set of spare conduits for future use, all to be located at the back of curbing along Main Street. The challenge was to also provide growing room for new street trees alongside this duct of utilities. Hill Studio utilized a special stone soil mix under the sidewalks that provided the volume of growing medium for the trees, and at the same time, created the structural base for the walks. By allowing ample root growing material and root barrier protection for the adjacent utility duct, the two components could work together effectively.

Economic Vitality
The revitalization of Main Street was meant to spark future economic growth and placemaking, while reinforcing the identity of the small historic downtown. Along with the streetscape improvements, the following approaches helped to ensure economic vitality.

The creation of a non-profit organization known as Downtown Wytheville Incorporated focused on downtown revitalization. Downtown Wytheville soon became an accredited Main Street America Program. The program, according to their website "has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 40 years. Today it is a network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development." This accreditation has helped leverage interest and growth.

22 building fa????ades received rehabilitation grants. Since the initial 22 fa????ade grants were implemented, many more building owners have initiated building renovations through both grants and self-financed projects. Local aspiring entrepreneurs were provided with business development training and competed for grant funds to launch their downtown businesses. The resulting new businesses activated many long-vacant and neglected spaces which included restaurants, breweries, art studios, and boutique shops.

The Town Zoning Ordinance was revised to allow non-traditional businesses to take advantage of downtown space. Code enforcement and grant funding were used in tandem to encourage building maintenance and rehabilitation. As a result, since the ribbon-cutting in 2016, a total of 53 new businesses have been established, 27 facades renovated, $17 million spent in private investment, and 34,000 volunteer hours dedicated. This continues to accumulate exponentially.