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One idea that is central to ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Buena Vista is the creation of a centrally located town square where citizens can gather and special events can be held.
A PowerPoint presentation given to City Council recently by Kristina Ramsey, the city’s economic development director, showed what steps have been taken to fulfill this vision and revealed sketches of what such a town square might look like.
Ramsey noted that a multiyear process has unfolded since the city acquired the property at the northwest corner of Magnolia Avenue and 21st Street in early 2021 after receiving a $78,000 grant from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Action BV, a group of citizens and leaders advocating on behalf of downtown revitalization, de- veloped a vision for what they hoped the town square could be.
Public input was sought at various forums. Suggestions heard included providing a space for events and performances, offering a downtown space for informal gatherings, creating green space and planting trees in downtown and having a place for showcasing art, culture and history of Buena Vista.
A state grant was obtained to fund an environmental assessment of the site, solicit public input, develop a conceptual design and provide cost estimates. The different ways public input was obtained included talking to folks at a Parry McCluer High School basketball game and a Buena Vista farmers market, an online feedback form, an email outreach to City Council and the Planning Commission, door-todoor surveys and intercept surveys of students and business owners.
Respondents said they wanted green space and shade trees, a separate pavilion and stage, quality timberframe structures, seating options, little clutter and no roads or pavement. As for activities respondents wanted to see, there was a preference for music and special events with a local flavor, food trucks and vendors, art shows and children’s activities.
The envisioned town square is depicted in sketches with a wooden-frame pavilion with picnic tables along the 21st Street side of the property, bathrooms and a stage with a clam shellshaped roof in an adjacent corner, moveable Adirondack chairs and benches in the opposite corner and a large grassy area over much of the property, with a few shade trees thrown in.
The size of the pavilion would be 54 feet by 22 feet with a 3-foot overhang. Although there would be picnic tables in the pavilion area, there would be sufficient open space to accommodate vendors at farmers markets. The configuration of the stage would be such that performers could be readily seen from the pavilion and the open space of the grassy area.
Estimated costs for developing all of the elements of the town square were put at $717,000 but these costs could be pared down, depending upon materials used and whether volunteer labor is utilized. The project is expected to be completed in phases. The next step in the process would be applying for grants and holding fundraisers.
The town square property, which is essentially just open space at the present time, has already seen much community use. Farmers markets are held there Thursday afternoons in the warm months of the year. The space has been used for Mountain Days, Artapalooza and special events held by Project Horizon and the Buena Vista schools.
“Thank you to everyone who attended one of the public input sessions and provided input for the final concepts,” said Ramsey in concluding her presentation. “It was very important to us that we hear from all areas of the community during these sessions to get a more comprehensive understanding of what our community wants. Even more importantly, [we want] to reach as many people as possible that would then feel a sense of ownership in the project that they had a say in.”
