Small towns aren’t what they used to be. Once the ‘go to’ center of community life, the idea of the ‘town square’ has all but disappeared. But in southwestern Virginia, they’re working to bring back the glory of small towns and new residents with them. This week, they're holding a two-day workshop in Pulaski they’re calling a "revitalization revival.”
“Historic preservation and revitalization is what’s driving Pulaski right now, reviving our down town bringing new businesses in, restoring the old building and so on," says Mayor Dave Clark.
Clark has lived in Pulaski most of his life. Nearly 60, he remembers the busy factories when he was a child and he remember watching them leave. But now, small southern towns like this are banking on the fact that they have something to offer, that a lot of people miss or never even knew.
“We have this huge influx of young talent and young entrepreneurs working in downtown Pulaski right now and they are bringing with them a lot of young people who are seeing our town and thinking wow this is really neat. This is so much better than a big city. It’s a great place to be."
It’s not just the lovely, yet affordable, housing stock, it’s the idea of revitalizing it --- but with a direct connection to economic drivers that come with it. That’s why part of this 2-day conference focuses on how to pay for restoring old buildings to their former glory. Mayor Dave Clark says, the money is out there for it.
"If you do the research and you do the work, there’s money out there that’s been allocated just to do this kind of thing. Our staff has done a fabulous job in tapping into those resources to help us get those things done.”
The main focus of the conference is these Southwest Virginia issues, but there’ll also be nationally known speakers explaining how historic preservation spurs economic growth.
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From the Mayor's Office:
The Town of Pulaski is able to provide this conference in partnership with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), which provided funding through a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant. The Certified Local Government program is a program of the National Park Service, and is administered in Virginia by the Department of Historic Resources. There are 36 towns, cities and counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia who currently hold designation as a Certified Local Government, with only 4 of those existing in Southwest Virginia. Along with our partnership with the DHR, several other local and statewide entities have also assisted the Town with preparation for this important event.
