In February, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation awarded the City of Buena Vista a $78,000 grant to create a new public gathering place on the corner of 21st Street and Magnolia Avenue. Together the City and the ActionBV Committee (comprised of local citizens) plans to transform the site into a community Town Square, providing seating, bike racks, and outdoor recreation information. To promote the use of the Town Square site, ActionBV aided in the installation of a mural and hosted a public movie night in May.
The ActionBV Committee has also recently been accepted into the Citizens Institute on Rural Design’s (CIRD) cohort to begin redesigning and enhancing the entrance to Buena Vista’s River Walk. CIRD is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts that empowers local citizens to use their unique artistic and cultural resources to guide local development.
Both projects support the revitalization of downtown and will create a more welcoming City for residents and visitors to enjoy. Community enhancement grant opportunities such as these are made available on the CSPDC Grant Resource Guide.