Colonial Beach, VA. October 7, 2019 – Downtown Colonial Beach, Inc., a VA Main Street affiliate, is pleased to announce that a public meeting will be held October 16 at 2 pm in the Town Center, 22 Washington, Ave., on designation of the Colonial Beach downtown as a historic district.
Speakers from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) will explain what a historic district is, the different types of historic districts, the type proposed for Colonial Beach, benefits for property owners, the process for nomination and help available from their department. Those coming from DHR include Survey and Cost-Sharing Grant Program Manager Blake McDonald, Architectural Historian Elizabeth Lipford, Tax Credit Reviewer Carolyn Zemanian, and Survey Program Assistant Austin Walker.
Downtown Colonial Beach, Inc. representatives will go into the benefits of historic district designation for enhancing the appearance of the Colonial Beach downtown and its economic revitalization. They will also discuss the costs involved and their plans for raising the necessary funds from private sources.
Virginia’s historic districts are listed in the Virginia Landmarks Registry and the National Register of Historic Places. Historic district designation has helped many Virginia communities attract preservation-based development and increase “heritage” tourism defined as traveling to places to experience the stories and people of the past.* Such tourism occurs year round and often involves overnight stays. According to Preservation Virginia, heritage tourists spend almost $7.7 billion each year in Virginia.
Large segments of Colonial Beach were deemed eligible for historic district designation in a Department of Historic Resources report delivered to Colonial Beach government in December 2016. Downtown Colonial Beach made the decision to focus on the downtown area due to the vulnerability of the remaining historic buildings, the fact that several were up for sale along with other downtown properties, and because both the work involved and costs were manageable enough to enable the group to handle the nomination process.
For further information, contact Joyce Reimherr, President, Downtown Colonial Beach, by email at jreimherr@downtowncolonialbeach.org or by phone at 804-454-4985.
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