Downtown Strasburg Economic Restructuring Plan
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Town of Strasburg VIRGINIA Downtown Strasburg Economic Restructuring Plan December, 2014 Assistance Provided by: Community Planning Partners, Inc. & Smither Design ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This Economic Restructuring Plan was assembled with the assistance of the Management Team assembled for the Downtown Strasburg Revitalization Planning. The input of the members was invaluable to its development and are hereby acknowledged and thanked for their service. Members, including who they represented and/or the role they played are listed below: Barbara Adamson Historian, Strasburg Historical Group Jamie Book Resident Byron Brill Downtown Property Owner Steve Damron Virginia Department of Transportation Brandon Davis Shenandoah County Doug Ellis VA Department of Housing & Community Development Bob Flanagan Strasburg Planning Commission Mike Gochenour Media, Northern Virginia Daily Felicia Hart Downtown Coordinator, Town Staff James Massey Strasburg Architectural Review Board Kimberly Murray Economic Development & Planning Manager, Town Staff Rich Orndorff Chamber of Commerce Judson Rex Town Manager, Town Staff Kelly Sager Downtown Business Owner Alex Schweiger Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission Kate Sowers Hometown Strasburg Mayor Tim Taylor Shenandoah County Schools Scott Terndrup Strasburg Town Council TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Review of Previous Plans ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Part 1: Market/Trade Area Study & Economic Restructuring Analysis Traffic Counts……. ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Consumer Interest Survey ................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Attractions & Amenities .................................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Small Town Retail Mix .................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 A Visitor Friendly Mix of Retail & Venues ........................................................................................................................................... 36 Economic Restructuring Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................ 42 Part 2: Business Recruitment Strategy & Marketing The Basics of Entrepreneurial Development / Business Start Ups……. ............................................................................ 47 A Business Recruitment Strategy ............................................................................................................................................................... 49 Marketing .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Part 3: Capital Improvement Priorities Background Data……. ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Proposed Town Green .................................................................................................................................................................................... 59 Enhance Public Parking ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 61 Façade Improvements ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Recommendations for Consideration by Town Council ......................................................................... 63 APPENDIX Strasburg Downtown Plan, Part II: A Plan for Downtown Strasburg ............................................................. APPENDIX A Town of Strasburg Downtown Revitalization Survey Results .............................................................................. APPENDIX B Record of Public Participation ................................................................................................................................................. APPENDIX C INTRODUCTION The Town of Strasburg is located centrally in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, just south of the crossroads of I-81 and I-66 and astride of U.S. Route 11, the Valley Pike or Old Valley Pike. Although not the county seat, the Town of Strasburg is the largest town in Shenandoah County with a population of 6,511 as of the 2013 American Community Survey one-year population estimates. Strasburg is located on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River and very near the northern most point of Massanutten Mountain. Signal Knob, an outcropping used by the Confederate Army to signal the approach of Union forces, continues to stand as a sentinel over Strasburg. Like many Shenandoah Valley towns, Strasburg saw both Union and Confederate forces march through the town on their way to battle, including the skirmish at Hupp’s Hill on the north end of town. Founded in 1761, Strasburg was an important rail terminal for local farmers and a leading producer of ceramic pottery in the late 1800’s, providing the town with an early nickname, Pot Town. Always at a crossroads, whether the railroad, Valley Pike, and John Marshall Highway or I-81/I-66, the Town has both benefited from and been challenged by its access to the transportation network. The crossroads location makes it easy to get to, but also easy to get away from. This has made it easier for residents to shop and work out of the area. When entering Strasburg from the north, first time visitors might be surprised to find fair sized swaths of development more in keeping with a Northern Virginia suburb. The growth of this type of development, slowed by the recent recession, spiked the Town’s population significantly between 2000 and 2010 from 4,017 to 6,398, an increase of 59.3%. Unfortunately, with larger retail hubs minutes away via the interstates, downtown retail in Strasburg did not grow along with its population, hence the need to continue examining effective strategies and securing financial resources to remake Downtown Strasburg. The Town, with the assistance of the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, intends to submit a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for downtown revitalization funding to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in the spring of 2015. As a required element of such an application, the Town has to complete an Economic Restructuring Plan during its planning for the CDBG grant application (a process funded by a DHCD Planning Grant). The task of developing the Economic Restructuring Plan was given to Community Planning Partners (CPP) out of Richmond, VA. CPP’s partners in assembling the Economic Restructuring Plan is a local Management Team that has been tasked with ongoing downtown revitalization efforts and shaping the CDBG grant application, staff of the Town of Strasburg, and staff of the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission. After this brief introduction and a review of previous plans, this Economic Restructuring Plan is divided into three major parts: Part 1: Market/Trade Area Study & Economic Restructuring Analysis Part 2: Marketing & Business Recruitment Strategy Part 3: Capital Improvement Priorities An additional item at the end of the Economic Restructuring Plan is a list of recommendations for consideration by the Town Council of Strasburg. 2 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS PLANS As with any planning process, the first step is to review all previous planning efforts and other available data and information. The Town of Strasburg has been gearing up for the revitalization of their downtown and has conducted a number of planning studies in preparation. The following text highlights those portions of the various plans germane to the assembly of this Economic Restructuring Plan. Town of Strasburg Community Plan Adopted in 2012, the Town of Strasburg Community Plan provides a comprehensive vision for future development of the Town of Strasburg. This “strategic” plan, or comprehensive plan per planner lingo and Code of Virginia requirements, presents the Town Vision Statement and in-depth information on Strasburg’s character and environment, land use and community design, transportation, infrastructure, and community facilities and services. The plan concludes with implementation measures listing nine goals and supporting strategies to accomplish each goal. Implementation measures do not include a schedule for implementation. Appendix A contains population projections