EDA, Biz's Eye Historic District Improvements

Local business and property owners got their first look yesterday morning at the framework for a downtown rehabilitation program designed to provide incentives to improve the exteriors of their buildings. The new program would be run by the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority, which would issue up to $10,000 in matching grants for improvements to building facades.

Kathy Frazier, an architect who advises the Virginia Main Street Program, was on hand during yesterdays meeting at City Hall to present an analysis of the state of Fredericksburg downtown building and streetscape and to suggest steps the city could take to improve the aesthetic appeal of the historic district. 

Earlier in the spring, Frazier toured the historic district with a camera in hand, snapping off pictures and taking notes for her assessment, which touched on both public and private aspects of downtown. Her analysis ranked buildings individually based on need for improvements across three tiers. 

"This is a snapshot, spring 2011, of where we are and what we can do going forward," Frazier told the crowd of about 30 local businesses, property owners and government officials. She said  that the city's streetscape is the first thing potential customers, investors and developers see, and the impression left can have a big impact on the economic health of a city. "Potential investors and developers are always looking."

The "snapshot" which Frazier developed during her visit to Fredericksburg's downtown seemed to be a positive one, marked by an organic, at times eclectic, combination of elements which make Caroline street a unique place to visit. 

"What's so fun about your main street is that it's not just homogenous benches and planters," said Frazier. "Everybody does their own personal thing outside their businesses which gives a great variety to Caroline Street."

However, Frazier reported that the gateways to Fredericksburg's downtown area are ill defined, doing little to draw passerby from the outskirts into the historic commercial district. She said that this could be done through better streetscape design; things like installing brick-paved or textured crosswalk, coordinating the colors of the city's wayfinding signs and installing period lampposts and streetlights. 

While streetscapes and building facades may have been the focus of the meeting, Frazier also noted that the rears of many buildings are also in need of rehabilitation, particularly Caroline Street structures which have back access from Sophia Street. She even cautiously suggested that city leaders think about making Caroline Street a two-way road. 

Edwin Wyant, president of the local retail advocacy group Downtown Retail Merchants, Inc., and owner of a Caroline Street winery, said that Frazier's presentation was informative and that he looks forward to learning more details about the facade improvement program. He also considered with curiosity the idea of making Caroline Street a two way street. 

"There has always been some discontent with the traffic flow and parking on Caroline Street," said Wyant, before adding a note of caution. "It would be interesting to see what happens. It'd suck if we made a change that didn't work out in the end."