- Clearly Marked Downtown   Entry Ways

 - Coordinated Signage

 - Pedestrian Pathway Repairs,
   Practical and Cosmetic
   Improvements

 - Streetlight Enhancements -
   New Pedestrian-Level,
   Decorative Lights

 - Landscaping Improvements

 - Development Block Grants

DOWNLOADS:

Site Analysis [PDF]  
Excerpts Of Proposed Plan [PDF] (large file not recommended for dial-up users)

 

big plans

2006: A GREAT YEAR FOR LDI
Luray Downtown Initiative has had a tremendously successful year! Our new website was up and running by February.  This is a wonderful asset for tourism promotion in the Downtown.

In early Spring, flower baskets filled with beautiful flowers were placed on the utility poles in the Downtown area, these baskets will continue beautifying Main Street seasonally. In May, we held our 2nd Annual Festival of Spring with over one hundred craft vendors, food vendors and Virginia Wineries. Both East and West Main Streets were filled with an estimated six thousand people. One week later, the Evenings on Main concert series began with its first of four concerts. These concerts were sponsored by the Jamestown 2007 Committee and supported by LDI. Each concert featured local artists, many residents were quite surprised that there was a theatre behind Brown’s.

Heat and humidity was in store for the 4th of July Family Funfest. The afternoon was filled with entertainment, duck races and many children’s activities. The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks show over the Greenway. In September our annual “Cash Party” was once again a sold out event. This event was held at the Mimslyn, filled with supporters of our cause. This year we had seven gold sponsors donation $2,500, they were Page Valley Bank, Joe Bowman/Coldwell Banker Panorama Realty, BB&T Bank, Pioneer Bank, Farmers and Merchants Bank, Holtzman Oil and Holtzman Propane, and The Artisans Grill. The night was an overwhelming success, we raised over $33,000. In October, we began our final Evenings on Main concert series for the year. We hosted five successful community concerts with all local performers.

LDI looks forward to 2007 with many new tasks at hand. Our combined fundraising efforts will carry our organization into the new year with the ability to continue our revitalization of the Downtown. We have expanded our committees and are looking forward to focusing a great deal of attention to Economic Restructuring the Downtown. We thank our volunteers, businesses, friends and supporters for all that each of you has contributed and donated to our successful events.
 

We are excited about the development plans in place for Luray.  Facade renovations along Main Street are becoming common, pocket parks have been added, the Luray-Hawksbill Greenway walking trail opened its next phase and foot traffic downtown is growing.  Our plans do not end there.  In September of 2005, LDI held a Living Towns Conference in which we were provided with detailed recommendations for downtown revitalization.

Our plan, in summary, calls for the following:

Immediate Goals:

Community Development Block Grants
Work with the Town of Luray to administer designated portions of the nearly $1 million made available through acquisition of a CDBG grant. Luray Downtown Initiative's Executive Director will work closely with Luray's Town Manager to ensure that applicants meet the criteria for CDBG assistance.

Facade Renovation Grants
Continue fundraising efforts dedicated to building cash reserves for Luray Downtown Initiative's privately funded Facade Renovation Grant program. Such Grants will be particularly attractive to Downtown property owners who did not apply for assistance through the CDBG program.

Flower Baskets
Install and maintain living flower baskets on alternate (34) light standards within the Downtown perimeter. Baskets and hardware will be supplied by Luray Downtown Initiative with maintenance provided by the Town. Flowers will be purchased through memorial donations.

Shopping/Dining Maps
Color-coded maps showing the location of every business within the Downtown perimeter will be installed in kiosks at each of the Town's four municipal parking lots. A "You Are Here" button, similar to those found on shopping mall maps, will orient the viewer at each location.

Downtown Marketing
Continue to build partnerships between Downtown businesses, Luray Caverns Corporation and Shenandoah National Park in order to capitalize on the more than 500,000 tourists and guests that visit our area annually.
 

Long-Term Plans:

Wayfinder/Trailblazing Signage
Work with the Town of Luray to implement VDOT's Integrated Directional Sign Program within the corporate limits of the Town of Luray. Participation in this program will ensure that all directional signs in this area will utilize identical colors and message format to produce a "logo" sign system unique to our community.

Decorative Lighting
Again, work with the Town to gradually replace existing COBRA light fixtures in the Downtown area with streetlights similar in appearance to early 1900s gas lamps.

Cooperative Advertisement
Work with local businesses within the Downtown area to combine resources when purchasing advertising. Cooperative efforts would allow more businesses to obtain coverage in media with greater circulation at an affordable cost.

Promotional Coalition
Continue to build and strengthen partnerships and coalitions with Luray Caverns Corporation, Shenandoah National Park, Page County Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Main Street and other community organizations such Luray's Tree and Beautification Committee to promote and market Luray's Downtown District.

New / Existing Businesses
Recognize new businesses in the Downtown area through special events such as "ribbon-cuttings" and media notification. Encourage both new and existing business owners through frequent seminars that include motivational speakers from other successfully revitalized communities. Continue to conduct marketing surveys through the auspices of Virginia Main Street and provide the results to Downtown merchants and businesses.