A small pocket park is planned for downtown Christiansburg at the location of the former Christiansburg Baptist Church. A $3,000 grant will help fund the area, which is located near the corner of North Main and Hickok streets.
By Marty Gordon
Christiansburg officials have taken a step to lock down a farmer’s market on Hickok Street as they have announced plans to seek a grant for permanent structures on site.
The town initially received a $35,000 matching planning grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to study downtown, Cambria and midtown (the North Franklin corridor from the Recreation Center to Water Street) and identify community assets that could benefit those areas.
Town spokesperson Melissa Demmitt said working with the New River Valley Regional Commission in conjunction with several stakeholder meetings with business and property owners plus the gathering of public input through an online survey, outreach at community events and a public meeting gave the town enough information and feedback to identify and prioritize strategies for all three areas.
A permanent farmer’s market structure kept rising to the top of the list.
The town and the regional commission are now working with Hill Studio to come up with some concepts for a market structure and will use those drawings to apply for an ARC construction grant, which can be up to $500,000. It is also a matching grant, but if awarded, Demmitt said the town hopes to utilize the funds it will already be spending to complete the stormwater work on Hickok Street as its matching portion.
The farmer’s market might have to be temporarily moved during the storm water work, which is now not scheduled to occur in 2021, so the market would not be affected later this year.
“Depending on scheduling, the work may occur outside of the market season. However, the town is still discussing options if the market does need to be temporarily relocated,” Demmitt said
In addition, the community has also been awarded a $3,000 grant from the Virginia Rally program, which will fund a small “pocket park” on North Main Street at the site of the former Christiansburg Baptist Church.
The area will be a “shared community space” with open space, landscaping and benches.
