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2 - TOWN IDENTITY

Natural Resources

Historic Assets

The second goal of the Downtown Strategy is to preserve and celebrate important elements of the community’s culture. Strategies for honoring existing parks and historic assets Downtown aim to help Blacksburg connect to its past and express its unique character, while also evolving to meet its current challenges and future aspirations. Connecting to and preserving the town’s natural resources and historic assets also has important benefits to quality of life, outdoor recreation, civic spaces, and public health. HONOR DOWNTOWN’S NATURAL RESOURCES AND HISTORIC ASSETS

Improve connections to existing parks Enhance programming and infrastructure in parks

Explore ways to actively celebrate historic assets and foster interest in revitalization/rehabilitation of historic buildings Promote development that respects community preferences and architectural context and provides transition to the scale of existing development Blacksburg’s rich history is reflected in its built environment, and there are many buildings and neighborhoods that contribute to the town’s unique character. The town can work to elevate the visibility and condition of those important assets, both by preserving certain buildings and by creating guidelines that preserve neighborhood character while allowing for needed redevelopment.

Downtown is home to three great public park assets—Wong Park, Marcia’s Park, and Market Square Park—as well as Virginia Tech’s Henderson Lawn. All of these provide opportunities for residents to enjoy greenspace in the midst of the urban Downtown environment. However, two of these open space assets—Wong Park and Marcia’s Park— are not well used today, both because they lack visibility and because they have limited programming and amenities. Enhancing the connections between these parks and encouraging their use will help to elevate these beautiful spaces and better integrate them into the Downtown experience.

56 Chapter 3 - Goals and Objectives