The City of Buena Vista has been selected to participate in the 2022 Virginia Main Street Work from Home Pilot project. The pilot project’s services provided to Buena Vista are valued at $10,000.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed where and how people work. This rising remote work and telecommuting is no longer simply a trend and is expected to become part of the new normal post-pandemic. Remote workers can make their home almost anywhere and are increasingly basing this decision on quality of life factors as they bring their jobs with them to their new communities. Attracting and integrating remote workers into their new community can bring new energy and investment to downtown and many other elements of rural places.
Working with Virginia Main Street and the National Main Street Center, the City of Buena Vista and Main Street Buena Vista will work to leverage remote work opportunities as part of a comprehensive downtown revitalization strategy. Technical assistance will be provided over a six-month period to analyze the demand, target market, amenities, and opportunities for supporting remote workers. This project will include the development of a remote work assessment tool, a summary report with a set of recommendations, and resource options for implementation.
The City of Buena Vista and Main Street Buena Vista will host a series of meetings with local leaders in Buena Vista on June 2, 2022. These meetings will be conducted by Matt Wagner from the National Main Street Center.
According to Tom Roberts of the City of Buena Vista, “Remote work is a key element of resident attraction in our area. Remote workers support economic gardening because often they are entrepreneurs and they bring different expertise and experiences to the business community.”
Virginia Main Street has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts in Virginia for more than 35 years. Today, the program is a network of 28 designated communities and more than 80 affiliate communities who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.
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