State program costs more than it gives
In 2022, Purcellville, Loudoun County’s largest town second to Leesburg, had a median income of $150,333.
The median income in Leesburg, Loudoun County’s largest town, was $163,077 in 2022, 54% higher than the national average of $105,833, according to the town of Leesburg website.
There are some 400 businesses operating in Purcellville with a population of 8,900, and while no figures can be found easily online, Leesburg probably has four times that because it is a major job center in Loudoun, which boasts 11,400 businesses total.
After years of decline due to competition from shopping malls, both downtowns are quite viable and thriving. Purcellville boasts “Over 50 eating locations, four local breweries, and an award-winning craft distillery.” Leesburg boasts in its Economic Development annual report “the Town held 39 ribbon cuttings from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, for new or expanding businesses.”
One would think the two wealthy communities would not need the Virginia Main Street Program, and undergo years of its four-tier “process” to become “certified” so it’s then eligible for more grants from the state, and the national Main Street program, based in Chicago.
The state web site says: “While the program was designed to address the need for revitalization and on-going management of smaller to mid-sized downtowns, aspects of the Main Street Approach may be applied successfully in other commercial settings.”
The Leesburg Town Council went forward with the initial steps for Main Street in 2021 at the behest of former Council member Marty Martinez, who is now a state Delegate (D-Dist.29). Only former Council member Suzanne Fox and current sitting Council member Kari Nacy – both of whom received GOP backing in their elections—raised questions about Main Street, primarily whether the focus should be on Downtown Leesburg versus other areas of the town that are really hurting.
But Mayor Kelly Burk, a Democrat who has generally supported expanding government in her 20 years holding elected office, was quoted saying the downtown was starting to see “empty office space.” She stated this in 2021 when the economy was hit hard by the pandemic and government-ordered lockdowns causing a number of businesses to close.
But a private group called Leesburg Movement, comprised of town business owners, convened to start the Main Street application process. It’s required to have a private entity be involved. However, Leesburg Movement is not putting any money into the deal – instead, the town taxpayers are.
In the 2024 budget, the council allotted $30,000 to the group to hire a part-time coordinator, who reports to Leesburg Movement and is not a town employee – at least not yet. And On Oct. 9, a formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed, which committed the town to giving the group and its coordinator free office space, about $10,000 in support altogether.
The Main Street project is the beautification of the alleyway between Town Hall and the King Street businesses, named for former barber and civil rights leader Nelson Lassiter. The project is not in the town’s capital program yet.
Indeed, Virginia Main Street gave Leesburg $15,000 to get started on Tier 1. But moving into Tier 3 and 4, Leesburg could be looking at expending $150,000 to $225,000 annually to run a Main Street program, according to Town estimates.
Further, ultimately a self-supporting organization would run and fund that, with a dedicated staff member spending quite a bit of their time on fundraising, but typically localities still chip in 25% to 30% in annual funding.
What’s being lost on the Council is this – those state Main Street grants are very competitive, the big ones – $25,000 to $75,000 – generally go to lower income communities seeking revitalization.
According to the 2023 list of state Main street grants, the highest award was $25,000 each in “Downtown Improvement Grants” to Wytheville, South Boston, Onancock, Ashland and Blackstone, all communities with much lower median income and smaller tax base than Leesburg and Purcellville, and Manassas – the only community in high-income Northern Virginia to receive an award.
Ken Reid has been a journalist and editor for more than 45 years and served on the Leesburg Town Council (2006 to 2011, and again in 2017), and on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (2012-2015).
