The organization responsible for running downtown Colonial Beach has been working with Main Street America for some time now in its efforts to keep the revitalizing efforts going.

One of the things Downtown Colonial Beach had to do to achieve accreditation status by Main Street America was publish an annual report listing accomplishments and economic impacts that Main Street has had. Eric Nelson, president of the Downtown Colonial Beach organization provided a look at how things progressed in March at a Colonial Beach Town Council meeting.

“Main Street is a true partnership program,” Nelson stated. “It needs the support of the Town and the businesses therein, and we have gotten that support from you and the town manager. It’s what has gotten us to where we are today with downtown Colonial Beach.”

Downtown Colonial Beach has been accredited by Main Street Virginia for the last year, and Main Street America is essentially the next big step up. Although the formal announcement had yet to be made as of the meeting in March, Nelson was very optimistic, stating, “We have every reason to believe that we will get full Main Street status when they announce it in April.”

That brings more recognition by the state and national levels of the program, and thus more opportunities for grants and to draw in more tourists and their disposable income.

Nelson unveiled a “road map” of what the future had in store for the Colonial Beach downtown area, starting with a $50,000 investment grant.

“We are focused on this very intently,” continued Nelson. “It will be used for a number of different things, but among the things we’d like to do is create this cartoony map of Colonial Beach that highlights the businesses. We want to use that artwork for wayfinding kiosks we’ll put down around the town, and there will be QR codes that direct people to get more information about specific businesses, activities, and so on.”

The plan calls for four of these kiosks to be placed throughout the area. In addition to the kiosks, a plan is coming together to revitalize the Love Golf Cart at the Boardwalk, which has gotten into a rather unpleasant state, described by Nelson as “unrepairable.” The plan, however, is not to stop at just one cart.

“We’re working with some local businesses who have given us some golf carts to replace the Love Golf Cart,” continued Nelson. “There will be a second Love Golf Cart that will be in front of CB Creative, so stay tuned for that. It’s going to be a fun project.”

Another major development in the works for the Downtown organization is the prospective new home they have on the horizon. While previously using the structure at 125 Wilder, Downtown Colonial Beach left that building behind. Gray’s Construction was gracious enough to allow them the use of an office in their building, but by May, Nelson is hoping that they will be able to move into a new home that was presently being repainted and renovated.

“We’re also hoping to use it as a visitor center,” Nelson added. “Some of the details are still in the works, so stay tuned for how it’s actually going to unfold. Still, it’s very exciting to have the building put to use for that.”

Nelson added that “One of the areas we didn’t really think about when forming our board was that we didn’t have anybody on the board that had a generational background in Colonial Beach. All of the people that we had on the board were new arrivals to town.”

Downtown Colonial Beach is trying to find out what the generational residents, the folks born and raised in the town, would like to see done with the downtown area.

“One of the key goals of main street programs is to respect the history of the location where the program is located, and we seriously intend to do that, and want to take into consideration all of the things that the people who have been in this town and built this town for generations, what they would like to see in this town,” he explained.

This is particularly pertinent since next year will be the Town’s 135th anniversary. “We really need to take our history very seriously, and we really want to make sure that our programs reflect the history of this town,” Nelson emphasized.

Getting this national main street designation will be “a big deal.” As he concluded his report, Nelson reiterated his appreciation to the town manager, Town Council, and Mayor Robin Schick for supporting the endeavors of Downtown Colonial Beach.

“You recognize the importance of this, and have really made it a priority to achieve this status, and we are getting there,” Nelson stated.

The goal now is getting community input, and to help with that, Downtown Colonial Beach has been working with Community Heart & Soul, which is dedicated to finding out what is on the minds of the residents.