For pictures of the project, click here.
The Dillwyn Visioning Session Summary:

Historic Downtown Dillwyn is a warm and inviting community located in the geographic center of Virginia.  A diverse business base offers charming shops and restaurants that sponsor an abundance of family oriented activities and events.  Dillwyn’s quality of life is enhanced by a focus on education, expanded services to its citizens, and its ability to attract a diverse population.  Whether a visitor or a resident, Downtown Dillwyn and its many amenities offer a feeling of being home. 
 New Subsets/Categories for the Vision Statement 

• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• INFRASTRUCTURE
• NATURAL RESOURCES
• ART, CULTURE, RECREATION
• LAND USE, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING
• HUMAN SERVICES

 
 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• As the first incorporated town in Buckingham, Dillwyn is the commerce and social hub of the County.  The Downtown area offers a balanced array of events, festivals, and parades. These attract both tourists and citizens of the region, and are coordinated and supported by an active Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Main Street Organization. Downtown Dillwyn supplies tourists with a unique view into the natural and cultural history of the region through access to the beautiful surrounding environment, and local businesses that support eco-tourism and regional arts and crafts.

           Some historic homes have been converted to Bed and Breakfasts for the visitor who                

           prefers a casual atmosphere.  Business groups are easily accommodated at the

           Inn, which provides conference facilities as well as lodging.  Downtown Dillwyn is home   

           to numerous business support services, including cooperative marketing of its business

           district, access to tax incentives through the County’s Enterprise Zone designation,

           affordable workforce and job training opportunities, and a Business Support Center.

           Dillwyn serves businesses and citizens with the best available, affordable telecommun-

           ications, including access to top-tier speeds and redundancy.

INFRASTRUCTURE

• Downtown Dillwyn offers the necessary infrastructure to enable businesses and citizens to thrive. Underground utilities enhance the beauty of Downtown. High-speed, affordable telecommunications to meet current and future needs are available. The Downtown is a mix of attractive and functional buildings, all with well-maintained facades. Pedestrians can enjoy beautifully landscaped streets and sidewalks, and a Central Town Square where locals and tourists can meet. The Buckingham Branch Railroad provides local businesses with access to affordable freight hauling, while also providing tourists and locals with entertainment. Downtown is also easily accessible from every direction, with several major highways and thoroughfares located in or near the Town.

NATURAL RESOURCES

• Downtown Dillwyn celebrates its abundant natural resources. The history of the County’s mining, timber, and agriculture industries is always on display in Downtown. Businesses support a thriving eco-tourism industry by providing training, history, and the supplies necessary to enjoy Central Virginia. Local and regional artists display and offer art created from, or inspired by, the region. Trails and bike paths originating in the Downtown area lead to camping, bird watching, biking, and other recreational activities. Local minerals, such as slate and kyanite, are represented in numerous downtown shops through arts, crafts, or manufactured products.
• The surrounding rural areas offer cattle and horse farms and expanses of timberland.

Art, Culture, Recreation

• Music, arts, and entertainment, representative of the people of Buckingham County, are  regularly presented at festivals and events, including Friday Flings at the Town Square. Downtown Dillwyn is home to the Buckingham County Artisan Center, which is a showcase and marketplace for artists of Buckingham and the surrounding counties. Ellis Acres Memorial Park serves as a resource to businesses, citizens, and visitors. The Park hosts events with historical, cultural, and commercial importance, as well as providing a variety of exercise areas. The Chamber of Commerce sponsors monthly events, including concerts, car shows, art festivals, and parades. Downtown is also home to the Buckingham Branch Library, where visitors and locals have access to a multitude of resources.
• Horse training facilities are available in the outlying areas.  Several mines in the county are open for recreational mining.

Land Use, Transportation, and Housing

• Downtown Dillwyn is a mixed-use community, with adequate residential and upper-story housing. The Town utilizes its zoning controls to provide well-planned access to affordable housing. Downtown is connected to a regional rail system that enables freight distribution to northern Virginia. Dillwyn also provides a public transit service for its elderly and workforce.

Human Services

• Downtown Dillwyn serves as an educational resource to all of Buckingham County. The Community Learning Center provides courses for self-improvement, workforce training, and enrichment. The satellite Community College campus provides access to higher education. And the library contains research, educational, and historical materials while hosting community events.
• A state of the arts Recreational Center provides a place for Dillwyn’s children to grow through sports and social activities.  Childcare is available days and evenings through a well-staffed facility provided by the Center.
• Downtown Dillwyn also provides the County with expanded health care 24 hours a day. through partnerships with the Martha Jefferson Hospital and University of Virginia Medical Center, citizens can access general practitioners onsite and specialists through telemedicine options. Dillwyn also provides for the elderly of the County through a combined nursing home/assisted living facility, and the Dillwyn Senior Center.

 

Town Upgrades:

•     The Town has recently upgraded the street lights to provide better lighting for all, whether in the business area or in the residential areas.

•     The Town has also recently purchased new Christmas lights so that all of the Town down US 15 will have lights during the holiday season.

Enhancement Project Information:

Transportation Enhancement project-Dillwyn:

    In 2000- 2001 a group consisting of various persons, groups, or interest, was formed to design improvements for the Town of Dillwyn, mainly a streetscape project.  With the help of the then Piedmont Planning District Commission, now Commonwealth Regional Council, a plan for formed with details on what and how this would look like.  It was determined that this project should be broken down into five (5) phases.  

   

In April 2003 the first grant was approved for $125,000.  Total budget for this phase, with match and donations, is $156,250.00.   A portion of property adjacent to the Buckingham Farm Supply was donated by Ralph and Mattie Clements for the Town plaza area to house a town clock and sitting area.   Later it was determined that more land was needed and the Town purchased the other portion of property between the first part and the car wash.  The purchase price was later refunded by the Clements as a donation.

 

Construction of Phase 1, the Town Plaza,  began in March 2006.  All is completed.  The actual clock, the benches, trash can, ash urns, and lights are all installed.  The plaza area has been raised and concrete poured, the landscaping completed, the platform for the clock and lights completed, two crosswalks and handicap accessible sidewalk entries completed, and the fencing installed.   Contractor:  Keith Barber Construction, Inc., Farmville, VA.  The plants (boxwoods) were donated by Marshall Place Boxwood, Dillwyn, VA. Click here for pictures of the current construction occurring in the plaza.

 

The grant for Phase II was approved in June 2005 in the amount of $148,000.  The total budget for Phase II, with match and donations, is $185,000.  The Town is in negotiation with the engineering firm, LPDA, Inc., Charlottesville, for an amendment to the original contract for Phase I to continue with Phase II.   Once this has been finalized, then the next step is to submit the designs to VDOT, and once approved, to advertise the project.  Phase II will consist of new sidewalks from Rosney Road to Oak and Main Streets, new street level lights, signage, trees, and trash cans.   Click here to access the phase two development map.

 

Monetary donations and in-kind donations are a part of this project and are welcomed from citizens and business owners.  Phase 3-5 will consist of improvements along US 15 from Rosney Road to the northern end of the town limit and from Oak and Main Streets to the southern end of the town limit.

For more information on this project, please phone the Clerk at 434.984.2076 or email: dillwyn@ceva.net.