Vacant properties could house businesses soon
By Randy Arrington
LURAY — During last week’s Luray Council meeting, representatives of the Luray Downtown Initiative shared three “milestone awards” with the Council that the non-profit earned through recognition from the Virginia Main Street program.
“We share [these awards] with Town as a whole,” current LDI Program Director Jackie Wood told the council on March 11. “We also share this with all the past presidents, program directors and board members that helped make it possible.”
The statewide organization honored its Luray affiliate for its Building Improvement, Volunteer Hours, and Private Investment for Luray’s Historic District. Virginia Main Street tracks the progress of its members through monthly reports filed by individual program directors. The awards were presented during the Virginia Main Street Director’s Retreat Jan. 17-19 in Staunton.
Luray Downtown Initiative was first founded in 2004 and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary. LDI is designated by the statewide organization as an “Advancing Main Street” — a designation given to 36 of the 50 affiliate members across the commonwealth — which acknowledges the downtown’s growth and upward momentum.
Wood says that more businesses are looking to locate in Luray and she’s been telling real estate investors that if they can provide the space, she can fill it.
“There are people wanting to do business in Luray, but I have no where to put them,” Wood told PVN.
While a handful of downtown ribbon cuttings held in recent years have ended in business closures, most have survived the initial years of opening a new location, and others have even thrived, adding new elements to Luray’s downtown offerings for tourists and locals alike.
Since success typically begets success…Luray’s downtown is continuing to draw interest from both real estate investors and business entrepreneurs. Negotiations are now in the works for Saga Meadery and Winery of Front Royal to potentially set up shop in the Auction House across the street from Valley Cork.
Just across the gravel parking lot, the two-story Cody building that used to house the bar portion of Uncle Buck’s (as well as the Chamber of Commerce many years ago) could be the future location of a cidery. New owner Susan Corbett has acknowledged that significant renovations are still needed, but the building is being prepared for a new tenant. In the coming weeks, first floor space will be rented to the Page County Democratic Committee to use as their headquarters through the 2024 election. (Not the adjacent Uncle Buck’s building, as previously reported.)
An investment group is currently considering purchase of the former Art Warehouse building, which has undergone renovations over the past year. Potential uses discussed have involved a mix of residential apartments and commercial space. There is also a basement space that could serve a number of commercial uses.
Porch and Vine, a special eatery in the old Chapman House across the parking lot from Ollie Cats, is said to be placing a “Coming Soon” sign out front in the coming weeks, with a tentative opening in late summer/fall.
These are a few of the movements taking place behind the scenes that should produce some new offerings in Downtown Luray in 2024.
“We appreciate the support of the Council, and all the work that Jackie has done,” LDI board chairman Paula Kibler said on March 11. “It’s like we have our own economic development director for the Historic District of Luray. It takes a village and we feel like we are on a good trajectory.”
For more information on LDI, visit https://downtownluray.com/
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