quality of life is great. We have incredible natural beauty with our trails, lakes, rivers, and parks.” We have a strong workforce and a great small business foundation that fuels our economy.” Chapman’s assessment highlights the city’s assets and its ambitions. With a population of roughly 16,300, Bristol functions as part of a larger metropolitan area of over 300,000 residents, acting as a regional hub rather than an isolated small town. The city’s five-to-ten-year vision goes beyond its musical legacy. “We would love to be a major hub for innovative ideas and the number one tourism stop in Virginia,” Chapman explains. That ambitious goal gained significant momentum in November 2024 when the $550 million Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol opened its doors on the site of the former Bristol Mall, instantly transforming the city’s tourism landscape with 1,300 jobs and a 2,000-seat concert venue. DOWNTOWN REVIVAL WITH SMALL BUSINESS AT THE CORE Bristol’s downtown is the city’s deliberate effort to preserve its character while modernizing infrastructure.“Our focus right now for our downtown area is to continue to grow and bring in new business and continue to grow the mixed-use,” Chapman says. “We do have several ideas that are in place with new businesses coming in.” The city runs a facade grant program through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, allowing businesses to qualify for matching funds up to half their investment in exterior improvements. “As long as we still have the funding available, businesses can qualify up to a certain amount,” Chapman notes. The program continues year over year, with the city encouraging more businesses to take advantage. Rather than relying on tax increment financing districts, Bristol leverages its enterprise zone status and offers targeted abatements on meals and occupancy taxes to recruit retail.“That’s what we use to recruit retail,” Chapman confirms. The approach preserves the downtown’s identity.“Our downtown is more centered around the small business mom and pops. That’s the foundation of our downtown and honestly the foundation of our city, and that’s what we would like to keep,” he says.“That small town feel in our downtown gives us a good feel for the area.” The strategy intentionally separates downtown’s character from the corporate retail developments elsewhere in the city, creating distinct commercial zones that serve different purposes. THE FALLS SHOPPING DISTRICT MIXED-USE HUB Five miles from downtown, The Falls is Bristol’s most ambitious and most challenging economic 57 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 12 BRISTOL, VA
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