Business View Civil & Municipal l November 2022

192 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 PREFERRED VENDORS/PARTNERS n The Brennan Group, Inc. www.brennangroup.org n Unitil www.unitil.com n Dillis & Roy Civil Design Group, Inc www.dillisandroy.com n Great Bridge Properties www.greatbridgeproperties.com but we also want to make sure we grow in a way that is sustainable for all the services we provide.” Lunenburg’s small town charm is bolstered by its long history. Originally settled in 1718, Lunenburg was officially incorporated in 1728 and many of the original buildings from that era still stand – including the Lunenburg Town Hall that was built in the early 19th century. The town’s downtown features a registered historic district, which has been zoned as a village district as a way to make it more vibrant and walkable. “Previously it had been essentially a residential district, but had historically been used for a variety of commercial and cottage industry uses,” Burney explains. “As part of the village district adoption, the town created an architectural preservation district, so the idea behind that is that contributing properties – properties that are over 75 years old – would have a review process and would look to retain as much as possible of the historic exterior. They could allow for the interiors to be modified and reused to fit some of the commercial uses that the village district allows.” With its historic architecture as a backdrop, Lunenburg’s downtown has become a focal point for events and activities that help bring the community together. A farmers’ market runs every Sunday from summer to fall, the police department has had car shows in the town center, and band concerts are held on Monday evenings in the summer. It’s also a place to celebrate holidays, with a Halloween Trunk or Treat event hosted by the Business Association and yearly tree lightings around Christmastime. “We’ve recently formed an economic development committee and that group is looking to work with the Lunenburg Business Association to find ways to create more community events going forward,” Burney says. With the new committee, its businesses expanding and a brand-new master plan on the horizon, Lunenburg has set itself up for a bright future that will allow the small town to offer even more to its growing community. “The vision for Lunenburg is evolving,” Lemieux says. “I’m excited to see what the economic development committee brings forth and once the master plan is developed and implemented, how we can work on getting those recommendations all moving forward. The projects we have coming in now are very exciting.” “We are strategically placed between the two largest cities in West Virginia – Huntington and Charleston,” says Morganne Tenney, Executive Director of the Putnam County Development