Strategy serves as resource for investments; includes vision for community
Newsroom@DominionPost.com
KINGWOOD – The Kingwood Blueprint Team posted the Kingwood Strategic Plan for the Kingwood community.
This strategic plan is a community revitalization strategy that includes a vision for the community and an action plan to realize the vision.
The plan is intended to move forward critical community and economic development areas of work for Kingwood, as well as serve as a resource to encourage coordinated investments by public and private funding sources.
The plan was created through a community engagement process, including multiple community meetings where the team gathered community views, outlook and opinions on Kingwood and the future they would like to see for the community.
Those concerns, needs, ideas and desires for the future formed the basis of this plan and these initiatives.
This strategic plan work supports the community in building toward maintaining current businesses while establishing new ones, which the community defined in feedback meetings held throughout last year and early this year.
To achieve this goal, residents will work with leadership support from the Blueprint as well as the objectives outlined in the plan.
This group of leaders is seeking the support of community residents interested in contributing toward realizing this vision.
Interested residents may contact Mary Hibbs at BlueprintCommunitiesKingwood@gmail.com or 304-698-7198 to get involved.
Examples of initiatives included in the plan are:
- Using available spaces and buildings — Showcasing buildings and spaces for rent for new or existing businesses; recruiting and building business plans for perspective businesses; and increasing housing opportunities.
- Beautification of the downtown — Working toward removal of dilapidated buildings and the rehabilitation of historic buildings. This includes beautification of the downtown area with artwork, seasonal decor and an annual clean-up day with a possible park development.
- Marketing and collaboration of business — Supporting businesses by ensuring their needs are met through training and workshops, and helping with adjustments to being in business post COVID-19.
- Community involvement and promotion of Kingwood — Planning and hosting monthly community celebrations, creating a comprehensive calendar for events in Kingwood; hosting a monthly meet-and-eat, where community members and business owners can get together and talk about things going on in Kingwood; hosting and increasing the far-mer’s market at the McGrew House.
The plan is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WwRDOPuTR9adVFYxZ6tAi4XlrPgajzJK/view
Kingwood is one of six selected communities in the 2019-2020 cohort of the Blueprint Communities Program, and this plan was a primary outcome of the one year of volunteer service that residents invested into the program.
Blueprint Communities is a collaboration between the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and the West Virginia Community Development Hub. Fifteen communities across West Virginia have participated since the start of the program in 2007.
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