Updates from the Office of Economic Development

Minority Business Alliance 10th Anniversary Gala

Join us at the Chamber Minority Business Alliance (MBA) for an elegant evening of dinner and dancing to celebrate MBA's 10^th anniversary. The 2022 MBA Vanguard Award and MBA Endurance Fund Awards will also be presented. Attendees will enjoy music, a social photo booth, an MBA photo wall and more. Tickets are now on sale, click here to register.

City of Charlottesville Retail Storefront Vacancy Report - July 2022

The Office of Economic Development has concluded its twenty-ninth vacancy study. First conducted in July 2008, this study provides a detailed glimpse into the economic health of the City. This report only studies retail properties within the six City shopping centers: Barracks Road, Downtown Mall, McIntire Plaza, Preston Plaza, Seminole Square, and The Corner. As City businesses continue to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vacancy rate continues to fluctuate at several of the shopping centers. Overall, the total vacancy rate for the six shopping centers is 7.21%, which is up from 5.01% recorded during the January 2022 study. The full report can be found on the OED website here.

OED Fun Fact

Charlottesville is home to the 3^rd busiest passenger rail station in VA with over 130,000 passengers using the Main Street Station annually. Daily service is available to DC, NYC, New Orleans and Chicago. An additional Northeast Regional train starting in Roanoke and stopping in Charlottesville begins service on July 11^th adding a third daily option for travel to DC. All aboard!

Fourth Round of BRACE Grant Offered to Assist City Businesses

The Office of Economic Development is excited to offer a fourth round of the Building Resilience Among Charlottesville Entrepreneurs (BRACE) Grant. This program is a matching, reimbursable grant of up to $2,500 (for new recipients) or $1,250 (for previous recipients) to help offset qualifying expenses incurred by City businesses. The business is required to provide a 30% match for the City’s contribution. The applicant must be for-profit business or a non-profit organization that is focused on hospitality, tourism, or supporting economic development/business causes. Businesses must be located inside the City limits. Applications will be accepted from August 15, 2022 at 9:00 AM until September 2, 2022 at 5:00 PM. Expenses incurred between May 16, 2022 and September 2, 2022 are eligible. Interested businesses can apply here.

Community Re-entry One Stop Shop

The local office of OAR (Offender Aid & Restoration) in partnership with The Fountain Fund are currently providing a One Stop Shop every Wednesday during the month of July. The event is open to the public and is held in the OAR and District 9 Probation Offices’ Parking Lot at 750 Harris Street. The event provides a centralized location for formerly incarcerated individuals to seek out information and resources vital for their return to their respective communities. The event will be held each week from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Organizations and agencies interested in providing support and resources will be on-site in addition to food, music and giveaways. For more information on this event, please contact Roy Fitch at 434-970-3959 or fitchrl@charlottesville.gov or Martize Tolbert directly at Mtolbert@fountainfund.org.

Charlottesville Featured in Southern Living Magazine for Best Places to Retire

Southern Living Magazine highlights Charlottesville as one of 16 prime locations for a “Dreamy Retirement in the South”. Noted are the mix of people along with the cultural riches of the area, UVA’s men basketball team and the UVA health system. Read all about it here.

C-Ville Restaurant Week 2022

Charlottesville Restaurant Week will be July 15th-23rd, 2022. Take advantage of the three course meals for $19, $29 or $39 at 25 participating restaurants. Don't forget to browse the Restaurant Week menu in advance as you support local Charlottesville restaurants. To read more about Restaurant Week click here.

Upcoming Webinars from CVSBDC

CV SBDC is a team of business and technical experts available to listen, advise and assist entrepreneurs, confidentially and free of charge. They offer 1:1 assistance, connection to curated research, access to technical experts and professionals, and timely events and training.

All You Need to Grow, Build, Expand – July 18^th at 12:00 pm PREREGISTER

Let’s Talk about Risk Management – July 19^th at 12:30 pm PREREGISTER

Industry Trends, Your Customers and Market Fit – July 20^th at 10:00 am PREREGISTER

Build your Cypersecurity Policies with Posture – July 20^th at 3:00 pm PREREGISTER