HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2011-01-14 Kennedy Smith program
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Kennedy Lawson Smith to Speak in Downtown Leesburg
on January 19, 2011
Former National Main Street Program director to discuss the impact of
infrastructure improvement projects on downtowns
Leesburg, VA (January 14, 2011) – Leesburg’s Downtown Improvement Association (DIA) has
invited downtown revitalization expert Kennedy Lawson Smith to facilitate a community
dialogue about infrastructure improvement projects, their place in the long-term development
plans for a downtown, their impact on the surrounding businesses and ways to ameliorate the
disruption. The program will take place at the Lightfoot Restaurant (11 North King Street) on
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“The DIA had gotten the sense that some members of the public might not understand that the
upcoming infrastructure improvement program is one element of the larger goal of making the
downtown more economically and culturally vibrant,” explained Dieter Meyer, DIA Co-
Chairman. “Additionally, it had become clear that some downtown business owners are
concerned that the improvements will disrupt business.”
“With that in mind, we sought out Kennedy Smith, one of the foremost experts on downtown
revitalization projects in the country, to draw on her national experience and engage the public
in a dialogue about infrastructure improvements, so that there is a better understanding of the
fact that the upcoming improvements are part of a larger, ongoing initiative that is critical to
the community’s economy and personality,” he added.
Ms. Smith will also discuss ways that business owners in other communities, not only
successfully weathered infrastructure improvement projects, but used them as a springboard
for strengthening sales.
Kennedy Lawson Smith is one of the nation's foremost experts on commercial district
revitalization and development and independent main street businesses. After graduate school
in architecture, Kennedy directed the downtown revitalization program in Charlottesville,
Virginia, where her small business development work led her to create a retail market analysis
methodology specifically for older commercial districts that is now used in downtown
revitalization programs throughout the United States. She joined the staff of the National Trust
for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center in 1985, and in 1991 she became its
TOL PR 2011-01-14 Kennedy Smith program
Page 2
director, a position she held for 13 years. In 2004, Kennedy co-founded the Community Land
Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, LLC, a private consulting firm that blends downtown
development, land use management, and historic preservation disciplines into a cohesive
approach to solving community development challenges. For more information, please visit
www.cluegroup.com.
Contact:
Debi Parry
Business Retention Coordinator
dparry@leesburgva.gov
703-737-7023
# # #