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Study Seeks To Highlight Economic Development Options Along Blue Ridge Parkway

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By NPT Staff - January 31st, 2023

An upcoming study will highlight economic development keys for Blue Ridge Parkway communities/NPS file

How gateway communities along the 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway that weaves through the high country of Virginia and North Carolina should manage economic development is the goal of an action plan to be developed.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, which obtained funding to pay for the work, has selected Destination by Design of Boone to help create an economic development action plan to benefit the Parkway’s gateway communities. 

This work is made possible by two complementary grants awarded to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The grants designated $393,193 for Virginia and $517,924 for North Carolina, and are funded through the American Rescue Plan Act and U.S. EDA’s programs to advance economic recovery and resilience in travel, tourism, and other sectors.

While the Foundation has already initiated discussions with hundreds of community leaders from Waynesboro, Va., to Cherokee, N.C., Destination by Design will facilitate more detailed listening sessions in all 29 counties in the Parkway corridor, followed by a dozen regional meetings to explore specific issues and opportunities. The resulting action plan will identify key projects that will advance economic development in multiple communities within the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor.

This effort marks the first time in the Parkway’s 87-year history that all 29 Parkway counties will engage together to determine strategies that have wide-ranging benefits for the park’s neighboring communities.

“The Blue Ridge Parkway, the gateway communities, and 16 million annual visitors all depend on each other,” said Carolyn Ward, chief executive officer of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. “We now have all the pieces in place to move forward together.” 

“Our entire team is thrilled to be working alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation to further unify the region around this world-class asset,” said Eric Woolridge, director of planning at Destination by Design. “There is so much amazing talent found here in the heart of Appalachia, and we feel especially fortunate for the opportunity to engage with so many great people and communities here in our backyard.”

Founded in 1997, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation helps ensure cultural and historical preservation, natural resource protection, education and outreach, and visitor enjoyment now and for future generations. The Foundation has offices and staff in Galax and Lynchburg in Virginia and Asheville and Winston-Salem in North Carolina. More information is available at BRPFoundation.org.

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