Portsmouth Partnership asks council to endorse Virginia Main Street 'Mobilizing' cohort for Old Town revitalization

Representatives of the Portsmouth Partnership told the Portsmouth City Council at a work session that the city has been accepted into the Virginia Main Street Mobilizing cohort and requested a council resolution required to participate.

The Partnership’s presenter, Michelle Wynne, said the effort grew from meetings of Old Town business owners, the Old Town Civic League and city departments that began in August 2024 and aims to reconnect the Old Town district to the waterfront and the emerging Innovation District. “Without a vision plan, it’s hard to make change, and it’s hard to stay on track without a plan,” Wynne told council during the presentation.

The request matters because the Mobilizing stage is a two-year, state-supported cohort that provides planning assistance and access to some grant opportunities; after Mobilizing, communities may apply for the Advancing Main Street accreditation and additional resources. Wynne said Portsmouth was invited to apply in late 2024 and was accepted into the program, and that the city “skipped a tier” because the local group already had an organized nonprofit and leadership in place.

Wynne and Liz Pasqualini described the initiative as a public-private effort focused on four pillars — economic vitality, design, promotion and organization — and said the program is meant to be flexible, serving as a “tool set” for local planning rather than an inflexible rule set. She listed assets in Old Town, including historic homes and commercial buildings, and said the effort seeks to capture visitors from new regional attractions such as Rivers Casino as well as support residents who already live downtown.

Council members asked for clarifications. Councilman Tillich asked whether the Main Street plan would limit large waterfront development that might require demolition; Wynne replied, “No. … it is a historic preservation based. … There are no rules as to what we can't do. It's just a tool set to use on creating your own plan and guidance.”

Vice Mayor Moody asked whether the Mobilizing designation applies only to Old Town boundaries; Wynne said the city of Portsmouth is the entity designated and the group would together define which subareas to focus on. Councilman Dodson asked how often the partnership would report to council; Wynne said the partnership meets monthly and will coordinate update frequency with the city manager.

Wynne described initial fundraising and staffing plans: the Portsmouth Partnership is using a paid grant writer to prepare applications, and future seed funding is expected to come from a mix of private contributions, partnership fundraising and city buy-in. She said the Mobilizing stage does not require a full-time director; the Advancing stage later would require a full-time director employed under the nonprofit model.

Presenters asked council to adopt a resolution required by the Virginia Main Street program to formalize the city’s participation; no council vote on that resolution was recorded at the work session. Council members expressed support and questions about boundaries, business participation and integration with city planning.

If council moves forward with the resolution requested by the Portsmouth Partnership, the Mobilizing cohort’s two-year planning period would produce a local downtown plan the group and city staff say is intended to guide public and private investment and to serve as a template for other commercial corridors in Portsmouth.

Next steps: presenters said they would provide the flip-book application and supporting materials to council and coordinate reporting cadence with the city manager; the requested resolution will be brought to a future meeting for formal action.