Welcome back to Lynchburg Field Notes, a column that arrives in your inbox on Wednesdays with quick news updates from the past week and previews of what’s coming up next in the Hill City and surrounding communities.
Local artists have a vision to transform the corner of 12th and Fillmore streets this summer. Learn more about the mural project in this news roundup, plus catch the latest on an upcoming bookmobile bash and the transfer of the city’s former business development center to Framatome.
Looking for other summer updates? Send me your questions and ideas at emma@cardinalnews.org.
Mural plan set for Diamond Hill neighborhood
Lynchburg’s 12th Street corridor is about to get a makeover. Installation of a mural on the retaining wall at the corner of 12th and Fillmore streets, across from R.S. Payne Elementary School, is set to be completed in early August.
Local artists Christina Davis and Jawansa Hall created conceptual designs for the mural, entitled “Every Color Speaks,” according to a city news release. Community members will help install it.
Nearly 100 neighborhood stakeholders voted on their favorite designs during the process, according to the news release.
The project is possible thanks to a grant from the Virginia Walkability Action Institute, a project of the Virginia Department of Health, which works to improve active transportation in communities across the state.
The mural comes after the Diamond Hill Neighborhood Plan, which was adopted in 2024, recommended public art installations in the corridor to support revitalization. The plan also calls for improving access to safe, affordable housing, encouraging business growth and preserving neighborhood history.
Redevelopment moving ahead at former city property
Framatome is set to redevelop a building on Mill Ridge Road that was once Lynchburg’s small business incubator.
The nuclear products and services company is one of the city’s largest employers and taxpayers. In March, the Lynchburg City Council voted to approve the sale of the city property on Mill Ridge Road to Framatome for about $2 million.
The property consists of about 5 acres and a 42,000-square-foot commercial building. It was home to the city’s business development center since 1989, serving first as a business incubator and later transitioning to a below-market lease space for small businesses, said Marjette Upshur, the city’s director of economic development and tourism, at a March physical development committee meeting. Over time, the need for physical space in the path of entrepreneurship has changed, and privately owned co-working spaces have been on the rise, leading to a push to reimagine the Mill Ridge property, she said.
At an economic development authority meeting this month, Upshur said all small business tenants have moved out of the Mill Ridge building, and it is ready for redevelopment.
According to meeting agenda documents, Framatome plans to invest $6 million to renovate the property to include:
- Office and administrative space;
- Light manufacturing areas to produce and assemble small nuclear-grade components;
- Training facilities;
- And research and development space.
Construction is projected to begin in October and be completed by summer 2027, according to the meeting documents.
The property is adjacent to an existing Framatome facility, which was expanded last year as a part of Framatome’s multi-year growth plan to invest $50 million to modernize facilities and introduce about 500 new jobs.
Community event will celebrate bookmobile’s first laps
Lynchburg’s new bookmobile is concluding its first season on the road, and the Friends of the Lynchburg Public Library are celebrating with a “Bookmobile Bash.”
The event will be held on Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at Miller Park. Activities will include story time, face painting, balloon art and a chance to explore the bookmobile, according to a city news release.
The bookmobile hit the road in June and serves as a Lynchburg Public Library branch on wheels, providing residents free access to a collection of books available for checkout, public Wi-Fi and educational programs. The expanded services come at a time of change for the library, as the main library on Memorial Avenue is closed for renovations and won’t reopen until the summer of 2027.
Thursday’s event is free, and all ages are welcome. The bookmobile’s route schedule is available on the library’s website.
