Hello, and welcome back to my weekly column, Danville Field Notes, where I compile news odds and ends from the Southside region.
This week, we’ve got an exciting opportunity for Almagro neighborhood residents to participate in the process to nominate the historically Black area to the National Register of Historic Places.
There’s also an item on the city council’s Tuesday agenda about supplying power to the Microporous project at the Berry Hill megasite and growing enrollment at Danville Community College.
Tell me what you’d like to see in next week’s edition of Danville Field Notes. Email me at grace@cardinalnews.org.
Almagro residents invited to help nominate the neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places
Almagro, a historically Black neighborhood in Danville, may be added to the National Register of Historic Places.
A public meeting will be held Tuesday to bring residents into the nomination process, according to a Facebook post by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
The Tuesday meeting, at 5:30 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church, 901 Betts St., will introduce an architectural resource survey to Almagro residents, kickstarting the nomination process.
The neighborhood developed as an African American town during the Reconstruction era, with homes, businesses and a public school, according to the post.
It was a self-sufficient, all-Black neighborhood that functioned as one of the largest incorporated African-American communities in the U.S. before its annexation into the city in 1932.
“The neighborhood will be surveyed and researched, with the aim of nominating it as a historic district to the National Register of Historic Places,” the post states.
The National Register is an honorary designation for historically significant places. The Commonwealth Preservation Group, a Norfolk-based National Register nomination consultant, is the project contractor for this effort.
The survey and nomination project is also being supported by a grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service.
Several areas of the city are already on the National Register, including some places with significant Black history, such as the Holbrook-Ross Street Historic District and Winslow Hospital.
Appalachian Power distribution at Berry Hill megasite expected to move forward after council meeting
The Danville City Council is expected to approve a resolution that would allow power distribution at the Berry Hill megasite to move forward.
Appalachian Power will build 1.8 miles of overhead power distribution to service the Microporous facility at the megasite. Microporous, a lithium-ion battery separator manufacturer, announced in 2024 that it would be the first tenant at the megasite, a 3,528-acre industrial park in Pittsylvania County.
Once the project is complete, Appalachian Power expects to recoup the costs of providing the infrastructure through the billable services at the megasite. However, if that doesn’t happen, the power company is requesting a guarantee of reimbursement from the city and Microporous.
The city council is voting on a resolution that would approve an irrevocable standby letter of credit, which is a guarantee to pay Appalachian Power if the revenue it brings in from this project doesn’t cover the cost of serving the site. Microporous and the city would share the required cost in that scenario, the staff report states.
The city’s irrevocable standby letter of credit is in the amount of nearly $480,000.
City staff recommends that the council approve this resolution to authorize the letter of credit.
Danville Community College sees increase in enrollment in both credit and workforce programs
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Danville Community College, which offers both college credit and workforce services programming to its students.
Enrollment in credit programs at Danville Community College has increased nearly 22% between last fall and this fall, according to a news release from the school.
There were 1,969 students enrolled in credit programs as of Aug. 27, compared to 1,639 at the same point last year, the release states.
That increase of 330 credit students is coupled with an additional increase of 43 workforce services students, which is a 7% increase over workforce services enrollment from last year. Credit and workforce enrollments are tracked separately.
The college’s workforce services program offers short-term training, industry credentials, apprenticeships and other workforce-focused educational opportunities.
“Students are increasingly looking for education that connects directly to opportunity, and our region’s employers are looking for skilled people who are ready to work,” said Jessica Dalton, vice president of the college’s workforce services, in the news release.
The enrollment growth demonstrates that the college plays an important role “in bringing those two needs together,” Dalton said.
Fall enrollment is still open for the college’s second eight-week term, meaning that the Aug. 27 figures are “a point-in-time snapshot rather than final fall 2026 enrollment totals,” the release states.
For more information about DCC and its program and training offerings, visit danville.edu.
