With events in November signaling the launch of the Shockoe Design District, Andy Thornton is confident that downtown Richmond is ready to realize its potential as a world-class center of production, consumption and innovation.

“We’re a creative community. We have great schools, great artists and crafts people.  We actually do make stuff here. Why don’t we celebrate that and create a district to showcase them?” Thornton asks.

Along the picturesque canals and cobblestone streets of the Shockoe Slip area, Thornton envisions a hub of industry and exposition where area businesses co-exist in mutual support, where local producers display their crafts, and where visitors from the outskirts of Richmond and beyond find a concentration of activity and innovation.

Viewing the Design District as a potential draw for tourists from all over the world, Thornton also hopes it will give residents of the counties surrounding Richmond-“internal tourists”-a reason to spend more time Downtown.

Considering the myriad ways in which Richmond might reap the benefits of-and contribute to-a thriving Design District, Thornton has reached out to such entities as Venture Richmond, VCU, The Martin Agency, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and The City of Richmond to join forces and make it happen.

“Andy’s really created a buzz,” says Nancy Thomas, president and CEO of the Retail Merchants Association.  Noting the significant presence of established Shockoe Slip enterprises such as LaDifference, These Four Walls, and custom shirt-making firm Ledbury, she adds, “People are seeing that we have so much already in place.  Let’s just expand on it.”

According to Thomas, a strong retail district Downtown yields far-reaching benefits; a key to promoting it will be in creating a hospitable mercantile climate. For example, to make commercial spaces in the area more accessible to a diverse spectrum of ventures, she suggests the possibility of developing open indoor markets with kiosks available to multiple vendors.

Citing the boom in new housing developed throughout the downtown area, and the corresponding influx of new residents, Thomas points out that Richmond is ideally positioned for the creation of a robust retail environment in the area. “A lot of cities create the experience, then have a hard time getting people to move downtown,” she explains. By securing the Downtown population first, “Richmond did it right.”

INCREASING RVA’s APPEAL

Increasing Richmond’s appeal to talented young people from other towns, Thornton explains, is another reward that a dynamic Design District promises to bring. “From a strategic standpoint, how do you get the best in the business?” he asks, “You’ve got to give them an exciting place to go.”

And Thornton views the World Road Cycling Championships, which Richmond will host in 2015, as an opportunity akin to hosting the Olympics.  “We get this one chance to show off for the world-and we want to be in our best form.”

Michel Zajur, founder and CEO of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, describes his first reaction to Thornton’s idea as one of excitement.  “I think it’s a catalyst to help innovate within the community.” And he sees the Design District as an opportunity to highlight Richmond’s cosmopolitan character. “We’re a city of the world,” he remarks. “We’re not just a sleepy Southern city.”

Bolstered by a broad base and propelled by mounting momentum, the Design District is rapidly taking shape, with new business life already springing up in the area. Fair trade retailer Ten Thousand Villages, for example, celebrates the grand opening of its new Shockoe Slip location this month.

A collective of local artisans will display their crafts through November and December at the Virginia Street Gallery, located near the Turning Basin.

The exhibit was organized by Karen Atkinson and will feature, “everything from culinary artists to jewelry makers and photographers. It’s a total mix.” According to Atkinson-whose company, The Market Umbrella, promotes local businesses and artisans through such ventures as South of the James Market and The Market at First Fridays-Thornton and other Design District planners approached her with the project “to include an art component to it-and they wanted it to be local.”

While Andy Thornton’s aspirations for the future of Downtown Richmond are gaining traction, he envisions a simple mark of success-when the Shockoe Design District is globally known simply as “Shockoe!”

“We’ve got the capacity,” he says, “We’ve just got to believe in ourselves.”