Neighborhood

A Thriving Virginia Hill

The Neighborhood goal of Choice Bristol is focused on making Virginia Hill a place where people feel safe, where the physical environment reflects the pride and potential of the community, and where economic opportunity is within reach for everyone who lives and works there. This means developing strategies across three interconnected areas: improving the physical conditions of streets, parks, and public spaces; supporting economic development that brings jobs, services, and investment into the neighborhood; and working with partners to strengthen public safety and build trust between residents and the institutions that serve them. Together, these strategies will form the neighborhood chapter of the Transformation Plan — a community-driven blueprint for the kind of Virginia Hill that residents have always known was possible.

Neighborhood Strategies

Key Focus Areas

Neighborhood Improvements

Streets, sidewalks, parks, lighting, and beautification investments.

Economic Development

Attracting local businesses and supporting existing entrepreneurs in Virginia Hill.

Public Safety

Crime prevention strategies and community-police collaboration.

History of Virginia Hill

Virginia Hill is a residential neighborhood located just north of downtown Bristol, VA, bordered by the city’s historic core to the south and defined by a mix of single-family homes, multi-family housing, and the 20-acre former Virginia Intermont College campus at its center. The neighborhood was once one of Bristol’s most prosperous, lined with large Victorian homes that reflected the city’s economic vitality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Over the following decades, disinvestment, population decline, and the concentration of public housing contributed to the deterioration of much of the housing stock and the erosion of neighborhood services and amenities. Today, Virginia Hill is home to approximately 1,800 residents and remains a neighborhood with deep roots, strong community ties, and significant untapped potential.

Revitalizing Virginia Hill through community-led neighborhood transformation.