David Hill of Hill Studio gave a detailed presentation on what the revitalization of the town of Clifton Forge could look like in the future. His team has been in town the past few days conducting meetings and workshops with the residents while building a strategy on how best to improve infrastructure and town beautification.

Final Community Gathering Meeting of 2026 Includes Talks of Better Clifton Forge By Jennifer Bailey Staff Writer   Clifton Forge, VA (Nov. 12, 2026)- The November Clifton Forge Community Gathering, which was ultimately the last one of the year, took place this evening at 6:30 p.m. in the WestRock room at the Historic Masonic Theatre. The meeting was pivotal in discussing the findings and future plans proposed by Hill Studio, a group out of Roanoke who "are experts in place-based design for communities, and in design for education, recreation and the arts." David Hill, President of Hill Studio, led a detailed presentation that outlined his and his team's visit to Clifton Forge. Since arriving, the team conducted various meetings and a workshop that encouraged active audience participation. The primary aim of Hill Studio's involvement is to assist Maria Saxton, Director of Planning and Community Development for Clifton Forge, and Chuck Unroe, Clifton Forge Town Manager, in creating a strategy to enhance the town's growth and infrastructure. The project, spearheaded by Saxton, focuses on improved Housing to not only enhance the existing infrastructure, but also to potentially introduce new housing projects; encourage business growth by fostering an environment that attracts and supports new businesses; and utilize Clifton Forge's existing assets to support development plans. A few of the potential downtown improvements discussed this evening were mainly improvements on public streets as well local businesses. Downtown items included new sidewalks and trees, while business projects included new awnings, new paint, murals, and a "dream project" which would give Jack Mason's Tavern a rooftop deck. However, all ideas were simply proposed items envisioned by Hill's team. The meeting served as a platform for gathering final ideas from the community and mark the beginning of the planning stages. The planning phase is expected to span another 3-4 months, during which detailed strategies will be formed. Following this, efforts will be directed towards securing a grant to fund the project, allowing for its official commencement. "The DHCD (Department of Housing and Community Development) expects us in the Spring to take these ideas, distill them, boil them down, and come back to them and ask for any implementation grant," said David Hill. He noted that the grant varies annually, but his team believes it will be approved at $1.2 million dollars. "The very same team that's working on this, the DHCD, the same agency in Virginia, allows us to apply at the very same time for the ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission Grant) by the end."

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