Manassas Park is working on rebranding itself as a destination.
It’s part of the city’s new downtown development, where it is building a town center with a plan to create a signage and branding concept. The audience it hopes to reach: the rest of Northern Virginia.
“The city is about to embark on the next large component of it’s downtown development, and we have these different developments with different names, so we wanted to come up with – well, if we’re creating a true town center, what is the name of the town center?” said City Manager Laszlo Palko.
Palko is working with HGIS, a local consulting firm led by husband-and-wife team Quentin and Stephanie Reynolds, to help with business recruitment and retention. It specializes in bringing interested businesses or land opportunities to developers.
Manassas Park is HGIS’s first municipal client, as it has previously brought the city developer prospects and businesses, such as Cinema Cafe, a movie theater and restaurant with existing locations in Hampton Roads. The city hopes to land it, or something similar in the near future.
Along with HGIS, the city has also partnered with Arnett, Muldrow & Associates, an urban planning firm in South Carolina. The company helps clients plan for economic development, place branding, and wayfinding.
It initially met with Palko and his staff and the elected governing body and engaged with the economic development authority to gain insight into the city’s history and its current state and development plans.
Arnett will then launch a community-wide digital survey throughout Manassas Park through schools, social media, and the city website.
“It’s a way to hear – solicit – ideas and hear from the community about what they believe our city is; what’s our strong suits? What’s our history? What’s valued by the community? And to find out if that’s accurate across all the different geographical areas of our City as well,” said Palko.
The company will track the data of these surveys and report them to the city next month. From there, it will present a comprehensive communication tool kit that targets the city both as an organization and a destination.
Arnett will also help create a branding logo and a signage plan for Manassas Park’s new downtown development. Locals might be familiar with the logo for neighboring Manassas City, with its “historic heart, modern beat” tag line.
This branding effort aims to bring in more revenue for future investments and the city’s infrastructure from commercial sales and diversify its tax revenue base, which will officials say will decrease the real estate tax burden placed on homeowners — one of the highest in Virginia.
It will also provide residents with a central gathering place with additional shopping, dining, and entertainment opportunities.
“A lot of people don’t know we exist. They think we’re a part of Manassas. So we’re really trying to put ourselves out there to say “hey, we’re here, and we’re this beautiful small city that’s incredibly diverse and welcoming . . . and now we have this wonderful downtown as well,” said Palko. “We want to be one of the best premier destinations in northern Virginia for people to want to live here and have a good quality of life.”
He has stated that the ultimate goal is to increase resident satisfaction and the city’s presence.
