PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Monroeville Main Street
Receives 2016 National Main Street Accreditation
Monroeville, AL June 21, 2016—Monroeville Main Street has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for the second consecutive year for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach®.
“Once again, we are thrilled to recognize this year’s nationally accredited Main Street America communities for their outstanding work,” says Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “We are experiencing an exciting era for America’s cities and towns, with a growing recognition of the importance of strong local enterprise, distinctive character, engaged residents, and sense of place. These are things that Main Street America programs have been working to protect and advance for years, strengthening the economic, social, and cultural fabric of communities across the country.”
The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by Main Street Alabama, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.
“Since becoming a designated community in June 2014, 8 new businesses have come to the district, 21 new jobs have been created, and well over $475,000 in public and private funds have been invested in the district,” says Anne Marie Bryan, Director of Monroeville Main Street. “These numbers will grow as properties are purchased, buildings are renovated, new businesses open, and existing businesses continue to grow. We are looking forward to a quite a few projects this year that will enhance the appearance of our downtown and we will continue our partnerships with other organizations including the Monroe County Heritage Museum, the Monroe County Library, the Monroeville/Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Monroeville. We are all working together and hope the community will join us in continuing to make Downtown Monroeville a better place for everyone.”
Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today, it is a network of more than 1,000 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have leveraged more than $65.6 billion in new public and private investment, generated 556,960 net new jobs and 126,476 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 260,000 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. ##
Contact: Anne Marie Bryan, Director 251-743-2879 monroevillemainstreet@outlook.com