Main Street Homer has been designated as an Accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of Accredited programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation- based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.
“We are very proud to acknowledge this year’s 862 Accredited Main Street America programs, and their steadfast dedication to nurture economically and culturally vibrant downtown districts,” said Hannah White, Interim President & CEO of Main Street America. “The increase in the size and impact of our network speaks volumes to the power of the Main Street movement to respond to the needs of local communities and drive innovative solutions.”
In 2022, Main Street America programs generated $6.2 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 7,657 net new businesses, facilitated the creation of 29,174 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 10,688 historic buildings, and leveraged 1,528,535 volunteer hours. On average, for every dollar that a Main Street program spent to support their operations, it generated $24.07 of new investment back into their downtown communities.
Collectively, 2 million people live or work within the boundaries of designated Main Street America districts. An estimated workforce of 1.1 million people contributes their skills and expertise to advancing the missions of these historic downtowns and commercial corridors.
Main Street Homer’s performance is annually evaluated by Louisiana Main Street, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet national performance standards. To quality for Accreditation status, communities must meet a set of rigorous standards that include commitments to building grassroots revitalization programs, fostering strong public-private partnerships, nurturing economic opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and actively preserving historic places, spaces, and cultural assets.
Since 2014, Main Street Homer aided property owners to renovate ten buildings in Downtown Homer, utilizing over $600,000 in grants, tax credits, and property tax abatements. Main Street Homer board president Jimmy Hand said, “Without being nationally and statewide accredited, our community would not be eligible to receive these financial benefits. In fact, Main Street Homer just received our third Paul Braun Historic Revitalization Grant for $60,000 to continue revitalization work on the West Main Street buildings in downtown Homer. Look for work to begin soon as we continue to revitalize homer through economic development, historic and cultural preservation, and advancement of the arts.”
ABOUT MAIN STREET AMERICA
Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation- based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have generated more than $101.58 billion in new public and private investment, generated 168,693 net new businesses and 746,897 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 325,119 buildings, and levered over 33.7 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.