Nine communities will receive awards for excellence in downtown revitalization during the North Carolina Main Street Awards Ceremony in Statesville this evening. Assistant Secretary of Rural Development Kenny Flowers, and Director of the North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center Liz Parham, will present the awards in categories that include economic vitality, design, promotion, and organization.
“These projects are significant improvements to our rural communities,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “The Main Street program is helping communities identify their best assets for economic growth and prosperity, and I am pleased to honor them for the great initiative and work that they are doing to improve their downtown districts.”
“Using private and public investments and historic tax credits, our Main Street communities are committed to revitalizing their downtowns,” added Flowers. “From new construction infill projects to local events and public space improvement projects, these honorees represent the vision of local governments, economic developers, and other private-public partnerships that communities need to thrive.”
The North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center works in regions, counties, cities, towns, downtown districts and in designated North Carolina Main Street communities, to inspire placemaking through building asset-based economic development strategies that achieve measurable results such as investment, business growth and jobs.
The following projects received 2022 Awards of Merit:
Small Town Main Street Awards
Design
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Wilkesboro - Phase I Historic Downtown Wilkesboro Revitalization Project
Main Street Awards
Organization
Best Economic Recovery Initiative
- Lenoir - Pivots, Participation, & Patronage (PPP) with Digital Platforms Initiatives
Best Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Recognition
- Belmont - Main Street Volunteer Meetup & Appreciation
Promotion
Best Downtown Special Event or Event Series
- Belmont - Moonlight on Main
Economic Vitality
Best Adaptive Reuse Project
- Wake Forest - The Loading Dock
- Waxhaw - Waxhaw’s Livery Stables
Best Infill Building Project
- Belmont - North Main Station
- Fuquay-Varina - The Spring Townhomes
- Garner - Garner Recreation Center
- Salisbury - Bankett Station
Design
Best Outdoor Space Improvement
- Mount Airy - The Andy Griffith Plaza
- Salisbury - Bell Town Green Park
“This is the twenty-third year that N.C. Main Street and Small Town Main Street communities have been recognized by the N.C. Department of Commerce,” said Liz Parham, Director of the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center. “It is a time of celebration for the high-quality improvements, investment, job creation and the enhanced qualify of life that has occurred in small and medium-sized towns and cities across the state.”
A panel of judges chose this year’s award winners from more than 25 nominations submitted by 16 Main Street and Small Town Main Street communities statewide.