Wake Forest earns National Main Street accreditation for 2024
Wake Forest is one of 51 North Carolina Main Street Communities and one of 800 nationwide designated as a 2024 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 proud to announce that 1,188 programs have achieved designations as Main Street America programs in recognition of their commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™,” wrote Main Street America in a news release announcing this year’s Main Street members.
“The 2024 network of designated Main Street members includes 800 programs that earned Accredited status — our top designation tier — for demonstrating a proven track record of achieving outcomes in alignment with the Main Street Approach and exceptional performance in the six standards of community evaluation.”
In 2023, Main Street America programs generated $5.68 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 6,630 net new businesses, facilitated the creation of 35,162 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 10,556 historic buildings, and leveraged 1,664,763 volunteer hours. On average, for every dollar that a Main Street program spent to support their operations, $18.03 of new investment was generated back into their downtown and commercial corridor communities.
Wake Forest’s performance is evaluated annually by the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify local programs that meet rigorous national community evaluation standards. These standards provide the Main Street America network with a strong foundational framework to review progress, recognize strengths, understand trends, and identify strategies that move Main Street programs forward. To quality for designation communities must demonstrate a strong commitment to the Main Street model, meet a set of baseline requirements, and achieve outcomes in six areas: broad-based community commitment to revitalization; inclusive leadership and organizational capacity; diversified funding and sustainable program operations; strategy-driven programming; preservation-based economic development; and demonstrated impact and results.
In addition to Wake Forest, these NC Main Street communities earned accreditation for their 2023 performance: Albemarle, Asheboro, Belmont, Brevard, Cherryville, Clinton, Concord, Elizabeth City, Elkin, Fuquay-Varina, Goldsboro, Hendersonville, Hickory, Laurinburg, Lenoir, Lexington, Lumberton, Manteo, Marion, Monroe, Mooresville, Morehead City, Morganton, Mount Airy, Murphy, New Bern, Newton, North Wilkesboro, Pilot Mountain, Pittsboro, Reidsville, Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount, Roxboro, Rutherfordton, Salisbury, Sanford, Shelby, Spruce Pine, Statesville, Sylva, Tarboro, Troy, Valdese, Wake Forest, Washington, Waxhaw, Waynesville, Whiteville, Williamston, and Wilson.
For more information, contact Downtown Development Director Jennifer Herbert at 919-435-9427 or [email protected].