LOUISIANA MAIN STREET ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF 2024 NATIONAL MAIN STREET ACCREDITATION
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
BATON ROUGE, La. – Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and Louisiana Main Street are proud to announce the 24 Louisiana communities designated as Accredited Main Street America programs for 2024. These Main Street organizations have met rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center and recognized for their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach.
Louisiana's nationally accredited Main Street America programs for 2024 are:
- Abbeville; Vermilion Parish
- Crowley; Acadia Parish
- Denham Springs; Livingston Parish
- Donaldsonville; Ascension Parish
- Franklin; St. Mary Parish
- Hammond; Tangipahoa Parish
- Homer; Claiborne Parish
- Houma; Terrebonne Parish
- Leesville; Vernon Parish
- Monroe; Ouachita Parish
- Morgan City; St. Mary Parish
- Natchitoches; Natchitoches Parish
- New Iberia; Iberia Parish
- Old Algiers, New Orleans; Orleans Parish
- Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans; Orleans Parish
- New Roads; Pointe Coupee Parish
- Opelousas; St. Landry Parish
- Ruston; Lincoln Parish- Springhill; Webster Parish
- St. Francisville; West Feliciana Parish
- St. Martinville; St. Martin Parish
- Thibodaux; Lafourche Parish
- West Monroe; Ouachita Parish
- Winnsboro; Franklin Parish
"The historic downtowns and neighborhoods in our state give each area a sense of uniqueness, place, and character that sets one apart from the other. These commercial districts are the heart and soul of the communities in which they are located," said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "The revitalization of these areas provides small businesses with great locations to set up shop, help increase tax revenue for their local governments, and draw more visitors to the downtown area. It's an honor to be able to recognize these 24 Louisiana communities who have worked diligently to revitalize their social cohesion and economic sustainability."
The Louisiana Main Street program has documented impact, reaching a historic investment milestone of $1 billion in public and private investment in 2022. Of that investment, $520 million was private investments with the remaining $527 million in public investments. Other key statistics during that time include:
- Creation of 15,502 net new jobs
- 3,713 net new businesses
- More than $461 million in new construction or rehabilitation of buildings
- More than 2 million volunteer hours
"We are incredibly excited to celebrate this year's Accredited Main Street America programs, and their remarkable efforts to reenergize their local economies and public spaces," said Main Street America President and CEO Erin Barnes. "Main Street leaders are visionaries that see things that no one else can see and create the future world we all want to live in. The size and impact of our network demonstrates that great things happen when visions are realized through strategic, grassroots collaboration."In 2023, the 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, it generated $18.03 of new investment back into their downtown and commercial corridor communities. Louisiana Main Street annually evaluates each state organization's performance, working in partnership with the National Main Street Center, 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 Accredited status—Main Street America's top designation tier—communities must demonstrate a proven track record of achieving outcomes in alignment with the Main Street Approach and exceptional performance 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.
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 1,600 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 generated more than $107.62 billion in new public and private investment, generated 175,323 net new businesses and 782,059 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 335,675 buildings, and levered over 35.3 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.For more information on the Louisiana's Main Street program visit the Louisiana Main Street webpage.
LOUISIANA MAIN STREET COMMUNITIES WIN COMPETITIVE FUNDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana Main Street, in collaboration with Louisiana Division of Administration Office of Planning and Budget, multiple state agencies, and a consultant planning team was awarded a U.S. Department of Transportation Thriving Communities Regional Pilot Capacity Builder Program (TCP-R) grant – one of only six nationwide.
The $1.9 million award will go toward building a robust and adaptive technical assistance program to drive infrastructure development for six underserved Main Street communities. The Thriving Communities Program funds tailored technical assistance to under-resourced communities to advance a pipeline of infrastructure projects that will increase mobility, reduce pollution, and expand affordable transportation options, connecting communities to the essential opportunities and resources that will help them thrive.
"We are thrilled to be one of only six projects selected nationally for this award. Our small towns need support, so we are pleased the project team will deliver customized technical assistance and capacity building services. This work will make an immediate impact while also catalyzing more private investment in our downtown districts," said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.
"Louisiana Main Street is excited to partner with the project team to deliver much-needed services to six designated Main Street communities," said Ray Scriber, Director of Louisiana Main Street. "This project will help the communities make incremental improvements while working to secure funding for larger projects."
The six Louisiana Main Street Communities selected to receive targeted assistance based on data indicating greatest need include Franklin, Homer, New Roads, Opelousas, St. Martinville, and Winnsboro. The three-year program includes both catered technical assistance and direct funding for each community.
"Homer is excited to be selected for the DOT Thriving Communities program," said Jimmy Hand, Main Street Homer Board President. "This is a great opportunity to develop a plan for infrastructure projects that will improve transportation and walkability for our residents, making the Homer Main Street district safer for our citizens."
Louisiana Main Street has partnered with the Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Louisiana Department of Health, LSU AgCenter, and Louisiana Economic Development to lead and implement this program in the six selected Main Street Communities. State partners are providing over $200,000 in in-kind matched funds, increasing the support available to communities.
Each state agency will work alongside members of the consultant planning team – which includes the Center for Planning Excellence, Grey Engineering, and Place + Main – to provide programmatic guidance and project development support to the Main Street communities. Members of the consultant planning team will provide community-informed recommendations on economic development, best-practices for transportation planning, and infrastructure improvements.
Presentations, materials, tools, and recorded workshops used in the projects will be accessible to additional Main Street Communities in Louisiana, creating a "Community of Practice" that will facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing, awareness of best practices, and relationship building, and result in long-term increased capacity.
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