Downtown Jonesboro accredited member of Main Street America program

Downtown Jonesboro Association has been accredited as a program member of Main Street America for meeting performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its partners announce the list of accredited members of the Main Street America programs.

“We are proud to acknowledge this year’s 840 nationally accredited Main Street America programs that have worked tirelessly to strengthen their communities. Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center said. “These programs deserve recognition for generating impressive economic returns, preserving community character, and celebrating local history. Main Street America Accredited communities are part of a powerful movement of changemakers, and their dedication to improving quality of life in the places they call home is inspiring.

In 2018, Main Street America programs generated $4.93 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 5,310 new businesses, generated 25,301 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,146 historic buildings, and clocked 2.2 million volunteer hours.

The Downtown Jonesboro Association’s performance is annually evaluated by Main Street Arkansas, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten national 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, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.

“We recently awarded four grants to downtown business owners that included funding for interior and exterior paint along with new awnings,” Downtown Jonesboro Association Executive Director Lindsey Wingo said. “This would not be possible without accreditation through Main Street America.”

Another advantage of being an accredited program is that downtown Jonesboro businesses have access to free services through Main Street Arkansas including free small business consultation and interior and exterior design consultation.

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 leveraged more than $79.12 billion in new public and private investment, generated 640,017 new jobs and 143,613 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 284,936 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.