Main Street Toccoa Receives 2021 National Main Street Accreditation

PRESS RELEASE

MAIN STREET TOCCOA

Receives 2021 National Main Street Accreditation

Toccoa, GA – May 26^th, 2021 -- Main Street Toccoa has been designated as an accredited Main Street™ 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 recognize this year’s 889 nationally accredited Main Street programs that have worked tirelessly to advance economic vitality and quality of life in their downtowns and commercial districts,” said Patrice Frey, President & CEO of Main Street America. “During an incredibly challenging year, these programs demonstrated the power of the Main Street movement to drive impressive local recovery efforts, champion small businesses, and foster vibrant downtown districts. I am inspired by their hard work and confident that these accredited communities will continue to help their downtowns flourish in the next stages of recovery.”

In 2020, Main Street America programs generated $4.14 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 4,356 net new businesses, generated 14,988 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,488 historic buildings, and clocked 983,702 volunteer hours.  

Main Street Toccoa’s performance is annually evaluated by Georgia Main Street, based in the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Office of Downtown Development, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building meaningful and sustainable revitalization programs and include standards such as, fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.

In 2020, despite the advent of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Main Street Toccoa was proud to see $3,519,877 in public and private investment efforts downtown. Over 45,000 individuals took part in Main Street events, and the downtown district saw a net increase in 16 jobs.

“We are thankful to be accredited once again by Main Street America,” said Marilyn Hall, Chairman of the Downtown Development Authority. “Main Street Toccoa is the heart and soul of the community, and its efforts in 2020 were vital in helping to weather the COVID-19 pandemic.” Added Chairman Hall, “We’d like to encourage you to come downtown and visit us this year.”

The Mission of Main Street Toccoa is to improve Toccoa’s quality of life by strengthening Downtown Toccoa’s role as the community’s heart. For more information about the program’s 2021 accreditation, please contact Christian Hamilton, Main Street Manager, at 706.898.5777.

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