The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (GDCA) recently announced that Sylvester is one of 19 Georgia cities selected to join the Main Street Start-up Program, which provides technical assistance to cities looking to improve their downtowns. Twenty-five cities across the state applied to the 2014-2015 program, the largest single group of applicants in the history of the Georgia Main Street Program. Collectively, they represent 284,503 citizens, $1.8 million in available local downtown program funding, and 10 service delivery regions of the state.
The Downtown Enhancement Program and the Downtown Development Authority are delighted about this news. They have been working towards gaining Main Street designation for over 10 years.
“In spite of not holding such a prestigious title, we continued to follow the four point Main Street approach which is Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring,” says Jean Brooks, Chairman of the DDA.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to bring people and business to downtown Sylvester,” said Brittany Evans, Downtown Enhancement director.
“In line with national trends, Georgia has seen renewed interest in downtown revitalization. We’re committed to helping our communities become great places to live, work and play, and our Main Street Program is one of our best examples of our technical assistance to Georgia’s local governments,” said Gretchen Corbin, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (GDCA), which houses the Main Street program.
Focusing on four core areas: design (what downtown looks like and how it functions); organization (the people and organizations that will do the work); economic restructuring (the types of businesses that will work in a particular downtown); and promotion (helping others understand how and why downtown is great), the Main Street program has helped cities across Georgia and in the nation since 1980.
The other cities joining the program are Albany, Ashburn, Auburn, Avondale Estates, Ball Ground, Bowdon, Braselton, Cairo, Chamblee, Grayson, Hinesville, Holly Springs, Lawrenceville, Perry, Porterdale, Ringgold, Stockbridge and Swainsboro.
These communities will work to join 96 other cities across Georgia in the Main Street program. GDCA will provide substantial technical assistance to these communities, including help with board and leadership development, the creation of two- and five-year work plans, development of program budgets and preparation of each to meet the 10 standards set forth by the National Main Street Center, which is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
