The Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge has been designated as an accredited Main Street America program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach®.

“It is a great honor to recognize this year’s 828 nationally Accredited Main Street America programs for their outstanding work to transform downtown and neighborhood commercial districts,” says Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “Main Streets are the heart of our communities, and the work they do to create quality public spaces, catalyze local entrepreneurship, and support downtown housing is more important than ever. Across the county, Main Street America programs truly strengthen the economic, social, and cultural fabric of their entire communities.”

The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Downtown Development, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten 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, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.

“Downtown Bainbridge has been experiencing an increase in property sales, building rehabilitations, and new businesses over the last year.  Several private property owners are currently undergoing major rehabilitations to their property which will only create new jobs, increase sales tax, and most importantly bring these properties back to life,” said Amanda Glover.

The mission of the Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge is to stimulate revitalization of downtown Bainbridge through initiatives that enhance business growth, strengthen arts and culture, promote residential development, and preserve downtown’s unique inventory of historic properties.  Recognizing that our broad range of architectural styles is a major asset for downtown Bainbridge, the Downtown Development Authority seeks to initiate and support creative ventures and adaptive redevelopment efforts that enhance public awareness and utilization of this inventory.

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 1,000 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 $71.35 billion in new public and private investment, generated 583,869 net new jobs and 131,974 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 267,800 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.