Eight Cities Selected for Georgia’s Exceptional Main Streets Program

Atlanta, GA (April 4, 2017) – The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced today that 8 new Georgia Main Street Cities will become part of the current Georgia’s Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) Program.  These communities join 8 existing programs as proven leaders in downtown development.

Together, each of these 16 cities has been carefully selected due to the overwhelmingly positive impact that the Main Street Program has had on its local historic district.  From new businesses and job creation, to rehabilitation projects and downtown housing, these communities have set themselves apart with their annual economic impact numbers and focus on historic preservation. Of the 94 Main Street programs that participated in the highly competitive annual assessment process, only 16 cities stood out amongst the rest. Collectively, they represent 473,200 Georgia citizens and 8 service delivery regions.

The selected cities are: (* denotes newly designated GEMS cities)
Bainbridge                                       Newnan*
Brunswick*                                      Rome
Columbus*                                      Statesboro*
Dahlonega                                       Thomasville
Greensboro                                     Tifton*
Madison*                                         Toccoa
Milledgeville                                    Tybee Island*
Moultrie*                                          Valdosta

“These communities are united by common attributes that help make them the strongest commercial historic districts in the state – a strong commitment to historic preservation and planning, stable leadership and active municipal support,” said Jessica Reynolds, Director of the Office of Downtown Development at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which houses the Georgia Main Street program.

As GEMS communities, these Main Street programs gain access to special one-on-one technical services offered by the Office of Downtown Development, such as strategic planning sessions, board retreats and work plan development, along with scholarship opportunities and discounted rates for training and design services.

CONTACT:
MaryBrown Sandys, Director of Marketing & Communications
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
(o) 404-679-0661
marybrown.sandys@dca.ga.gov

About The Main Street Approach®:

The Main Street Approach® is a proven methodology that empowers communities to utilize their distinctive assets, such as their independent businesses and historic character, to revive their commercial districts, strengthen local economies and increase civic engagement. Since 1980, the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to downtown revitalization has been used by more than 100+ communities statewide to create more than 70,000 net new jobs and stimulate a 4.5 billion dollar private/public investment.

About the Georgia Department of Community Affairs:

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) partners with communities to create a climate of success for Georgia’s families and businesses through community and economic development, local government assistance, and safe and affordable housing. Using state and federal resources, DCA helps communities spur private job creation, implement planning, develop downtowns, generate affordable housing solutions, and promote volunteerism. DCA also helps qualified low- and moderate-income Georgians buy homes, rent housing, and prevent foreclosure and homelessness. For more information, visit www.dca.ga.gov.

On Thursday, September 22nd the Office of Downtown Development offered a webinar with Ms. Kate Ryan, Director of Preservation at the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.  Kate, a long-time advocate and partner of the Georgia Main Street Program, discussed the successful Places In Peril program offered by the Georgia Trust.

The Georgia Trust’s Places in Peril program seeks to identify and preserve historic sites threatened by demolition, neglect, lack of maintenance, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy. The list raises awareness about Georgia’s significant historic, archaeological and cultural resources, including buildings, structures, districts, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes. Through this program, the Trust encourages owners and individuals, organizations and communities to employ preservation tools, partnerships and resources necessary to preserve and utilize selected historic properties in peril. If you are interested in viewing this recorded webinar you can do so through this link or by visiting our Georgia Main Street YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/gamainst

Beginning May 16th, Tommy Lowmon will be joining the Office of Downtown Development as our Communications and Training Coordinator. Tommy brings over 8 years of Downtown Development experience to the job and has served as the Main Street and Economic Development Director for the City of Blackshear and most recently the City of Auburn.

Tommy has been active in the field of downtown development and has previously served as the Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President and President of the Georgia Downtown Association.  He has achieved his Level 1 certification in GDA’s professional development program and was selected to participate in the Young  Game Changers program in 2013.  Along with Blackshear Main Street’s  Board chair, Tracy Rediger, Tommy is  the co-founder of the Blackshear  Main Street  Program’s wildly famous  Haunted  Funeral Parlor.  This  volunteer driven Halloween haunted  house started as a grassroots fundraising activity and has grown to be both a regional and statewide recognized event. Bringing in
approximately 5,400 people from all over the state, this event netted $48,000 in profit in 2015 and received an award for Most Creative Fundraiser in 2012.

Our office is excited to have Tommy joining our team and we know that he is looking forward to the opportunity to meet each of you during the upcoming 2016 Regional Managers Meetings.

The City of Rome’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is pleased to announce the launch of “Banking on Downtown”, a local loan program established in partnership with Rome area banks to encourage the continued economic development of the downtown corridor.

The new programs establishes a low-interest revolving loan pool to make second mortgage loan funds available for development projects within the DDA service area. Eligible funds dispersed by the program are intended to be used to fund the purchase of real estate, building rehabilitation and/or equipment. Operating capital, payment of taxes, and product development costs are examples of items not eligible for funding under the program.

Participating bank partners and founding members of the “Banking on Downtown” loan program include: Citizens First, Greater Rome Bank, Heritage First Bank, Regions Bank, River City Bank, United Community, and Wells Fargo.

“Much of the renovation work that has been completed in downtown to spur economic development has been financed with help from low interest rate loans,” said DDA Executive Director, Ann Arnold.

In the past 15 years, Rome businesses have received $4,492,318 in loans from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Revolving Loan Fund and $3,356,900 in Georgia Cities Foundation (GCF) loans. The GCF and DCA programs limit loans in any given city to 15 percent of their statewide portfolio; the City of Rome reached its funding limit at the end of 2015.

The lending program promotes community development through revitalization and stabilization, which also serves to promote job creation.

“Banking on Downtown” provides up to a 10% second mortgage concurrent with an 80% first mortgage and a 10% equity injection by the borrowing entity.

If you are interested in learning more about this program check out the enclosed flyer or reach out to Rome’s Downtown Development office at 706-236-4520.

All communities that wish to achieve the Classic Main Street Program designation are required to submitted a completed copy of the Georgia Standards for Accreditation annually to the Office of Downtown Development. This document serves as a year-end assessment is to recognize program accomplishments made in during the calendar year, to address and discuss additional downtown revitalization issues, and to eliminate barriers to achieving your work plan goals and activities. Click here to download a copy of the 2018 Georgia Main Street Program Annual Standards for Accreditation

Blank Forms and Documents

Example Dropbox Folder

Work Plan Essentials Webinar

For more information and resources please check out the “Annual Assessment” section of our Resource Library which can be found under the “Resources” tab on the top bar of our website’s homepage.

Training for new Downtown Development Authority members is not only a state requirement but is an important part to your DDA’s path to success. DDA’s are recognized in state law and have different legal requirements that speak to the creation and execution of their organization.  In some instances, this can vary greatly from the traditional Main Street Program structure. It is recommended that communities whose Main Street Program boards are comprised of DDA board members send new board members to both DDA basic training as well as Main Street 101.  Below is the calendar of DDA training opportunities that will be offered by the Georgia Municipal Association in conjunction with the Carl Vinson Institute in 2016.  Please note that the August Training on Jekyll Island will correlate with one of our Main Street 101 dates.  This was intentionally designed so new board members would have the opportunity to receive both DDA Basic Training and Main Street 101 training back to back in one location.

Mayors’ Day, Atlanta, January 23, 2016
Downtown Development Authority Basic Training

GA Downtown Conference, Athens
March 8, 2016
Downtown Development Authority Basic Training

GMA Annual Convention, Savannah
June 28, 2016
Downtown Development Authority Advanced Training

GMA Training, Jekyll Island
August 11, 2016
Downtown Development Authority Basic Training
August 12th, 2016
Main Street 101

GMA Training, TBD
September 27, 2016
Downtown Development Authority Basic Training
Downtown Development Authority Advanced Training

For Registration please visit GMA’s website or email Aileen Harris at AHarris@gmanet.com

The Georgia Downtown Association will be hosting the 2016 Georgia’s Downtown Conference in Athens GA, March 9-11, 2016.  Early Bird registration for this event is available now through January 8th. The conference will include:

Pre-Conference Training (additional fee)

  • Downtown Development Authority Basic
  • Historic Preservation Commission
  • Complete Streets

General Conferece Will Include:
Key Note Speaker: Peter Kageyama
22 Educational Sessions
4 Mobile Workshops
Awards Ceremony at the Morton Theater
Exhibit hall and numerous networking events

Conference Registration and Rates prior to January 8
HPC Training: $110
DDA Basic Training: $245
Complete Streets Training: $125

Full Conference Registration Rates:
GDA members: $295
Non-Members: $375
Students: $75
Guest Tickets for Award Ceremony: $30

Please click here for full registration information

Is your community interested in becoming a Main Street City? Speak with one of our Start-up Program
experts by emailing us at mainstreet@dca.ga.gov

This month Leigh Burns represented our statewide program at the Past Forward Conference in Washington, DC. Past Forward is a national educational and networking event annually hosted and organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This years conference, hosted just a few months before the 50th Anniversary of Celebration of The National Historic Preservation Month, had more than two thousand preservationists attending. The four day conference took place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

Leigh additionally attended the day long historic rehabilitation tax incentives training hosted by the National Park Service. The opening plenary and reception took place at the beautiful Washington Cathedral designated as a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a National Historic Landmark by National Park Service. Past Forward 2016 will be hosted in Houston. For more information about this years conference please visit http://pastforwardconference.org/