TRYON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION
RECEIVES 2017 NATIONAL MAIN STREET ACCREDITATION
Tryon, NC June 12, 2017 – Tryon Downtown Development Association 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 the North Carolina Department of Commerce Main Street & Rural Planning Center 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.
TDDA has produced several successful events, including the annual favorites: Halloween Stroll, Tryon BeerFest, Christmas Stroll and Tryon Midnight. In addition, TDDA produced a business recruitment package, market analysis, and hosted Mountain BizWorks Foundation classes. TDDA additionally produced the first Tryon Rhythm & Wine Festival, a renewed April Fool’s Day event, and welcomed several new businesses to downtown. TDDA and the Town of Tryon have worked diligently to further establish and grow in an excellent relationship between TDDA, the Town of Tryon Mayor and Board of Commissioners, as well as town staff.
The solid relationship between TDDA, the Town of Tryon, and support of the Polk County Community Foundation over many years since its inception has enabled TDDA and the Town to become a nationally accredited Main Street Community.
The Tryon Downtown Development Association will celebrate its accreditation and review accomplishment at their annual meeting, held on Monday, June 26 at 6pm at Sunnydale. The entire Tryon community is invited to attend. TDDA executive director, Jamie Carpenter will speak about the upcoming years ahead for downtown, including inviting volunteers to serve on committees to fulfill the community and economic development goals for downtown.
TDDA works to revitalize and preserve downtown Tryon through economic development, quality design and preserving the historic nature of downtown, and promotion of downtown. We do this through partnerships with businesses, local government and governing boards, the Polk County Community Foundation and more. For more information, please visit www.downtowntryon.org.
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.
