FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Main Street Program (KYMS) announced today that in 2015, 27 communities reported $76,126,662 of cumulative investment in their commercial downtown districts, representing $42,718,614 of private investment matched by $33,408,048 in public improvements. Since the program’s inception in 1979, $3.9 billion of public-private investment has been documented in communities throughout the Commonwealth.
Concurrently, the program announced that 29 communities have achieved accreditation for 2016 as certified by both Kentucky Main Street and the National Main Street Center (NMSC). KYMS is administered by the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office (KHC).
Accredited communities are Bardstown, Bellevue, Cadiz, Campbellsville, Carrollton, Covington, Danville, Dawson Springs, Guthrie, Harrodsburg, Henderson, LaGrange, London, Maysville, Morehead, Murray, New Castle, Paducah, Paris, Perryville, Pikeville, Pineville, Princeton, Russellville, Shelbyville, Springfield, Taylorsville, Williamsburg and Winchester.
Accredited communities have met all of the 10 performance standards set forth by NMSC. Danville and Shelbyville met all 10 standards at a level 10 to achieve a perfect score.
“Kentucky Main Street is a flagship program of this agency, and the economic benefits that it has generated throughout Kentucky in nearly four decades are enormous,” said Craig Potts, KHC executive director and state historic preservation officer. “Without this program, many Kentucky communities would look very different today.”
KYMS is the oldest statewide Main Street economic revitalization program in the nation, based on NMSC’s Four-Point Approach® emphasizing organization, promotion, design and economic vitality. The program prioritizes the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings as the framework supporting downtown revitalization and economic development strategies.
In addition to overall investment, statewide in 2015, Kentucky Main Street communities reported:
- 1,138 new jobs created in Main Street districts
- 250 new businesses
- 358 new housing units in downtowns
- 238 building rehabilitation projects completed
- 11 historic rehabilitation tax credit projects
- $36,236,456 invested in historic building rehabilitation
Participation requires local commitment and financial support, with a Main Street director to administer the program in partnership with a volunteer board. In turn, KHC provides technical and design assistance, training and educational opportunities, on-site visits, a resource center, national consultants and grant funding, when available.
Affiliate communities have met at least five of the 10 accreditation standards, and network communities are those in the beginning phases of the program or in some form of transition. Affiliate communities are Cynthiana, Frankfort, Marion, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Scottsville and the Tri-Cities (Benham, Cumberland and Lynch); and network communities are Barbourville, Dayton, Lebanon, Mt. Washington, Nicholasville, Salyersville and Wayland.
For more, visit www.heritage.ky.gov/mainstreet.