Laurel, MS (April 30, 2019) — Laurel Main Street 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 partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs to recognize their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™
“We are proud to acknowledge this year’s 840 nationally accredited Main Street America programs that have worked tirelessly to strengthen their communities,” said Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “These programs deserve recognition for generating impressive economic returns, preserving community character, and celebrating local history. Main Street America Accredited communities are part of a powerful movement of changemakers, and their dedication to improving quality of life in the places they call home is inspiring.
In 2018 alone, Main Street America programs generated $4.93 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 5,310 net new businesses, generated 25,301 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,146 historic buildings, and clocked 2.2 million volunteer hours.
The performance of Laurel Main Street is annually evaluated by the Mississippi Main Street Association, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten national 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, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.
Since its inception in 2007, Laurel Main Street has seen over $40 million in private reinvestment in downtown. In the past three years, Laurel Main Street has awarded nearly $50,000 in façade grants to downtown businesses and welcomed over 34 businesses to downtown Laurel. The organization looks forward to even more activity in the coming year.
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ABOUT Laurel Main Street 
Since 2007, the focus of Laurel Main Street is the preservation and economic growth of Laurel’s Central Business District, bounded at the north by 5th St., south by Carroll Gartin Boulevard, east by Front Street and west by Leontyne Price Boulevard.
Laurel Main Street is an organization dedicated to the revitalization of Historic Downtown Laurel, made possible by partnership with our members, the City of Laurel, public and private contributors and the Mississippi Main Street Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. LMS is one of 50 certified Main Street Communities in the State of Mississippi.
ABOUT MAIN STREET AMERICA
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 1,600 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 $79.12 billion in new public and private investment, generated 640,017 net new jobs and 143,613 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 284,936 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
