Four Michigan Communities Achieve National Main Street Accreditation

LANSING, MI - Tuesday, February 05, 2008 – According to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), four Michigan communities were awarded National Accreditation through the Cool Cities Michigan Main Street Program. The four communities receiving notification of their National Accreditation from MSHDA's Community Assistance Team (CATeam) are Niles, Calumet, Boyne City and Marshall.

The Michigan Main Street program is part of Governor Granholm's efforts to create vibrant communities across the state. This effort is based on numerous recent studies showing that investing in our downtowns creates vibrant centers where people want to live, work and invest, making our state economically stronger. The underlying premise of the Main Street program is to encourage community economic development through:

  • Organization: getting everyone working toward the same goal and assembling the appropriate human and financial resources to implement a Main Street revitalization program.
  • Promotion: selling a positive image of the commercial district and encouraging consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the Main Street district.
  • Design: getting Main Street into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets, such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets, is just part of the story.
  • Economic restructuring: strengthening a community's existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base.

Communities with traditional downtowns can be selected annually as a Cool Cities Michigan Main Street Community as the result of a multi-step application process based on the key points mentioned above.

The four communities chosen are evaluated annually using a year end evaluation process and accreditation criteria intended to assist each community in performing up to national accreditation standards as prescribed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center. Though it is a critical moment in the Michigan Main Street program for a community to become accredited, it is equally critical for the community to maintain the accreditation status once it has been earned.

"Programs like Michigan Main Street go a long way in not only helping revitalize traditional downtowns, but also in making them a more desirable place to live, work and invest," said Michael R. DeVos, executive director of MSHDA." Economic vitality of our vibrant communities and downtowns is the cornerstone of continuing economic success for the entire state."

In total, there are fourteen communities participating in the Cool Cities Michigan Main Street program through MSHDA's CATeam. The other communities are Portland, Muskegon, Clare, Ishpeming, Howell, Grand Haven, Midland, Old Town Lansing, Iron Mountain, and Scottville.

MSHDA is a quasi-state agency that provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve safe and decent affordable housing, engage in community economic development activities, and address homeless issues.  MSHDA's loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues. For more information on MSHDA programs and initiatives, visit the Web site at www.michigan.gov/mshda.