Jill Weston
Main Street Manager
336-349-1111
jweston@reidsvillenc.gov
The City of Reidsville has been designated as an accredited Main Street™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of accredited programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.
“We are proud to recognize this year’s 889 nationally accredited Main Street programs that have worked tirelessly to advance economic vitality and quality of life in their downtowns and commercial districts,” said Patrice Frey, President & CEO of Main Street America. “During an incredibly challenging year, these programs demonstrated the power of the Main Street movement to drive impressive local recovery efforts, champion small businesses and foster vibrant downtown districts. I am inspired by their hard work and confident that these accredited communities will continue to help their downtowns flourish in the next stages of recovery.”
In 2020, Main Street America programs generated $4.14 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 4,356 net new businesses, generated 14,988 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,488 historic buildings and clocked 983,702 volunteer hours.
The City of Reidsville’s performance is annually evaluated by the Reidsville Downtown Corporation Advisory Board, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building meaningful and sustainable revitalization programs and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.
The Reidsville Downtown Corporation has a vision to include a unique mix of arts through our Project DREAM (Downtown Reidsville Empowering Art Movement) program. Several art projects, murals, planter boxes and other improvements have been made to support this vision. The vision also includes entertainment, living spaces, offices and retail shops to create a place where people want to live, work and play. Several new businesses opened downtown during the pandemic and more are on the way. A program has been put into place to encourage property owners to give their buildings a facelift, and grant funds are available for these projects. A study was done this year on our Depot District about what type of uses this area across the railroad tracks can create. This is an exciting plan that includes a variety of living, retail, restaurant and entertainment spaces all with a vibe of a hip fun place to be.
The following committees were formed in the past year to be goal and task driven:
Community and Business: To help aspiring and experienced business owners develop and create an environment that champions values and diversity.
Creativity: To enhance the expansion of the downtown historic footprint as a creative destination, including mixed-use development with a creative approach to building reuse.
Healthy Living: Create an environment for healthy living opportunities by increasing healthy lifestyle businesses and opportunities. The members who serve on our committees are part of our business community, residents and those who have a love and vested interest for downtown Reidsville.
“I am thrilled to have an accredited program and strive to reach our goals of creating a downtown that is alive and thriving along with the expansion of our Depot District,” said Jill Weston, Reidsville’s Main Street Manager.
The Reidsville Downtown Corporation is non-profit organization formed in 1976. Their efforts are largely funded by a special tax district on the central business district of Reidsville and contributions from the City’s General Fund. The RDC is governed by a 14-member board of directors, 12 of which are volunteers. The RDC ‘s mission is to enhance Reidsville’s downtown so our visitors enjoy a unique and diverse experience.
ABOUT MAIN STREET AMERICA
HYPERLINK "https://www.mainstreet.org" Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for 40 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 $89.57 billion in new public and private investment, generated 687,321 net new jobs and 154,435 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 303,836 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.mainstreet.org" www.mainstreet.org