Hart Main Street nationally recognized

Pictured left to right are HMS Board Secretary Joan LundBorg, HMS Board Member Karen Drenth, National Main Street Program Coordinator Norma Meiss, HMS Board Vice Chair Nancy Sterk, HMS Program Manager Ingrid Pearson, HMS Board Member Gail Zieger, Michigan Main Street Program Coordinator Laura Krizov, HMS Board Chair Anne Hardy and HMS Board Member Bill Hegg under the cardboard boat entry from this past summer’s “Whatever Floats Your Boat Regatta,” sponsored by Hansen Foods and Hart Main Street. The boat was built by Volunteer of the Year, Pete LundBorg, and Pentwater Artisan Center’s Gene Davidson, who was a past Volunteer of the Year.

HART – Hart Main Street once again has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Main Street Center®, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Each year, the National Main Street Center and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street® programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to historic preservation and community revitalization through the Main Street Four Point Approach®.

National Main Street Program Coordinator Norma Ramirez de Meiss and State Program Coordinator Laura Krizov met with the Hart Main Street program manager, the Hart Main Street Board of Directors and committee chairs. They reviewed the past year’s accomplishments, and once again deemed the efforts of the Hart Main Street Program volunteers worthy of annual accreditation.

“We congratulate this year’s nationally-accredited Main Street programs for their outstanding accomplishment in meeting the National Main Street Center’s 10 Standards of Performance,” said Patrice Frey, President and CEO of the National Main Street Center. “As the National Main Street Center celebrates its 35th anniversary, it is also important to celebrate the achievements of the local Main Street programs across the country, some of whom have been around since the beginning. These local programs work hard every day to make their communities great places to work, live, play and visit while still preserving their historic character.”

The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by the Michigan Main Street Program, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet 10 performance standards. These standards set the benchmarks for measuring an individual Main Street program’s application of the Main Street Four Point Approach® to commercial district revitalization. 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.

This year, Hart Main Street became an accredited Master Level Community.  “After five years as a Main Street Program, I truly believe that Downtown Hart has begun to come into its own,” said Hart Main Street Manager Ingrid Pearson. “The hard work of the board, the committees, the volunteers, and the businesses is apparent all over downtown. It is exciting to watch this tight-knit community continue to grow and thrive.”

Hart Main Street promotes downtown Hart by providing an environment conducive to attracting and retaining businesses, and building pride through historic preservation and strong partnerships with a variety of stakeholders.  

“Everyone benefits from a healthy economic center,” said Pearson. “You can help by donating time and money, or advocating for downtown. Shopping here in downtown Hart is a great way to start.”

Established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980, the National Main Street Center helps communities of all sizes revitalize their older and historic commercial districts.

Working in more than 2,000 downtowns and urban neighborhoods over the last 35 years, the Main Street program has leveraged more than $61.7 billion in new public and private investment. Participating communities have created 528,557 net new jobs and 120,510 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 251,838 buildings, leveraging an average of $26.52 in new investment for every dollar spent on their Main Street district revitalization efforts.