unique new mexico downtown revitalization program secures new accreditation

A New Mexico program that restored 257 historic buildings throughout the state in 2017 has received full accreditation from the Chicago-based National Main Street Center.

That accreditation gives the New Mexico Main Street program the authority and influence to continue its work in revitalizing downtown areas across New Mexico.

The accreditation specifically applies to the more than 20 individual Main Street programs throughout the state, programs that last year together leveraged some $28.5 million in private sector investment.

“The work of these organizations improves their local communities and supports the right economic conditions downtown to support growth in the economy,” Matt Geisel, Secretary of New Mexico’s Economic Development Department, said in a statement.

In seeking to revitalize downtown areas state-wide, which often includes renovating and upgrading any number of historic structures in a given area, the New Mexico Main Street program applies a criteria requiring that any local effort must first have, among other assets, broad-based community support, public and private sector support, and an operating budget.

Since its inception in 1985, the New Mexico Main Street program has been responsible for the renovation of more than 3,400 individual buildings in New Mexico, securing in the process upwards of $290 million in private sector backing.

By Garry Boulard

---