Last week, Main Street America (MSA) announced that 860 MSA programs across the nation have earned accredited status! Excitingly, 24 Main Street programs in Virginia earned MSA’s top tier of recognition. This exclusive designation signifies a demonstrated commitment to comprehensive community revitalization and a proven track record of successfully applying the successful Main Street Approach. Apart from Accredited communities, MSA also congratulated the 341 programs that have been designated as Affiliates, 18 of which are from Virginia. These programs are achieving meaningful economic, social, physical and organizational improvements in their downtowns and commercial districts.

We are thrilled to recognize this year’s Accredited and Affiliate programs and their dedication to the revitalization of their commercial districts. Their hard work to advance strong local economic and improve the quality of life in their downtowns is what makes our national movements so powerful. – Patrice Frey, President & CEO, NMSC

Statewide, countywide and citywide Coordinating Programs evaluate, select, and recommend qualifying communities to MSA on an annual basis. Communities must meet ten rigorous standards to qualify for Accreditation status. 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. Learn more about MSA designation, here!

View MSA’s interactive map to explore all the Accredited and Affiliate MSA communities across the Main Street network.