On Monday, January 26th the City of Porterdale was recognized at the Annual Georgia Main Street Luncheon as one of 17 communities that are graduating from the Georgia Main Street Start-up Program in 2015 to receive the national designation of a Classic Main Street Community.  In the fall of 2013 the City of Porterdale was selected, out of 25 applicants, to participate in the largest Main Street Start-up class in the history of the Georgia Main Street Program.  Over the following 14 months our community has worked closely with the Office of Downtown Development at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to prepare our community, downtown business owners, volunteers and elected officials for the journey ahead.   Through downtown development trainings, community visioning sessions and capacity building activities our newly designated Main Street program is now ready to meet and exceed the guidelines for the 10 National Standards for Accreditation, as laid out by the National Main Street Center.

Billy Peppers, Director of the Office of Downtown Development reflected that “Each of the communities recognized here today has worked hard to earn the distinction of calling themselves a Main Street city.  They join an expansive statewide network now comprised of over 100 designated Main Street Communities.  We know that no matter what challenges lay ahead each of these cities has worked hard to build a solid foundation upon which a successful Main Street Program can be built.”

Mayor Arline Chapman states, “As Porterdale lives up to its designation as one of Georgia’s Renaisance Cities, our becoming a part of the State’s Main Street Program  moves us forward toward our goal of welcoming new business and home buyers to our community. Our Main Street Director, Teri Haler, has done a great job here as well as networking with other cities who will inspire us to accomplish the greater tasks ahead.”

“The Main Street program designation helps the town more than just boosting the Main Street district, although this is understandably the focus. The designation allows lower interest loans from the state for leveraging private development, which benefits the entire community. Additionally, since the Main Street program is national in scope and widely recognized as an indicator of community progress, it helps to secure and retain the types of businesses that will be attracted to our historic district and river recreation focus,” says Village Manager, Bob Thomson.

Main Street Chair, Logan Spencer adds, “In a town founded on hard work and progress, it has been so exciting to see the next major step moving forward with the creation of the Main Street Porterdale’s program. The dedication and work being put into the development and growth of Main Street is only the beginning of things to come.”

“This is fantastic news and is great for the city of Porterdale. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street program offers an approach to downtown revitalization that has been successful in more than a thousand towns and cities throughout the country. The four point process; Organization, Promotion, Design and Economic Restructuring are the keys to the success of the Main Street Program. Congratulations to Teri Haler and the Main Street Board Members for all their long hours and hard work. Well done,” shares Main Street Vice-Chair, John Smith.