Each year, Main Street America announce its list of accredited programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization. Recently releasing the 2021 list, Building a Better Boyertown has been recognized as an accredited Main Street program.
“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.
Building a Better Boyertown’s performance is annually evaluated by the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards.
Evaluation criteria determine 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.
In the past year, Building a Better Boyertown has welcomed four new businesses such as Semper Pie, a veteran-owned cheesecake shop, and Happy Zen Mama, a boutique gift shop, into their town. They’ve also begun work on a pollinator garden and eating space to be put in by the Colebrookdale Railroad.
Beyond that, they’ve recently began to safely host events once again to bring the community together after over a year of separation.
“We’re very proud to continue to uphold this level of excellence, and we look forward to serving our community in the best way we can” said Jillian Magee, Main Street Manager of BaBB.
“The Main Street America accreditation is something we’ve strived to achieve every year since 2015, and we’re eager to continue meeting the standards of national accreditation into the future.”
Looking forward, Building a Better Boyertown aims to continue preserving the town’s heritage and to host more events such as Oktoberfest, Comedy Night, and Duryea Days to engage with their community in fun and safe ways.
