PICKENS – The Pickens Revitalization Association 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.
The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by Main Street South Carolina, 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.
“Pickens Revitalization Association is extremely pleased to receive this accreditation, as it allows us to continue with plans for revitalizing Pickens,” said Allison Fowler, executive director of the Pickens Revitalization Association. “2014 was a big year for Pickens with 17 net new businesses, over $8 million in public and private investment, and new opportunities for recreation with Town Creek Bike Park and the announcement of the Doodle Trail.”