Rehoboth Beach Main Street earns national reaccreditation

Rehoboth Beach Main Street has again been designated as an accredited Main Street America program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. 

Each year, the center and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs to recognize their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street approach.

Patrice Frey, president and CEO of the National Main Street Center, said, “These 840 programs deserve recognition for generating impressive economic returns, preserving community character, and celebrating local history. Main Street America-accredited communities are part of a powerful movement of change makers, and their dedication to improving quality of life in the places they call home is inspiring.”

In 2018 alone, Main Street America programs generated $4.93 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 5,310 net new businesses, generated 25,301 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,146 historic buildings, and clocked 2.2 million volunteer hours.

Rehoboth Beach Main Street’s performance is annually evaluated by Delaware on Main – Department of State Division of Small Business, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards. Evaluation criteria that help identify the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.

Rehoboth Beach Main Street programs and activities are designed to assist and support downtown Rehoboth Beach business owners, entrepreneurs and property owners; highlight businesses that are the economic lifeblood of the community; promote a positive image of downtown Rehoboth Beach as a great place to live, visit and shop; assist with beautification of the downtown area; and encourage involvement of community stakeholders. Small businesses provide Rehoboth Beach with its unique appeal. Rehoboth Beach Main Street fosters community awareness and appreciation through communication and support to local businesses as the key to success.

Rehoboth Beach Main Street and its various projects are funded by the City of Rehoboth Beach and through memberships, donations and grant opportunities.

Rehoboth Beach Main Street 2019 included: Implementing the downtown banner program; sponsoring Rehoboth in Bloom, which works to promote downtown beautification, community spirit and involvement; providing the sign and awning matching grant program; leading 2019 Cottage & Town Awards, which recognize residential and commercial property owners who contribute to the charm, beauty and history of downtown Rehoboth through architectural and landscape architectural renovation, restoration and preservation; presenting quarterly business assistance workshops in conjunction with the Small Business Development Center at no cost to downtown Rehoboth Beach business and property owners; hosting meet-and-greet mixers for downtown Rehoboth Beach business and restaurant owners; creating, maintaining and publishing downtown Rehoboth Beach commercial property vacancy lists; restoring the annual Community Unity Spaghetti Dinner; organizing the annual Cocoa Crawl - Shop and Dine Local event, with great deals, holiday music and decor, art by Delaware artisans, and delicious foods from the best local restaurants, with RBMS-provided complimentary cocoa inside all participating stores; creating and sponsoring the downtown Black Friday and Small Business Saturdays; and continuing to recruit community volunteers to its committees as well as add more businesses to the Main Street membership programs.

Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. It is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For more information, go to www.downtownrb.com.