ROCKLAND — Rockland Main Street, Inc., 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. 

According to Gordon Page, executive director of Rockland Main Street, Inc., the downtown district has experienced an exponential increase in occupied street level, historic storefronts in the past few months, and that significant private investments are being made to restore and renovate historic buildings. 

“This accreditation and the upsurge in commercial activity is the result of years of ongoing efforts by countless volunteers and city planners who have worked toward the continued revitalization of Main Street”, said Page.  

Page said that maintaining a vibrant downtown district and stabilizing its business base, while working to develop a diverse mix of product offerings is crucial to the continued growth and positive notoriety that the city enjoys.  “Between the city’s community development department, the chamber of commerce, and Rockland Main Street, Inc., we receive several calls each week from people looking for retail and service business space on Main Street”, he said, further stating that, “people know where Rockland is, and they know the city’s potential.” 

In addition to its commitment to the historic preservation of, and economic development in the downtown district, Rockland Main Street, Inc., is the organization that produces the Summer Solstice Celebration and other events like the annual “Midcoast Maine Has Talent – Or Not!” variety show; the “Rockland Has Style” fashion show; the “Festival of Lights Parade and Lobster Trap Christmas Tree”; and the “So You Think You Know Rockland” competition. 

The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by the Maine Downtown Center, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten performance standards. These standards set the benchmarks for measuring an individual Main Street program’s success.  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. 

Rockland is one of only ten Main Street communities in the state of Maine.  The others are Augusta, Bath, Belfast, Biddeford, Brunswick, Gardiner, Saco, Skowhegan and Waterville. 

Working in more than 2,200 downtowns and urban neighborhoods over the last 34 years, the national Main Street program model has leveraged more than $59.6 billion in new public and private investment.  Participating communities have created 502,728 net new jobs and 115,381 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 246,158 buildings, leveraging an average of $33.28 in new investment for every dollar spent on their Main Street district revitalization efforts.