The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced the selection of 12 Tennessee communities to participate in the ninth round of the Tennessee Downtowns program. The selected communities are Adamsville, Baxter, Byrdstown, Camden, Decatur, Gleason, Jellico, Loudon, McEwen, Munford, Spring City, and Wartrace.
The Tennessee Downtowns program, established in 2010, assists communities in revitalizing their traditional commercial districts, enhancing community livability, creating jobs, and preserving the historic character of downtown areas. The two-year program provides training through the National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach® and a $15,000 grant for a downtown improvement project.
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With the addition of these 12 communities, the program has now served 90 communities in total. The highly competitive selection process considered factors such as historic commercial resources, economic and physical need, demonstrated local effort, overall presentation, and probability of success.
Communities that complete the Tennessee Downtowns program become eligible for additional Downtown Improvement Grants and Main Street designation. Currently, there are 47 nationally accredited Main Street communities in Tennessee, 11 of which completed the Tennessee Downtowns program before their national accreditation.
The mission of the TNECD is to develop strategies to make Tennessee the top location for high-quality jobs in the Southeast. The department works to attract new corporate investment and facilitate expansion and economic growth for Tennessee companies.
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