MAIN STREET ACCREDITATION
The Town of Waxhaw Main Street Program has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program
for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National
Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America
programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and
community revitalization through the Main Street Approach.
“We are thrilled to honor this year’s 829 nationally accredited Main Street America programs for their
commitment to preservation-based economic development and the revitalization of their commercial districts,”
says Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “The power of Main Street shines across
the country through these vibrant communities, who have all worked to generate impressive economic returns,
preserve community character, and celebrate local history.”
In 2017 alone, Main Street America programs generated $4.48 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 6,211
net new businesses, generated 30,294 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,737 historic buildings, and
clocked 2.7 million volunteer hours.
The Town of Waxhaw Main Street Program’s performance is annually evaluated by the N.C. Main Street & Rural
Planning Center, which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs
that meet ten national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building
comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private
partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.
In 2017, Downtown Waxhaw had a net gain of 6 new businesses and welcomed 63 new residential units. Since
January 2018, Downtown Waxhaw has added six more small businesses, enhanced its Coworking Space, and
kicked off the design work on a major pedestrian improvement project.
The Waxhaw Main Street Program works to make Downtown Waxhaw into Union County’s hub for diverse retail
shops, award-winning eating and drinking establishments, local artisans, and cultural events.
Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years.
Today, it is a network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and
communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment
to place and to building stronger communities through
preservation-based economic development. Since 1980,
communities participating in the program have leveraged more
than $74.73 billion in new public and private investment,
generated 614,716 net new jobs and 138,303 net new businesses,
and rehabilitated more than 276,790 buildings. Main Street
America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street
Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation.