Downtown Hutchinson has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Trust Main Street Center. Each year, the National Trust and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street programs that have built strong revitalization organizations and demonstrate their ability in using the Main Street Four-Point approach methodology for strengthening their local economy and protecting their historic buildings.

“We congratulate this year’s nationally accredited Main Street programs for meeting our established performance standards,” says Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center. “Accredited Main Street programs are meeting the challenges of the recession head on and are successfully using a focused, comprehensive revitalization strategy to keep their communities vibrant and sustainable.”

Downtown Hutchinson’s performance is annually evaluated and they work in partnership with the National Trust Main Street Center to identify their 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 developing a mission, fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking economic progress, and preserving historic buildings.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. www.PreservationNation.org.