Oregon Main Street announced its 2018 “Excellence in Downtown Revitalization” award winners at its Excellence in Downtown Revitalization Awards event earlier today in Albany at the award winning Pix Theatre. The eighteen projects, businesses, & individuals honored are: Best Façade Over $7500 – The Metropolis Building, Woodburn; Best Building Restoration – Haskell Building, Baker City; Best Interior Renovation – Black Ink Coffee & White Rabbit Gifts, Oregon City; Best Placemaking Project – Port Orford Main Street Revitalization Association’s Property Revitalization project, Port Orford; Best Adaptive Reuse – Mo’s Chowder Restaurant, Astoria; Best Economic Vitality Activity – Albany Downtown; Association’s Downtown Albany Welcome Brochure, Albany; Best New Business – Good to Go, Astoria; Retailer of the Year – Gimre’s Shoes, Astoria; Business of the Year – Barley Brown’s Beer, Baker City; Board Member of the Year – Christina Knowles of Albany Downtown Association, Albany; Volunteer of the Year – Mary Ann Miesner of La Grande Main Street Downtown; Leadership Award – Carol Pauli of Downtown Oregon City Association, Oregon City; Best Organization Activity – St. Helens Economic Development Corporation’s (SHEDCO) St. Helens Steps Out mobile app, St. Helens; Best Partnership – Republic Services, Woodburn; Main Street Manager of the Year – Karen Auborn of Port Orford Main Street Revitalization Association, Port Orford; Best Special Event – Greater Bandon Association’s Bandon By the Sea 4th of July, Bandon; Best Image Activity – City of Woodburn’s Taste of Woodburn Campaign, Woodburn; Best Downtown Retail Event – Baker City Little Big Show, Baker City. “The award winners reflect some of the highest achievements in downtown revitalization efforts across the state,” said Sheri Stuart, state coordinator, Oregon Main Street. “It is gratifying to see the progress being made to revitalize historic downtowns across the state. This is happening because of the dedicated staff and volunteers who share a commitment to their downtowns and a passion to make their communities a better place.” The wide range of awards is reflective of the comprehensive Main Street Approach® to downtown revitalization developed by the National Main Street Center. This model is used by the communities participating in the three-tier Main Street Track of Oregon Main Street Network. From 2010 to 2017, communities participating in the Performing Main Street and Transforming Downtown levels – the top two tiers – have seen $97,218,322 in private building improvement projects, $99,134,718 in public projects, 1,258 private rehab projects, 647 net new businesses, and 3,367 net new jobs. In addition, over 180,000 hours of volunteer time has been contributed to local main street organizations across the state. Oregon Main Street is part of Heritage Programs, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. For additional information, visit www.oregonheritage.org.
