The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center announced today, that Manteo, Murphy, Pilot Mountain, and Pittsboro have been selected as the latest North Carolina Main Street communities.  This is a designation that municipalities earn after meeting rigorous national downtown development requirements.  The designation becomes effective July 1, 2022.

“Congratulations to Manteo, Murphy, Pilot Mountain, and Pittsboro for joining the ranks of our state’s Main Street communities,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders.  “This designation demonstrates the hardworking leadership in these four towns.  They have fully committed to improving the economic well-being of their towns through the North Carolina Main Street program, and their work will serve as a model for other communities considering downtown revitalization.”

Manteo, Murphy, and Pilot Mountain each received two years of services through the Main Street Program’s Downtown Associate Community (DAC) program and Pittsboro completed the Small Town Main Street program, which support sustainable economic revitalization through strategic planning and organizational development.  These communities now have the tools to successfully implement a comprehensive Main Street program. 

“These communities are joining the ranks of 1,200 designated Main Street communities across the country that collectively makeup the largest network for downtown revitalization in the United States,” said Liz Parham, director of the N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center.  “Manteo, Murphy, Pilot Mountain, and Pittsboro all have unique assets that they will expand through the Main Street program, for economic growth and development in downtown, and we are excited to see the success stories that they will implement.” 

Since 1980, N.C. Main Street communities have leveraged more than $4 billion in public and private investment in their downtown districts, creating more than 30,000 net new jobs and rehabilitating 7,200 buildings.  There are 69 designated Main Street communities in North Carolina.

The N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center is North Carolina's state coordinating program for Main Street America.  Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 40 years.  It is the leading voice for preservation-based economic development and community revitalization across the country.  Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, Main Street America represents the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.  Working together, the programs that make up the Main Street America network help to breathe new life into the places people call home. 

The N.C. Main Street and Rural Planning Center works in regions, counties, cities, towns, downtown districts and in designated North Carolina Main Street communities to inspire placemaking through asset-based economic development strategies that achieve measurable results such as investment, business growth and jobs.

For more information, visit the N.C. Main Street page here.