Foley Main Street has been designated as an accredited Main Street America program for the fifth-straight year, Executive Director Darrelyn Dunmore announced on Thursday.

Main Street America, alongside its partners, develop a list of designated programs each year that deserve recognition for exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization. The initiative estimates that every dollar a Main Street program spent to support operations in 2023 generated $18.03 of new investment back into downtown and commercial communities. In total, Main Street programs helped create $5.68 billion in local reinvestment, 6,630 net new businesses and 35,162 net new jobs while also aiding the rehabilitation of 10,556 historic buildings, on 1,664,763 volunteer hours, according to Main Street America.

The organization’s personnel and board of directors evaluated the Foley branch through a series of assessments that were designed to help spotlight local programs that meet national community evaluation standards.

“To quality for Accredited status — Main Street America’s top designation tier — communities must demonstrate a proven track record of achieving outcomes in alignment with the Main Street Approach and exceptional performance in six areas: broad-based community commitment to revitalization; inclusive leadership and organizational capacity; diversified funding and sustainable program operations; strategy-driven programming; preservation-based economic development; and demonstrated impact and results,” FMS’s press release stated.

Through FMS monitoring city and private spending relative to downtown development, the Downtown Foley district reports 44 net new businesses and 66 new jobs, with $2,537,982 of public investment and $12,433,895 of private investment in just five years. Its board of directors and volunteers have logged roughly 4,400 hours dedicated to Downtown Foley.

"Foley Main Street, celebrating the end of their fifth year, has exceeded the city's expectations from when we began the process of becoming a main street district” Mayor Ralph Hellmich said. “Our progress shows what we can achieve when we partner with private businesses and organizations to accomplish goals.”

Main Street America announced 800 accredited programs overall, in which CEO Erin Barnes referred to its leaders as visionaries who create the world we all want to live in through grassroots collaboration.