Main Street America Gives National Recognition to 21 Main Street Oakland County® Communities
- Berkley, Clawson, Farmington, Ferndale, Franklin, Highland, Holly, Ortonville, Oxford, Lake Orion, Rochester and Royal Oak earned accredited status.
- Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Clarkston, Hazel Park, Lyon Township/New Hudson, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pontiac and South Lyon received affiliate status.
- More than $88 million in new public and private investments have been made to Main Street Oakland County downtowns.
Pontiac, Mich. – Twenty-one out of 28 Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) communities have been recognized by Main Street America for their commitment to improving their downtowns using preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.
This annual accreditation process has two tiers of national designation: accredited and affiliate. The accredited status is Main Street America’s top tier of recognition. It proves a community has met the six Community Evaluation Standards, such as strategy-driven programming, and baseline requirements, including a revitalization budget. Affiliate communities have shown efforts toward meeting those standards.
Berkley, Clawson, Farmington, Ferndale, Franklin, Highland, Holly, Ortonville, Oxford, Lake Orion, Rochester and Royal Oak earn accredited status.
Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Clarkston, Hazel Park, Lyon Township/New Hudson, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pontiac and South Lyon received affiliate status.
In 2023, more than $88 million in new public and private investments have been made to MSOC downtowns, helping to establish 185 new businesses generate almost 250 jobs and restore 123 buildings. In that same year, Main Street America honored John Bry, MSOC program coordinator with the Mary Means Leadership Award, the organization’s highest honor.
Established in 2000, Main Street Oakland County is the first and only county in the U.S. to operate a full-service, countywide Main Street coordinating program.
About Main Street America
Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have generated more than $107.62 billion in new public and private investment, generated 175,323 net new businesses and 782,059 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 335,675 buildings, and levered over 35.3 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.