Gathered for the annual Accreditation meeting with New Mexico MainStreet officials Nov.30, from top left, LACDC Board Chair Bill Wadt, LACDC Executive Director Lauren McDaniel, Chamber Director Ryn Herrmann, Los Alamos MainStreet Futures President David Jolly, County Economic Development Administrator Dan Ungerleider, LACDC Board Secretary Carol A. Clark, County Marketing Specialist Kelly Stewart, LACDC Board Vice Chair Craig Wehner, former Councilor Sara Scott, Los Alamos MainStreet & Creative District Executive Director Jacquelyn Connolly, NM MainStreet Project Coordinator Lucas Pedraza and Michelle Negrette, LACDC Board Member Cindy Rooney and NM MainStreet Director Daniel J. Gutierrez. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
MainStreet & Creative District News:
Los Alamos MainStreet (LAMS) and Creative District has been designated as an Accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of Accredited programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.
“We are very proud to acknowledge this year’s 862 Accredited Main Street America programs, and their steadfast dedication to nurture economically and culturally vibrant downtown districts,” Main Street America Interim President & CEO Hannah White said. “The increase in the size and impact of our network speaks volumes to the power of the Main Street movement to respond to the needs of local communities and drive innovative solutions.”
In 2022, Main Street America programs generated $6.2 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 7,657 net new businesses, facilitated the creation of 29,174 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 10,688 historic buildings, and leveraged 1,528,535 volunteer hours. On average, for every dollar that a Main Street program spent to support their operations, it generated $24.07 of new investment back into their downtown communities.
Collectively, 2 million people live or work within the boundaries of designated Main Street America districts. An estimated workforce of 1.1 million people contribute their skills and expertise to advancing the missions of these historic downtowns and commercial corridors.
“It’s an honor to partner with Main Street America in support of our mission to engage people, rebuild places, and revitalize economies in New Mexic,” New Mexico MainStreet Director Daniel J. Gutierrez said. “I know firsthand that our Executive Directors work extremely hard to achieve and maintain their Accredited & Affiliated status. Kudos to all for their continued efforts and this achievement.”
LAMS and Creative District’s performance is annually evaluated by New Mexico MainStreet, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet rigorous national performance standards. To qualify for Accreditation status, communities must meet a set of rigorous standards that include commitments to building grassroots revitalization programs, fostering strong public-private partnerships, nurturing economic opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and actively preserving historic places, spaces, and cultural assets.
LAMS and Creative District strives to work with the downtown businesses to identify unique ways to promote local goods and services, highlight the local science and history culture, and bring more people downtown.
“I’m excited to see that we’ve earned Accreditation once again,” said David Jolly, the Metzger’s General Manager who serves as President of Los Alamos MainStreet Futures, an advisory group composed of local business owners, Los Alamos County councilors, community leaders and County staff. “This opens up opportunities to use resources from the state MainStreet organization to help Los Alamos. It’s also a testament to the hard work Jacquelyn Connolly and the rest of the staff at LACDC put into running a first-class program.”
LAMS has New Mexico’s only MainStreet program with two designated areas, one in the Los Alamos downtown and one in White Rock’s commercial area. As such, LAMS spearheaded the White Rock Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) designation process and later supported the MRA Plan development, bringing resources and expertise from New Mexico MainStreet to accelerate the process.
Over the past year, LAMS, has also collaborated with the Chamber of Commerce to run a second cohort of the Business Accelerator. Since its inception in 2021, this program has helped six new businesses in town to pilot a concept and then open their own brick and mortar locations. Numerous other entrepreneurs have also participated and started their own concepts. Bringing resources from New Mexico MainStreet, New Mexico Economic Development Department, and LANL, this program will begin a new, exciting, expansion in 2023.
In addition to the Business Accelerator, LAMS distributes small grants for local events and small businesses to bring more people downtown and keep dollars in the community and assists with other promotional efforts, including Small Business Saturday.
In partnership with Los Alamos County, LAMS collaborates with sponsors and partners to host five annual events:
- Los Alamos ScienceFest in July;
- Fair & Rodeo Parade in August;
- Day of Arts and Culture and Trick-or-Treat on MainStreet in October; and
- WinterFest Holiday Lights Parade in December.
In addition to a summer Tuesday concert series and many other performances, LAMS also manages the weekly Los Alamos Farmers’ Markets on Thursdays, May-October and Saturdays June-September. It will launch a new business database and map later this year.
For more information, visit www.LosAlamosMainStreet.
Los Alamos ScienceFest 2023: Energy, will be July 7-18. See www.LosAlamosScienceFest.com.