Selmer picked for new downtown revitalization program

March 5– Commissioner Matt Kisber of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced Wedneday that 10 communities have been picked to participate in Tennessee Downtowns, a community improvement program for cities and counties seeking to revitalize traditional commercial districts.

The selected communities are: Selmer, Paris, Celina, Erwin, Jefferson City, Martin, Milan, Mt. Pleasant, Monterey, and Sweetwater.

"Tennessee Downtowns represents a valuable opportunity for communities to receive meaningful assistance for revitalizing their central business districts, which serve as a foundation for sustainable economic development," Kisber said.

The 10 selected communities are each home to downtown commercial districts established at least 50 years ago and have demonstrated their readiness to organize efforts for downtown revitalization based on the "Main Street Four-Point Approach to Downtown Revitalization."

The competitive selection process was based on five core criteria: historic resources, need (economic and physical), demonstrated local effort, overall presentation and probability of success.

Tennessee Downtowns is part of ECD’s Tennessee Main Street Program and will award reimbursable innovation project grants of up to $15,000 to participating communities.

The successful applicants will also receive an 18-month program of technical assistance, which includes training on downtown revitalization and historic preservation, an introductory site visit and attendance at a two-day downtown revitalization workshop.

Program directors in Tennessee Main Street communities will also mentor and assist Tennessee Downtowns in their revitalization efforts.

"Investing in a vibrant central business district is not only smart for communities, it’s imperative in a successful long-term growth strategy," said Rick Meredith, assistant commissioner of Community Development at ECD.