The city of Georgetown’s Main Street Program has been designated as an accredited Main Street America program after meeting performance standards set by the National Main Street Center, according to a new release.

Each year, the National Main Street Center announces the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization, the release stated.

“In Georgetown we are lucky to have our incredible board, volunteers and staff help us earn accreditation once again from the National Main Street Center,” Downtown Development Manager Kim Mcauliffe said in the release. “It’s through their hard work and dedication that we are able to have such a robust program that is creating economic opportunities in our community.”

The Georgetown Main Street Program is a preservation-driven, economic development organization. In the past 15 years, the Main Street Façade & Sign Grant Program has awarded more than $469,000 to 80 downtown businesses and property owners, the release said. Most recently in May, the Georgetown Main Street Program presented Lark and Owl Booksellers with a $20,500 Main Street Façade & Sign Grant, according to the release.

“Since 1981, many Texas communities have participated in the Main Street network and used its preservation-based framework to generate positive economic gains for their local economies and the state,” said Texas Historical Commission Executive Director Mark Wolfe, in the release. “These positive strides happen because of local commitment to prioritize historic downtowns.”

Accreditation is awarded to communities that build and maintain revitalization efforts, including fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings, the release said.