Downtown Newark receives national accreditation

Hoping to prove it is making steps to strengthen the local economy and downtown district, Newark is on a list of accredited Main Street Programs.

Downtown Newark Partnership, a volunteer based organization committed to revitalizing the city has received the 2012 National Trust Main Street Accreditation. This comes after the city met revitalization standards required by the National Trust Main Street Center. Every year, the NTMSC looks for cities that are dedicated to economic enhancement of downtown districts and demonstrate the ability to preserve historic buildings.

“Accredited Main Street programs are meeting the challenges of the recession head on and are successfully using a focused, comprehensive revitalization strategy to keep their communities vibrant and sustainable,” said Doug Loescher, Director of the National Trust Main Street Center.

In 2011, Downtown Newark became home to a dozen new businesses. In fact, reports indicate that such growth is the reason why the vacancy rate in the downtown district is low. Earlier this year in February, a survey revealed the vacancy rate in the downtown district to be 3.77 percent, which is less than half of the national average of 8.2 percent.

“The Downtown Newark Partnership’s Main Street effort has been successful in large part due to the unique collaboration between the business and residential communities, the City of Newark and the University of Delaware,” said Planning & Development Director Maureen Feeney Roser.