The Delaware Main Street program, modeled after the National Trust Main Street Program, has been in existence since 1995, with consistent annual business and job gains resulting in an average annual net gain of 4 business and 8 jobs per participating town, for each of the most recent six years.

Recently, the Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) expanded the reach of downtown revitalization resouces to all communites statewide by initiating Downtown Delaware, a resource center for issues involving downtown revitalization, with particular emphasis on business development, vacancy reduction, and proactive planning for selection and placement of retail goods and services in commercial business districts throughout Delaware.

In Fiscal 2008, seven designated Main Street towns reported:

• Net gain of 21 businesses and 25 jobs
• A total of $5,319,350 investment in 59 building and public improvments.
• 56 facade improvements and rehabilitation projects completed with $774,136 private and $33,214 public dollars, illustrating a leverage ratio of 23:1, private to public investments.
• A total of 2,756 volunteer hours logged in at local towns, valued at $46,368.

To view a full range of statistics since the inception of Main Street to Delaware, click here.