TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NM — MainStreet Truth or Consequences has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Main Street Center®, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Each year, the National Main Street Center and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street® programs that have built strong revitalization organizations and demonstrate their ability in using the Main Street Four Point Approach® methodology for strengthening their local economy and protecting their historic buildings.
“We congratulate this year’s nationally accredited Main Street programs for meeting our established performance standards,” says Valecia Crisafulli, acting director of the National Main Street Center. “Accredited Main Street programs are meeting the challenges of the downtown in the economy head on and are successfully using a focused, comprehensive revitalization strategy to keep their communities vibrant and sustainable.”
"MainStreet Truth or Consequences is excited about national accreditation again this year,” said Linda DeMarino, President of MainStreet Truth or Consequences. “We feel that MainStreet brings about positive change in our community. We are committed to our mission and are open to input from our community.”
The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by New Mexico MainStreet which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten performance standards. These standards set the benchmarks for measuring an individual Main Street program’s application of the Main Street Four Point Approach® to commercial district revitalization. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as developing a mission, fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking economic progress and preserving historic buildings.
MainStreet Truth or Consequences has had an economic impact of over $201,800 to the area’s local economy this past year. The impact is measured through in-kind and cash donations, capital outlay expenditures, and public funding, events sponsored, training provided, and community service.
MainStreet Truth or Consequences' mission is to preserve and enhance historic downtown Truth or Consequences through historic preservation, economic development, improvement of physical conditions, and promotion of community pride. This mission is accomplished through events including the Hot Springs Festival, Halloween Downtown, Old Fashioned Christmas, Second Saturday Art Hop, and the Young da Vinci's.
Established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980, the National Main Street Center helps communities of all sizes revitalize their older and historic commercial districts. Working in more than 2,200 downtowns and urban neighborhoods over the last 32 years, the Main Street program has leveraged more than $55.7 billion in new public and private investment. Participating communities have created 473,535 net new jobs and 109,693 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 236,418 buildings, leveraging an average of $18 in new investment for every dollar spent on their Main Street district revitalization efforts.