Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street Receives 2020 National Main Street Accreditation

Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street is once again a nationally and state accredited Main Street community following a program visit from representatives of National Main Street Center and Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC). Accreditation is the highest level a downtown revitalization program can achieve.

To receive National and State Accreditation status a community must meet or exceed the 10-point criteria established by the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. These criteria are utilized across the country to recognize high achieving Main Street programs.

The 10-point criteria cover various aspects of revitalization work that help create a sustainable, community-driven Main Street program. These criteria ensure a broad-based community support for the program, a strong historic preservation ethic, active Board of Directors and committees, as well as other technical aspects that help the program function at a high level.

MMSC State Director, Gayla Roten stated “Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street has been the leading force behind the downtown revitalization efforts in Lee’s Summit for over 30 years and that leadership and dedication was recognized national when downtown was named a Great Neighborhood by the American Planning Association in 2019.”

The Accreditation process includes a self-evaluation and submission of materials from the program that support their work for each criteria. Each community was then assessed by MMSC to determine tier placement. Though it is a critical moment for a Missouri Main Street community to become Accredited, it is equally important for the community to maintain the Accreditation status once it has been earned.

Since 2009, Downtown Lee’s Summit has seen public and private investment of over $15.2 million in the historic district. The district has seen a net gain of 80 new businesses and 555 new jobs. Additionally, volunteers for Downtown Lee’s Summit donated 48,050 hours of their time over the last 10 years.

“National and state accreditation is an important benchmark for the work we do here in the community,” said Donnie Rodgers, Jr., executive director of Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street, Inc. “It recognizes that our organization continues to build upon the success of the past 30 years and is one of the premier community revitalization organizations in the country.”

The Missouri Main Street Program’s purpose is to create vibrant communities across the state. This effort is based on numerous recent studies showing that empowering individuals to develop their downtown motivates high achievement, where people will want to live, work, and invest, making our State economically stronger. The goal of the National Main Street Center and Missouri Main Street Connection is to encourage preservation-based economic development through the Main Street Four-Point Approach®.

Gayla Roten, MMSC State Director, noted “Missouri Main Street Connection works diligently to equip our communities with the tools they need to revitalize their historic districts and make them the economic and cultural heart of their community once again. Achieving Accredited status, showcases that Downtown Lee’s Summit is achieving this goal through their work and doing so at an elevated level. We are proud of all they have accomplished.”