Downtown Visions’ Main Street Wilmington program has been designated as an accredited Main Street™ program of 2021 for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of accredited programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.
Main Street Wilmington’s performance is annually evaluated by Delaware on Main, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building meaningful and sustainable revitalization programs and include standards such as, fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.
As a Main Street America Affiliate™, Main Street Wilmington is part of a national network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities who share both a commitment to creating high-quality places and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.
In 2020, Main Street Wilmington also established programs to help our Downtown Business Community reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown.
Curbside Wilmington introduced expanded outdoor dining to support local businesses and encourage patrons to return to the rejuvenated Downtown District during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Expanded outdoor dining allowed Downtown restaurants to expand their patio spaces and outdoor dining into former parking spaces directly in front of their businesses, thereby allowing more seating at safely spaced distances in accordance with Governor Carney’s guidelines. Also, curbside pull-in spots were designated throughout the Downtown area for all businesses, both retail and restaurants, to use for pick-up and curbside delivery.
Dine Downtown Deal rewarded customers for supporting downtown restaurants. After submitting 5 eligible receipts from Downtown eateries, diners received a gift card in the amount of 20% of the total meals purchased to the business of their choice in the Wilmington Downtown Business Improvement District (BID).
Free Valet Parking was started during the pandemic to make it as easy as possible for patrons to visit Downtown Wilmington. It is available on Friday and Saturday evenings from 5-10 PM at 7th & Market Streets.
Free Shipping Promotion covered the cost of standard shipping for all online purchases made from participating Downtown Wilmington DE retailers.
To date, Main Street Wilmington has helped to build a better Downtown by:
Helping to create 1,800+ jobs
Restoring 53 building facades
Removing 28 roll down security gates
Providing grants to 72 businesses
“We are proud to recognize this year’s 889 nationally accredited Main Street programs that have worked tirelessly to advance economic vitality and quality of life in their downtowns and commercial districts,” said Patrice Frey, President & CEO of Main Street America. “During an incredibly challenging year, these programs demonstrated the power of the Main Street movement to drive impressive local recovery efforts, champion small businesses, and foster vibrant downtown districts. I am inspired by their hard work and confident that these accredited communities will continue to help their downtowns flourish in the next stages of recovery.”