NC Main Street Awards

Downtown Elizabeth City was the host of a groundbreaking event that redefined what’s possible for their waterfront, the Bassmaster Elite Series Fishing Tournament and Hooked on the Harbor Festival.

Elm Street Pocket Park in downtown Lumberton has redefined what’s possible for downtown revitalization through art, collaboration, and economic vision.

The Sylva Depot Plaza is a project that proves small-scale infrastructure can have a big impact — not just on a town’s functionality, but on its identity, its economy, and its sense of place.

The Holland Building rehabilitation began with a simple need—a new home for the Statesville Historical Collection—and ended with the rediscovery of a powerful piece of our shared past.

Downtown Concord’s Streetscape project was designed with a bold goal: to reimagine their historic center city as a vibrant, walkable, and economically resilient destination.

The Old Cherry Inn beautifully bridges Tarboro’s past with its future — a shining example of how historic preservation can fuel economic growth, community pride, and creative entrepreneurship.

The Downtown Hendersonville Opportunity Fund exemplifies innovation, collaboration, and a deep commitment to small business resilience.

The restoration of the Harvey has not only restored a beloved landmark but redefined what’s possible for downtown revitalization in New Bern.

“Buck Wild” is a creative, high-impact retail promotion energized downtown Morganton and delivered real results for local businesses.

Osage Mill in Bessemer City is a shining example of historic preservation, community revitalization, and economic innovation.

The Downtown Pittsboro Pop-Up Park has redefined what’s possible for public space in a small town.

The Pine-Nash Redevelopment is a partnership that exemplifies the power of collaboration.

The rehabilitation of the Sanford Savings and Loan Building exemplifies the powerful intersection of historic preservation and economic innovation.

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Outdoor Space Improvement City of Reidsville Reidsville Kiwanis Reidsville Rotary Reidsville Area Foundation Carolina Park & Play ToyMakerz Smith Carolina Corporation Elizabeth Hester Ward Watch The Award Video Sky’s the Limit All-Inclusive Park is located at 119 North Main Street in downtown Reidsville. It began with a citizen who contacted the city’s marketing director and offered to give the city an Aircoupe airplane. Soon after that

2023 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Endangered Properties Rescue Effort Rehab Development Level 2 Development Rehab Builders Rehab Engineering Dunn & Dalton Architects Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation City of Goldsboro Wayne County Watch The Award Video This project began in 2015 with six unused, underutilized, and vacant buildings, located at two 100% corners in downtown Goldsboro. 200, 204, and 206 East Walnut Street, 102 South John Street, 135 and 1

2023 NC Main Street Award: Promotion Best Downtown Special Event or Event Series NC Freedom Fest, Inc. City of Goldsboro Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation United Way of Wayne County Goldsboro Elks Watch The Award Video North Carolina Freedom Fest is a military and first-responders’ appreciation festival designed to bring those groups together with the community to thank those who serve, in a family-friendly setting in Downtown Goldsbor

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Outdoor Space Improvement Greg and Paula Stafford Town of Pittsboro Chatham County NC Department of Transportation Hobbs Architects, PA Emerson Land Planning, PLLC Lynch Mykins Structural Engineers, PC Barton Associates Consulting Engineers Barringer Construction SOLUTIONS Watch The Award Video The SoCo Patio, located at 39 West Street, is a new event, dining, and nightlife destination across the street from the historic Chatham Courtho

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Historic Rehabilitation Project REF Properties West Depot Architecture Moore & Associates Engineering & Consulting, Inc. Kilian Engineering, Inc. A La Carla by Carla Timmons Design Watch The Award Video The former Coca-Cola bottling plant, located at 134 Moore Avenue in downtown Mount Airy, was constructed in 1925, and operated as a bottling facility until the early 1960’s. The 8,000 sq. ft Colonial Revival style building was partially

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Facade Rehabilitation for More Than $15,000 Michael Basnight and Jamie Hatchell, Owners of the Pioneer Theater Melissa Dickerson, Town Manager, Town of Manteo Watch The Award Video The Pioneer Theater opened its doors in 1918 in downtown Manteo, and the theater was operated continuously by the Creef family until November 2022, making it the oldest family-owned small theater in the country. The owners made the difficult decision to close

2023 NC Main Street Award: Promotion Best Downtown Special Event or Event Series The Parenting PATH White Elephant Beer Company Pilot Mountain Main Street Coordinating Committee Town of Pilot Mountain Watch The Award Video The Pilot Mountain Outdoor Adventure Festival & Expo is a multi-day, multi-location event meant to highlight vendors and small-scale manufacturers from the outdoor recreation industry in a street festival setting, while highlighting the unique characteristi

2023 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Healthy Communities Initiative Manteo Main Street Town of Manteo Watch The Award Video The Manteo Downtown Market, located along the waterfront and boardwalk on George Washington Creef Park, is the longest-running farmers market in Dare County, with up to 65 participating vendors each year. What the market was missing was an opportunity to engage the youth of the community, connecting young entrepreneurs with a more mature generati

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Facade Rehabilitation for Less Than $15,000 Laurie Milligan Watch The Award Video The Frazier Building, located at 209 West Main Street in Elkin, North Carolina, was purchased by Laurie Milligan in the fall of 2021 for $165,000. The building had some exterior decay around the doors and windows, and a patchwork of paint that had been randomly added over the years. The Elkin Main Street program, on behalf of Ms. Milligan, requested a faca

2023 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project LMY, Inc. The Bogle Firm Architecture Farmers and Merchants Bank Downtown Statesville Development Corporation Watch The Award Video The Jenkins Building, located at 212 South Center Street, is a three-story, 10,500 square-foot building in downtown Statesville, built in 1922. The large open floor plan was ideal for retail, and it was originally the home to Nichols Furniture Company. The Downtown Statesvi

2023 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project Landmark Development Randolph Senior Adults Association City of Asheboro Dunn & Dalton Architects Rehab Engineering KMW Builders Fearnbach History Services, Inc. Watch The Award Video In 2017 Landmark Development embarked on a project to rehabilitate the former Parks Hosiery Mill-McCrary Hosiery Mill Number Two, located at 170 North Church Street in downtown Asheboro, into apartments to serve the senior

2023 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Healthy Communities Initiative Town of Waxhaw Downtown Waxhaw Association Nassiri Development Volkert, Inc. Gresham Smith & Partners NC Department of Transportation Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization Union County Water Watch The Award Video A key to having a healthy community is to provide better connectivity through sidewalks that are accessible for all. Connecting neighborhoods to commercial districts makes f

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Historic Rehabilitation Project The Bonanza Group Garanco, Inc. Architectural Design Associates, PLLC Watch The Award Video The Royall’s Building, located at 128 West Main Street in downtown Elkin, is the former Elkin Hospital and Turner Drug. It later became Royall’s Soda Shoppe and Drug Store, a beloved hangout for the community. But after almost one-hundred years, Royall’s closed its doors in January 2020. The Bonanza Group purchas

2023 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project Josh Barnhardt The Bogle Firm Architecture Vertex Construction Watch The Award Video The Salisbury Building, located at 121 West Council Street in downtown Salisbury, is a 1928 Art Deco office building that was rehabilitated into twelve apartments. The building was built to house the Southern Bell telecommunication center and had most recently been used as office space. The three-story building is 18,000

2023 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Upper Floor Redevelopment Dee and Scott Spruce Down East Preservation Jennifer Harriss Consultation Watch The Award Video In March 2020, Dee and Scott Spruce purchased 415 South Broad Street in downtown Edenton. The previous owner had used the first floor for her hair salon and the second floor was used for storage. The underutilized property offered an opportunity. On behalf of the Spruce’s, Destination Downtown Edenton, re

2023 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Outdoor Space Improvement Virgil and Mitzi Settle North State Design Group Wall Landscaping Watch The Award Video The Elkin RailYard, located at 203 West Depot Alley, was once a residential property, however, the house was removed in the 1990s, and the lot had been vacant and overgrown since that time. Virgil and Mitzi Settle purchased the lot with a vision to create an outdoor beer garden, reminiscent of the beer gardens found in Europ

2022 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Outdoor Space Improvement City of Salisbury Bell Tower Green, Inc. LandDesign Alfred C. Wilson and Company Watch The Award Video Jethro Rumple, author of the 1881 book “A History of Rowan County,” called for a “ place where inhabitants might refresh themselves by breathing the pure air that comes whispering through the rustling leaves of trees. ” One hundred forty years later, Rumple’s vision was realized in the creation of Bell Tower

2022 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Outdoor Space Improvement Mount Airy Downtown, Inc. Mount Airy Tourism Development Authority City of Mount Airy Mount Airy Public Works Department Surrey Bank & Trust JEKS Watch The Award Video Andy Griffith was a North Carolina icon, actor, musician, writer, and a lifelong advocate for the arts. The Andy Griffith Plaza Project was led by Mount Airy Downtown, Incorporated, in partnership with the Mount Airy Tourism Development Authorit

2022 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project American Bank of the Carolinas Steve Buxbaum Union County Entrepreneurs Town of Waxhaw Watch The Award Video Downtown Waxhaw is well known for its restaurants and entertainment but is often not the first thought for local shopping. Waxhaw’s Main Street Program has a list of more than forty businesses that wish to locate in downtown, but there has been limited available space. That changed when Mark He

2022 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Infill Building Project InStep Properties, LLC Belmont Main Street Program City of Belmont Watch The Award Video The original Belmont train station was constructed in 1910 as a water stop for trains along the Norfolk Southern railway. The station is now a popular restaurant and bar, with a cycle shop in the rear. Realizing the need for additional retail and restaurant space in Downtown Belmont, the owners of the train stati

2022 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Infill Building Project Karen & Bob Rowe Concept 8 Holdings, LLC Oak City Partners, LLC Williard Stewart Architect s Watch The Award Video The 15-unit Spring Townhomes new construction infill project was a catalyst for economic development in downtown Fuquay-Varina. The project, started in 2017 and completed in early 2021, met the demand for downtown housing. While igniting the downtown living trend in the Fuquay district, t

2022 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Infill Building Project Town of Garner Garner Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department Downtown Garner Association Watch The Award Video In August 2021, the transformational Garner Recreation Center opened in historic downtown Garner. Construction began in 2017 for the 40,000 square feet facility that has enticed, 200 member sign-ups and has drawn more than 75,000 visitors to Downtown Garner since its opening. The

2022 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Infill Building Project Downtown Properties, LLC Bogle Firm Architecture Ritchie Engineering SE Collins Consulting Engineers Design Engineering Vertex Construction City of Salisbury Watch The Award Video This well-travelled corner in downtown Salisbury had previously included a former service station, two warehouses, and automobile buildings, all of which had been vacant for years. Downtown Properties, LLC, is comprised of m

2022 NC Main Street Award: Promotion Best Downtown Special Event or Event Series Belmont Main Street Program Downtown Belmont Development Association City of Belmont Belmont Tourism Development Authority Gaston County Tourism Elements of Empowerment Gaston County Arts Guild Watch The Award Video During three consecutive weekends in October and November 2021, Moonlight on Main took place in Downtown Belmont. This event series resulted from the partnership of numerous org

2022 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project Bob & Elizabeth Johnson Plus Architecture Focus Design Builders Philip Freeman Benchmark Bank Town of Wake Forest Economic Development Department Watch The Award Video In 2020, a need for collaborative workspace for entrepreneurs and remote workers was identified in Downtown Wake Forest. The Loading Dock, a coworking company, was recruited to the community and a former 1960s warehouse was transforme

2022 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Recognition Downtown Belmont Development Association Belmont Main Street Program Watch The Award Video Volunteers are essential to every Main Street organization. In the fall of 2021, the Downtown Belmont Economic Vitality Chairman and members of the Promotion Committee decided to set up shop in a downtown coffee shop at noon and 6:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month with the hope of

2022 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Economic Recovery Initiative City of Lenoir Main Street Program Lenoir Tourism Development Authority Watch The Award Video COVID-19’s shifting mandates and gathering restrictions made creating the 2021 Downtown Lenoir promotions schedule challenging. In response, the Promotions Team and City of Lenoir Main Street staff created its own “PPP” program consisting of the Leprechaun Chase Scavenger Hunt , Haunted Halloween Heist ,

2022 NC Small Town Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Town of Wilkesboro Wilkesboro Planning & Community Development Department Watch The Award Video Former Wilkesboro Mayor Pete Mann had an idea for a small downtown area plan back in the 1990s. That plan took on a new meaning in 2009 when Historic Downtown Wilkesboro became a designated Small Town Main Street Community, and in 2011, the Historic Downtown Wilkesboro Masterplan was finalized. In 2014, the Wilkesboro Town

The Orpheum, Oxford NC 2021 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Historic Rehabilitation Project Stuart Paynter Britnye & Cody Shore CH Archit

202 South Sterling 2021 NC Main Street Award: Design Best Historic Rehabilitation Project Thornwell Properties, LLC Stout Studio Architectu

Transylvania Tomorrow 2021 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Economic Recovery Initiative

Pfeiffer University Center for Health Sciences 2021 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Public-Private Partnership in Downtown

Laurinburg DAC/Scotland County Economic Development Corporation Partnership 2021 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Public-Private Par

112-114 E. Innes St. Project Barnhardt Jewelers & Lofts on Innes 2021 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project

Oxford's Strong Arm Bakery 2021 NC Main Street Award: Economic Vitality Best Adaptive Reuse Project Thomas & Julia Blaine Belk Architecture

Electric Light Fantasy-A Holiday Laser & Music Extravaganza 2021 NC Main Street Award: Promotion Best Downtown Special Event or Event Serie

Heart of Salisbury 2021 NC Main Street Award: Organization Best Public-Private Partnership in Downtown Wellness & Arts Properties, LLC The