Santa Fe, N.M. – Santa Rosa MainStreet has graduated from the MainStreet Accelerator program and is now an accredited New Mexico MainStreet community.
Santa Rosa MainStreet began the accelerator program in July 2018 via a joint application by the City of Santa Rosa and the Guadalupe County Development Corporation (GCDC). During the last 15 months, the staff, board, and partners of GCDC have completed all trainings, planning activities, and benchmarks required by the MainStreet Accelerator program.
“Santa Rosa MainStreet has worked diligently to complete the accelerator benchmarks and I’m thrilled to congratulate them on their accreditation,” said New Mexico MainStreet Director Daniel Gutierrez.
Santa Rosa was initially designated as a MainStreet community in 2006. Those initial efforts were not sustained, but the community reentered the network as a Frontier Community initiative of the New Mexico MainStreet Program from 2015-2017. During that time, the community completed the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) Revitalization Plan and provided support to the county for the renovation of the historic Pecos Theater in the heart of the downtown district which reopened in August of this year.
“Our community is very excited to receive this accreditation,” said Santa Rosa MainStreet Executive Director Chantel Lovato. “We look forward to our continued work and upcoming projects. Working on the accelerator benchmarks, trainings, and small projects in the last 15 months has energized our community around the many possibilities. Our board and volunteers have worked so hard. This is an exciting step forward.”
Accredited MainStreet communities have access to additional services, resources, and professional assistance that help communities develop successful districts.
“Working on this Mainstreet project has been a long process of hard work,” said GCDC Secretary Treasurer Mary Ann Romero. “In the end, we are beyond satisfied with the reward of the coveted designation for our city and look forward to the great things to come.”
Santa Rosa MainStreet embarked on a number of projects to help revitalize their district including: completing a comprehensive economic analysis that helped clarify the boundaries of the core MainStreet district within the city-adopted MRA; providing business development consultations to local entrepreneurs and prospective downtown business owners; implementing three façade improvement projects on downtown buildings; installing a mural project on Historic Route 66 by acclaimed muralist Doug Quarles; establishing an annual Valentine’s Day fundraiser to generate resources for operations and projects; and initiating long-term planning and development of Economic Transformation Strategies.
From left: GCDC Vice President Alex Carone, City of Santa Rosa Mayor Nelson Kotiar, NMMS Director Daniel Gutierrez, Santa Rosa MS Executive Director Chantel Lovato, GCDC Secretary/Treasurer Mary Ann Romero.
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About New Mexico MainStreet: A program of the New Mexico Economic Development Department, New Mexico MainStreet works throughout the state to help affiliated local organizations create an economically viable business environment while preserving cultural and historic resources. New Mexico MainStreet currently serves 30 affiliated MainStreet Districts, 12 affiliated Arts & Cultural Districts, 4 Frontier and Native American Community projects, and 8 Historic Theater Initiatives. For more information about New Mexico MainStreet, visit www.gonm.biz or www.nmmainstreet.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2019
Contact: Bruce Krasnow
Bruce.Krasnow@state.nm.us
(505) 827-0226, cell: (505) 795-0119