Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge receives 2015 National Main Street Accreditation

Bainbridge, Georgia (April 9, 2015) – The Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge 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 in recognition of their exemplary commitment to historic preservation and community
revitalization through the Main Street Four Point Approach®.

The mission of the Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge is to stimulate revitalization of downtown
Bainbridge through initiatives that enhance business growth, strengthen arts and culture, promote residential
development, and preserve downtown’s unique inventory of historic properties.
“This year, 2015, marks the 25th Anniversary of the Bainbridge Main Street Program,” says Amanda Glover,
Director of the Downtown Development Authority of Bainbridge. “We recently completed the Downtown
Bainbridge Master Plan, and received the Gold Level Award of Excellence for the Downtown Bainbridge
Branding Campaign. We are thrilled to be located in City Hall whose rehabilitation received the highest honor
from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Marguerite Williams Award for Excellence in
Rehabilitation.”

“Things are happening in Downtown Bainbridge,” says Julie Harris, Community Affairs Director for the City of
Bainbridge. “Downtown buildings are being purchased and rehabbed, new businesses are opening, and a
multitude of family-friendly activities are scheduled, such as the Downtown Farmers’ Market. If you haven’t
been downtown in a while, you are certainly missing out on a variety of fine shops and dining establishments.”

“We congratulate this year’s nationally accredited Main Street programs for their outstanding accomplishment
in meeting the National Main Street Center’s 10 Standards of Performance,” says Patrice Frey, President & CEO
of the National Main Street Center. “As the National Main Street Center celebrates its 35th Anniversary, it is
also important to celebrate the achievements of the local Main Street programs across the country, some of
whom have been around since the beginning. These local programs work hard every day to make their
communities great places to work, live, play and visit while still preserving their historic character.”

The organization’s performance is annually evaluated by Georgia Department of Community Affairs, 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 fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating
budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.

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 2,000
downtowns and urban neighborhoods over the last 35 years, the Main Street program has leveraged more than
$61.7 billion in new public and private investment.

Participating communities have created 528,557 net new jobs and 120,510 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 251,838 buildings, leveraging an average of
$26.52 in new investment for every dollar spent on their Main Street district revitalization efforts.