Downtown Salisbury Inc.

A downtown project and the project architect were recognized for their excellence in the 2014 North Carolina Main Street Awards competition March 19. Allen Terry, owner of Emma’s of Salisbury restaurant, won top honors in the category of Best Adaptive Reuse Project, receiving an Award of Merit. Gray Stout of Stout Studios was also a recipient of an Award of Merit for the design of the project. The awards were given because the development of Emma’s of Salisbury brought new jobs to the community while assisting in transforming an area of downtown in need of revitalization.

The N.C. Main Street program’s annual awards competition recognizes the outstanding achievements of participating communities in categories reflecting the four areas emphasized by Main Street: organization, design, economic restructuring and promotion. This year’s award winners were chosen by a panel of independent judges from dozens of applications submitted by Main Street participants throughout the state.

Director of the N.C. Main Street Center Liz Parham, N.C. Secretary of Commerce John Skvarla, Assistant Secretary for Rural Economic Development Dr. Patricia Mitchell, and Teresa Watts of the N.C. Main Street Center presented the Main Street Awards during the North Carolina Main Street Annual Awards Program at the CoMMA Center in Morganton. Twenty projects received Awards of Merit.

“Congratulations are in order for North Carolina’s Main Street Champions and award winning programs,” said Secretary Skvarla. “Their hard work breathes new life into downtowns all across our state and provides opportunities for small business as well as entertainment options for our citizens.”

Based on economic revitalization within the context of historic preservation, the Main Street program was created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to share an effective downtown revitalization strategy which they had developed for smaller towns. Selected as an original Main Street state in 1980, North Carolina has seen its program grow from five communities to 61. The economic impact of the program has grown as well. Combined public and private investment in North Carolina Main Street downtowns totals more than $1.6 billion dollars.