Middlesboro Named Pilot Community of America Saves! Program - 1st Project in Promise Zone to Secure Funding

The Preservation Green Lab of the National Trust for HistoricPreservation and the National Main Street Center celebrated Middlesboro, KY, as one of the first pilot communities to participate in America Saves!. The new program is designed to create and support the economic success of Main Street communities and other small-scale commercial districts by improving building performance and energy efficiency. Supported by a $2 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Energy, America Saves! will drive cost savings and new investment in existing buildings in Main Street communities across the country. 

An accredited Main Street program, Downtown Middlesboro will spearhead the project in its community. Using their relationships and volunteers, they will promote and connect business and building owners to the America Saves! project. Main Street networks support participants as they learn how their facilities use energy and consider options for improving buildings and energy-using building systems. The Main Street networks will identify community partners and organize volunteers to support building information collection efforts in their community. The National Trust is offering small grants to help in the local program rollout efforts. 

DDM Executive Director Isaac Kremer with
Kentucky Highlands Promise Zone
Coordinator Sandi Curd. Credit: DDM.

Discover Downtown Middlesboro President Jay Shoffner said, “We are thrilled to be the first community in Appalachian Kentucky participating in the America Saves! program. This presents a special opportunity to achieve cost savings for businesses in our area and to continue strengthening or local and regional economy. We’re grateful to America Saves!, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and all of our partners for their continued help and support.”

The America Saves! team is comprised of a consortium of national building, preservation, data analysis and energy efficiency experts that  will support communities in their efforts to help local businesses and building owners  save money on their energy bills. Those participating in the program receive energy use information guidance around facility improvements and information on programs and incentives that they can use to implement upgrades.

“National Main Street Center is grateful for the participation of Downtown Middlesboro in America Saves!, and we look forward to our continued work together through the project and beyond,” said Carolyn Dellutri, Senior Director of Programs and Services, National Main Street Center. “This project offers an exciting opportunity for Main Street communities, and we are thrilled to have such an eager pilot community like Middlesboro leading the way.”

"For the first time, we’re able to bring best practices and resources to small businesses and small buildings, and it’s the strength of Main Streets that makes it possible," said Mark Huppert, Senior Director of the National Trust's Preservation Green Lab, which is leading the DOE-funded initiative. “Harvesting energy efficiency from small buildings is like striking oil, except it's local, clean and keeps dollars in our local economies. The savings can produce local investment, including jobs.”

Discover Downtown Middlesboro is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was founded in 2006. Since that time the organization has worked to spearhead revitalization of the downtown area. In May 2014 Downtown Middlesboro was one of two communities nationally named "Ones to Watch" by the National Main Street Center for innovative projects and being on the cusp of a major transformation.

DDM is in the pre-development phase for the 27,000 square foot Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Home that the organization owns. Presently a development partner is being sought to help bring this vibrant mixed-use project to market.  In 2013 a total of $2.7 million of public and private investment was made downtown. Ten new businesses opened and over 100 jobs were created in 2013.

Bell County is one of eight counties comprising the Kentucky Highland’s Promise Zone.  This designation announced in January by President Barack Obama is the first and only rural Promise Zone in the nation.  Grant applications from Promise Zones to federal agencies receive priority as an investment to create jobs, increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, leverage private investment and reduce violent crime.  To date nearly 30 applications have been submitted to various federal agencies.  Downtown Middlesboro’s “Achieving Energy Savings in Appalachian Kentucky” is the first grant funded under The Promise Zone designation. 

The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) supports the America Saves! program in Middlesboro by helping commercial facilities energy audits and affordable energy savings loans to help owners get energy savings sooner.

  

MACED invests in the future of Kentucky’s energy systems to create new economic opportunities, promote environmental health and grow a more diverse energy portfolio in the state. Growing energy efficiency efforts that reduce consumption and save money, along with promoting renewable energy sources such as solar, help build a stronger, more sustainable regional economy.

For more information or to participate in the program, please contact Discover Downtown Middlesboro at (606) 248-6155 or downtownmiddlesboro.org. We’re also on Twitter and Facebook @DDMBoro.

About The National Main Street Center
Established in 1980 as a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Main Street Center works with a nationwide network of communities to encourage preservation-based economic revitalization that utilizes the Main Street Four-Point Approach.® The Center participated in the renewal of more than 2,000 older commercial districts during its 30-year history. Now a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Main Street Center provides information, offers technical assistance, holds conferences and workshops, and conducts research and advocacy on critical preservation and community revitalization issues.

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Green Lab

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, through its Preservation Green Lab, strengthens the fabric of communities by leveraging the value of existing buildings to reduce resource waste, create jobs, and bolster a strong sense of community. The Preservation Green Lab is helping cities and community development organizations revitalize their economy and community well-being through various initiatives. The program is a national model for delivering energy efficiency to small businesses and buildings, driving cost savings and new investment in existing buildings.

About MACED

The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED)creates economic alternatives that work for low-income people and natural places in Kentucky and Central Appalachia. MACED employs three core strategies—community investment, research for policy change and demonstration initiatives. Four paths of work flow directly from these strategies: strengthening the key sectors of energy and forestry; promoting entrepreneurship; influencing Kentucky’s economic policy; and advancing an Appalachian Transition.

Image Links:

http://www.preservationnation.org/assets/photos-images/information-center/sustainable-communities/green-lab/america-saves/AmericaSaves_RGB.png - America Saves! logo

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_sWFgbv_BYjhvhVJ6nE7ZJoq9D-3CdqaLNGnYoNKXmBXlrZBFfkez80IQ0VgTs0mEaadDx2-CAw1cfPS35uIPINuFogjw9oemLob2jFPzUKLkW7GUlnaYFxvisJY1iOGvIxwn67u5QY/s1600/20140821_102200.jpg DDM Executive Director Isaac Kremer with Kentucky Highlands Promise Zone Coordinator Sandi Curd. Credit: DDM.