The Downtown Beloit Association is a 2011 Winner of the Great American Main Street Awards!

Each year, the National Trust Main Street Center recognizes exceptional Main Street communities whose successes serve as a model for comprehensive commercial district revitalization. These award-winning communities have demonstrated proven success in using the Main Street Four Point Approach® to create economic vitality, a unique sense of place, and a strong commitment to the community by all stakeholders. The National Trust for Historic Preservation presented this year’s five winners at the Main Street Awards Ceremony during the National Main Streets Conference in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 2011 Great American Main Street Awards® (GAMSA) Winners were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants and were selected by a national jury based on successful as well as innovative use of the Main Street Four Point Approach. Recognized as a leader following the Main Street Four-Point Approach®, embracing sound historic preservation ethics and building strategic partnerships, Downtown Beloit Association (DBA) was honored at the Main Street Awards Ceremony on May 23, 2011.

“Downtown Beloit Association has an impressive track record of taking underutilized areas envisioning their best use and leveraging partnerships to achieve exemplary results,” said Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center. “Beloit’s rich arts offerings, revitalized riverfront, creative adaptive use projects and award-winning farmer’s market are shining examples of DBA’s outstanding work.” See the press release here.

Click here to view the National Trust’s full website article.

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DOWNTOWN BELOIT TID #5 FUNDED EQUITY GRANT PROGRAM FOR UPPER FLOOR HOUSING

Funding for the TID #5 Upper Floor Housing Grant has been increased to 30% up to $30,000 per upper floor housing unit for 2011! Click here for PDF version of Program Description and Application.

One of the first communities in Wisconsin to receive designation from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to the Main Street Program in 1987, Beloit has experienced a true renaissance in the past 20 years. A small town with an urban flair, Beloit celebrates the arts in all its forms and gives a warm nod to an industrial past. Hugging the banks of the Rock River just north of the Illinois border, the district boasts over 120 hanging baskets and urns on tree-lined streets, bike paths and a public canoe/kayak launch to encourage walking, biking and skating, as well as quiet, no-wake water sports. Home to Beloit College, the spirit of progressive learning and culture is evident throughout the district.

Downtown Beloit hosts more than 40 days of events a year: from a summer lunchtime concert series to an ArtWalk featuring more than 100 artists. June through October, the Saturday morning Farmers Market draws more than 90 vendors and was named the best event in Wisconsin Main Street history in 2008. Beloit’s commitment to local food is evident in a new grocery store, Bushel & Peck’s Local Market, housed in the restored Woolworth Building. The market anchors a downtown filled with a dozen home-grown restaurants and cafes, boutiques and bookstores, live theater, museums and art galleries, as well as riverfront sculpture and murals. From Blues to Jazz, live music can be found almost every night of the week.

A catalyst for economic growth, Downtown Beloit is home to the international headquarters for Regal Beloit, as well as over 180 small to mid-size to grand business entrepreneurs. Loft apartments and luxury condos offer a unique quality of life for residents and create niche opportunities for new business.

Downtown Beloit is very much a neighborhood, where customers are friends and culture and art are accessible to all.