MS Main Street News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Jeannie Zieren, Director of Communication and Marketing
Phone: 601-339-2042; Email: jeannie@msmainstreet.com

NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA TO FUND MARKETING AND ECONOMIC IMPACT PROJECTS FOR MAIN STREET COMMUNITIES IN HILLS REGION

JACKSON, Miss. (March 5, 2025) – The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area (MHNHA) and the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) have partnered on marketing and economic impact grant projects this year to benefit the Main Street communities in the Hills region of Mississippi.

Twenty-three Designated Main Street Communities in the Hills region will receive economic impact pieces that will be focused on showcasing and communicating the value of local Main Street programs among public interest stakeholder audiences and to help build local program capacity and more effectively advocate for themselves in the future.

Jackson-based marketing firm, Creative Distillery, is leading the project that will include the digital impact piece and accompanying graphics as well as a landing page on the MMSA website with an interactive data look-up tool and an economic impact campaign video to capture the overall economic impact. 

The 23 Designated Main Street communities in the Hills region participating in the grant project include: Aberdeen, Amory, Baldwyn, Batesville, Booneville, Byhalia, Columbus, Corinth, Hernando, Itawamba County, Kosciusko, Louisville, Nettleton, New Albany, Okolona, Pontotoc, Ripley, Saltillo, Senatobia, Starkville, Tupelo, Water Valley, and West Point.

The second grant project to be implemented this year is the Real Estate Redevelopment Game Plan in eight Designated Main Street Communities. 

MMSA will provide technical assistance and capacity building for eight Designated Main Street communities focused on developing a streamlined approach for evaluating Main Street districts’ potential for key property redevelopment. MMSA will work with nationally recognized downtown real estate and economic development firm Place + Main Advisors.

Each site visit will provide the Main Street program with current and projected market data, including demographic trends and retail leakage, an interactive community engagement exercise, a digital briefing with recommendations of strategies to improve the real estate conditions in the district, and customized construction and operating pro formas for up to four properties.

The Real Estate Redevelopment Game Plan will be conducted in Amory, Booneville, Hernando, Nettleton, Saltillo, Senatobia, Tupelo, and West Point.

“Our Main Streets represent the best of what our communities have to offer in multiple respects, and these projects will assist them in communicating their vitality to visitors and residents alike,” said Mary Cates Williams, MHNHA Executive Director. “This effort is yet another example of the outstanding work Mississippi Main Street does to enhance our communities, our region and our state.”

"These grant projects will help demonstrate the economic impact of the Main Street program on the local community," said Jim Miller, MMSA Executive Director. “We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area that continues to benefit our Main Street communities and the Mississippi Hills region as a whole."

"With additional grant sources, Mississippi Main Street plans to replicate this project in the rest of the state and produce a publication of each community’s local impact that can also be used as a statewide advocacy campaign," Miller added.

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About the Partners

The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area was designated by Congress in March of 2009 and is a grassroots initiative that works in partnership with the National Park Service. Since 2016, the heritage area has awarded over $1.4 million in community grants and special projects. For more information about MHNHA, visit www.mississippihills.org.

The Mississippi Main Street Association is the catalyst for the preservation and economic revitalization of Mississippi’s historic downtowns and traditional commercial districts. Since 1993, MMSA has provided more than $7 billion in public and private re-investment back into Main Street communities. For more information about MMSA, visit www.msmainstreet.com.