Secretary Detzner Designates Stuart Main Street as Florida Main Street Program of the Month

Tallahassee –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced today that Stuart Main Street has been designated the June 2016 Florida Main Street Community of the Month. Communities are selected based on their developmental achievements and participation in the Florida Main Street Program. This program was designated in 1987, displaying 29 years of public/private reinvestment totaling $4.2 million, with over 137 projects that has created over 168 net new jobs to its Main Street area.

“Coastal Living magazine recently named the City of Stuart the nation’s ‘Happiest Seaside Town’,” said Secretary Detzner. “This recognition is the result of local public and private entities working together to make their city a wonderful place for locals and tourists.”

Downtown Stuart Main Street district (image courtesy of www.discovermartin.com)

As the county seat of Martin County, Stuart was known as Potsdam until one of the first settlers, Homer Hine Stuart Jr. purchased land in the area in 1870. A portion of Stuart’s property was donated for use as a depot stop for Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway. In return for Stuart’s generosity, the railway stop was named after him. The town’s first tourists came to fish and hunt. Fishing flourished thanks to the bountiful population of sailfish off the coast of Martin County. Today, the city of Stuart still prides itself on being the “Sailfish Capital of the World,” and welcomes thousands of tourists into their beautiful coastal town each year.

“In addition to recognition as the Happiest Seaside Town, Stuart Main Street has just been named one of 25 semifinalists nationwide for America’s Main Street,” says Executive Director Thondra Lanese. “Our community works hard to preserve our historic assets. Bringing nationwide attention to our city is exciting and strengthens our economic vitality. One of our current projects includes the adaptive reuse of the historic Stuart Bank, creating a restaurant to reactivate the southwest corridor of Osceola Street.” 

For more information about Stuart Main Street or the Florida Main Street program visit stuartmainstreet.org or floridamainstreet.com or facebook.com/FloridaMainStreet.

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About Florida Main Street

Florida Main Street is a program administered by the Division of Historical Resources under the Florida Department of State, which currently oversees 45 communities throughout the state. By implementing the National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach®, Florida Main Street encourages economic development within the context of historic preservation through the revitalization of Florida’s downtowns – the community’s heart and soul. Since the program’s inception in 1985, the Florida Main Street programs have cumulatively created 24,604 jobs, 7,337 new businesses and produced $2.5 billion in reinvestment.