Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee Designates Venice MainStreet as Florida Main Street Program of the Month

Tallahassee –

Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee announced today that the Venice MainStreet program has been designated the October 2019 Florida Main Street Program of the Month. Programs are selected based on their development achievements and participation in the Florida Main Street program.

“Venice MainStreet’s impressive preservation efforts reflect their unwavering commitment to the Florida Main Street program,” said Secretary Lee. “Venice MainStreet is a fantastic example of success.”

Venice MainStreet, Venice, Fl

Venice MainStreet was designated a Florida Main Street community in 1988, and since that time, has seen more than $290 million of private and public investment, 327 new businesses opened, 1,012 new jobs created and more than 41,000 in volunteer hours. During the past 30 years, Venice MainStreet has helped transform the downtown area into a bustling commercial district while retaining the unique Northern Italian Renaissance architectural style for which Venice is known.

“Venice MainStreet encourages everyone to come and see the downtown historic district,” said Executive Director Kara Morgan. “There is always something going on, for people of all ages.”

Recently, the City of Venice and Venice MainStreet have completed a $8.4 million beautification project of historic downtown Venice that began in 2018. This project included repaving old roads, updating drainage systems, installing new stop signs, ADA compliant curbing and new benches.

This year, on October 7th and 8th, Venice MainStreet will host the 2019 Florida Main Street fall quarterly meeting. These meetings provide educational workshops and learning opportunities based on the National Main Street Center’s Four Point Approach© for Main Street programs throughout the state of Florida.

For more information on Venice MainStreet, visit visitvenicefl.org or facebook.com/venicemainstreet. For more information on the Florida Main Street program, visit 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 46 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.