Main Street recognizes communities, individuals for improving downtowns

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson was among a host of individuals and local businesses honored last week by Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) for their contributions to improving the downtowns of local communities. The announcement came during the MSOC "Main Event" celebration at Glen Oaks Golf Club in Farmington Hills, which was held in conjunction with the MSOC 10th anniversary. Patterson was given the MSOC Spirit Award. "I'm flattered to receive the award," Patterson said. "Main Street is one of the few government programs that really delivers. The whole Main Street Oakland County team works very hard. The revitalization of the downtowns is so important to us. I thank them for the honor. We still have a lot of work to do." A total of 27 awards were given to 17 recipients in five categories: organization, promotion, design, economic restructuring and special recognition. Dino's Restaurant & Lounge, in Ferndale, and Elements, in Lake Orion, were named outstanding Main Street businesses of the year; Pamela Belding of the Ortonville Downtown Development Authority was named outstanding board member; Debbie Baker, market manager for Beets, Beats and Eats Farmers Market in Ortonville, was named outstanding volunteer; and Foley & Mansfield, PLLP, Ferndale, the outstanding preservation success story, were among those honored. Winners were chosen by a panel of architects, economic development officials and historic preservation experts. The event was sponsored by ASTI Environmental, Goldner Walsh Garden & Home, Finnicum & Brownlie Architects, Main Street Oakland County, Michigan Downtown Association, Oakland County, Oakland County Business Finance Corporation, Oakland County Economic Development Corporation and Oakland County Parks & Recreation. Main Street is a trademarked program of the National Main Street Center in Washington, D.C. Farmington, Ferndale, Franklin, Highland, Holly, Lake Orion, Ortonville, Oxford, Pontiac, Rochester and Walled Lake are MSOC communities. Berkley, Clarkston, Clawson, Hazel Park, Leonard, South Lyon and Waterford participate in the mentoring program. Oakland County was the first county in the United States to operate a full fledged county-wide Main Street program for the 32 distinct, historic downtowns in Oakland County. The county program was formed in 2000. Since its inception, MSOC is responsible for: * $560 million of investment in the 11 MSOC downtowns. * More than 5,000 jobs created. * 529 new business established. * More than 129,000 volunteer hours. For additional information, see the MSOC website, www.mainstreetoaklandcounty.com. Published: Wed, Mar 9, 2011

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