The City of Cornelia has cause for celebration in February! Georgia Main Street, a program in the Office of Downtown Development through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, has designated Cornelia as its featured Main Street of the Month.
The Main Street program, formerly known as “Better Hometown,” has 118 communities throughout the state that currently utilize its services.
“Main Street programs have been instrumental in leading the state in historic preservation, small business development, expansion of the state’s employment base, leveraging private investment, increasing tourism, and providing a positive road map for public-private partnerships,” according to the Georgia Main Street website.
Cornelia Main Street is accredited through both the Georgia and National Main Street Centers. It has to meet criteria annually to qualify for accreditation status.
The city completed projects in 2020 totaling a public investment of over $34 million. Additionally, over $1.5 million in private investment to the downtown alone and the creation of 66 new jobs (during a global pandemic) are attributed to Cornelia being designated as Main Street of the Month.
“This is a huge honor and very humbling for us. We always try to serve the community as best we can and with exceptional standards,” says Cornelia Community Development Manager Jessie Owensby. “Being recognized for it truly inspires us to strive for more and keep the momentum in our downtown going strong.”
