The deadline to nominate local businesses and developers for the annual Starkville Main Street Association awards is Friday, and a portion of this year’s competition will be judged by the Starkville Historic Preservation Committee.
This year’s event, which is scheduled for Sept. 22, marks the first time SMSA has partnered with SHPC. The group of historic preservation members will pick winners for the best adaptive re-use project, historic rehabilitation project, façade rehabilitations and new development, while the SMSA Board of Directors will pick winners for best new business, window display, partner of the year, merchant of the year and, if awarded, the group’s lifetime achievement award.
Nominations must include a completed application in a Microsoft Word format, a 50-500-word narrative about the nominee and at least five digital photographs highlighting the project, organization or individual. The data must be submitted on a labeled flash drive or via the file-hosting site Dropbox.
Digital and physical entries are due at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, located at 200 East Main St., by 5 p.m. Friday.
Bringing SHPC into the juried process adds legitimacy to the awards, said GSDP Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Gregory, particularly with design accolades.
“Preservation and good design are both major parts of our revitalization efforts in downtown Starkville. Recognizing achievements in those areas by private business owners and developers is our way of publicly thanking them for their substantial investment and for not always taking the easy or most inexpensive path to their development projects,” she said.
SHPC will base its selection process on certain general criteria: the application of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation; a project’s positive impact on Main Street’s economy and design; the overall quality of work; and a project’s or individual’s exemplary example of design.
Previous award winners include Tabor Construction’s Gallery 106 (best adaptive re-use), Castle Properties’ Mill at MSU (best historic rehabilitation), Hail State Investments’ 104 South Washington St. (best façade rehabilitation under $10,000), Sullivans Management Company’s 204 East Main St. and 109 South Lafayette St. (best rehabilitation over $10,000), First Baptist Church’s Children’s Building (best new development), Tom Smith Land and Homes (best new business), Style Revel (merchant of the year), Occasions (best creative window display) and Starkville Fire Department (partner of the year).
For more information on the awards or the nomination process, email Gregory at [email protected].
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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