City of Orlando Receives 2012 “MUNI” Award for Main Street Program
Thornton Park District Added to Award Winning Program

Orlando, FL – (September 11, 2012) – Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced yesterday that the City of Orlando was one of only three cities statewide to receive recognition through the 2012 Florida Municipal Achievement Awards Program. The “MUNI” awards program was developed by the Florida League of Cities to provide municipalities with an opportunity to receive recognition for superior and innovative efforts in three award categories -- Citizenship, City Spirit and Environmental Stewardship.

The City of Orlando received the Florida Citizenship Award for its Orlando Main Street Program. Other award winners included the City of Cape Coral (City Spirit Award) and the Town of Cutler Bay (Environmental Stewardship Award). The winning cities each received a “MUNI” award on Saturday, August 25 during the Florida Leagues of Cities’ annual education conference. The City of Orlando, City of Cape Coral and Town of Cutler Bay will also be spotlighted in a special “best-practices” publication and will be featured in the League’s award-winning publication, Quality Cities, and on the League’s website and FaceBook page.

“We are so pleased that Orlando’s Main Street program has been recognized by the Florida League of Cities,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “It’s a testament to the power of partnership between our business owners, our local government and our residents. It’s a further testament to the hard work our small business owners have put in over the last few years to help fuel our local economy during a nationwide recession.”

Orlando is one of only seven citywide Main Street coordinating programs in the United States; the only one in Florida and the entire southeast. The program has strengthened several of the City’s neighborhood commercial districts including the Audubon Park Garden District, College Park Partnership, Downtown South Main Street, Ivanhoe Village Main Street, Mills 50 Main Street, The Church Street District and the Semoran Business Partnership. Each of these districts is now known not only for their colorful selection of boutiques, diners and bakeries but for the support structure they offer to small business owner.

As part of the Orlando Main Street Program, these districts play an important role in the overall health of the City, providing jobs, goods and services for our residents. Since the programs creation in 2008, more than 29,168 volunteer hours have been contributed to the Orlando Main Street program, representing a value of more than $479,465. Additional program successes include the investment of more than $149 million in improvements, the addition of more than 1,780 full- and part-time jobs and 323 new businesses.

Orlando City Commissioners cited the success of the program during a vote to recognize the Thornton Park neighborhood commercial district as an official Main Street District during the City Council meeting on September 10, 2012. The addition of the Thornton Park District to the Main Street program was made possible by a generous financial contribution from District 4 Commissioner Patty Sheehan. Participation in the program will allow the district to leverage the synergy already created among businesses, property owners and residents to further strengthen the community located in Downtown Orlando.

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