Downtown Mooresville screenshot

Feb. 6. Downtown Mooresville will host the 2025 North Carolina Main Street Conference. The three-day conference—March 11-13—is organized by the NC Department of Commerce and the NC Main Street and Rural Planning Center. It is the largest statewide downtown revitalization conference in the country.

Mooresville joined the NC Main Street effort in 1988. Since the program’s inception, downtown Mooresville has leveraged more than $117 million in public and private investment, resulting in a net gain of 141 new businesses and nearly 600 new jobs.

Quotable

“To put that in perspective, our Downtown generates an average of 100 percent more property tax revenue than the typical chain store all while supporting resident entrepreneurs and keeping jobs local,” Saragoni said.

Details

Attracting 750 attendees, the Main street conference features an array of speakers, events, breakout sessions, and educational opportunities focused on building stronger downtown communities through preservation-based economic development.

Attendees include downtown economic development professionals, government staff, elected officials, community leaders, and business and property owners from more than 80 NC towns, as well as exhibitors, presenters, vendors and sponsors.

Speakers include:

—Katherine Loflin, The City Doctor, presenting The Science of Loving Where You Live

—Jeff Siegler, Revitalize or Die, presenting Civic Pride & Civic Apathy