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The North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center, part of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, selected and awarded the Town of Manteo the prestigious Main Street designation on July 1, 2022. The designation comes after two years of meeting rigorous national downtown development requirements and the town joins the already 1,200 designated Main Street communities across the country, with 69 of those located in North Carolina.

Town manager Melissa Dickerson, then town planner, along with previous town manager James Ayers, coordinated the efforts to develop the application and participated in the interview process back in 2019 for the Downtown Associate Community (DAC) Program, which is the official pathway to the Main Street designation. For the next two years, the DAC Core Team, consisting of community members volunteering their time and efforts, participated in numerous meetings with NC Main Street staff, community meetings, planning sessions and more.

“This exciting day and opportunity for the Town of Manteo would not be possible if it weren’t for the support and dedication to the program by the Board of Commissioners, DAC Core Team, State staff, and Town staff,” stated the announcement from the town.

“There are great things coming to the Town of Manteo as our community sits poised for growth. This exciting community and economic development program will help the Town reach its full potential through technical assistance involving market analysis and economic strategies tailored to Manteo,” stated the announcement. “In addition, training and workshops are provided to help the local community with implementation of the various activities, projects, and programs. The cherry on top is that the Main Street designation opens the doors to economic and community development grants for our local businesses and organizations that are not otherwise available.”

Joining Manteo in the earning of the Main Street designation today are Murphy, Pilot Mountain and Pittsboro. “We want to wish them all congratulations and the very best in their new endeavors,” stated the announcement. “The popular phrase, Manteo to Murphy or Murphy to Manteo, becomes even more special now today.”

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