Livingston County Economic Development is receiving international recognition for its efforts to revitalize the downtown areas of all nine villages in the county.

“A lot of disinvestment over the years and movement towards some of the urban centers took place and our downtowns became a little bit forgotten about. We want to bring that back to our communities,” said Bill Bacon, director of economic development for Livingston County.

The county teamed up with the consulting firm Streetsense to craft the Downtown 2.0 Commercial District Assessment in 2017.

The plan places an emphasis on promoting public art in each of the downtowns and a way that travelers are able to find the highlights easier.

“It created gathering. It created conversation and the ability for folks to come together,” said Bacon.

While the effort has already received awards statewide and nationally, Bacon is proud the plan received an “Excellence” award from the International Downtown Development Association in 2020.

“Our communities are quite important to us. We’ve been doing this since 2003. We’ve been investing a lot of time and money in our downtowns and now with an international award, it’s actually taken us to another level of affirmation that we really are doing the right things here,” said Bacon.

For 2021, Bacon said they aim to finish a mural in Avon, help businesses sell their products online and host a Dream-O-Vate competition to assist entrepreneurs in starting a business in the downtown areas.

“We want to bring that back to our communities, create that central gathering spot, creating that central business corridor, and also bring back some pride in our communities. Folks are finding that the quality of life in our small rural area is actually better than they found elsewhere,” said Bacon.