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| The historic Division of St. John comprises Covington’s downtown. As a result of the oil bust of 1986, much of Covington’s downtown was boarded up as recently as the early 1990s. In response to a slumping economy and decline downtown, the City applied to become a “Main Street” community and was accepted in 1987. The National Main Street Program is a downtown revitalization program, which is administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It consists of a four point approach to revitalization: 1) Organization - whereby a Main Street manager is hired who assembles a board of volunteers from the community who are stakeholders in the downtown area, to implement the program; 2) Promotion - which includes retail promotions and special events to re-establish interest and activity in the downtown; 3) Economic Restructuring – which is an organized effort to attract businesses back to the downtown with incentives, and support retention of the existing businesses; and 4) Design - which oversees the restoration of buildings and maintenance of the integrity of historic downtown architecture. Covington completed the five-year program and became a graduate Main Street community in 1992. As a result of this revitalization effort downtown Covington has experienced a resurgence of retail and professional uses. Covington’s present economic state: After experiencing a slow down in retail sales during the late 1990s, the City entered its second phase of revitalization. Once population growth in St. Tammany Parish reached the “critical mass” necessary to support Covington’s retailers, sales tax revenues increased accordingly. Upward trends in the local economy and migration further north have resulted in a “business boom” in Covington as reported by the Times Picayune in January 2005. Another contributing factor to the vibrancy downtown is the presence of the new St. Tammany Parish Justice Center. This $60,000,000 investment has attracted several new businesses and attorneys’ offices. It also keeps cyclical jury pools of 300 people each, visiting downtown Covington on a regular basis. Covington has also established itself as a regional tourist destination. The City provides recreational opportunities and numerous special events that attract thousands of visitors annually. The Covington Three Rivers Art Festival is a major regional festival that attracts up to 30,000 visitors each November to view fine art and crafts displayed outdoors along six blocks of Columbia St. from the Landing to City Hall in downtown by 150 or more artists from across the nation. Covington is proud to boast that it is home to one of the state’s premier Farmers Markets. The Market is held each Wednesday and Saturday on the lawn of City Hall and has grown to annual gross sales of nearly $1,000,000. The Market not only offers a unique gathering and shopping place to residents and visitors, it has become a very successful business incubator and a strong factor in the preservation of small farms in our region. The Ozone Film Festival has joined the list of major special events and even Californians come to our film festival. |