By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
The historical preservation efforts of the Lake Orion Downtown Development Authority (DDA) did not go unnoticed at the annual Main Street Oakland County ‘Main Event? awards Tuesday, May 12.
Competing against 18 other main street communities for several divisions of awards, the Lake Orion DDA took home the Historic Building Advocacy Award, honoring its efforts to preserve an older Lake Orion. ?
Yet it is downtown businesses like Hanson’s Running Shop, which received the Outstanding Fa’ade Renovation award that helps prove downtown historical dedication.
Challenging Sullivan’s Public House of Oxford and M-Brew of Ferndale, to name a couple, Hansons newly refinished fa’ade made the top call.
‘I’m really happy for them,? DDA Director Suzanne Perrault said. ‘They did everything right with their project.?
Utilizing a $20,000 grant from the DDA Fa’ade Grant Program, Hanson’s threw in over $80,000 to restore the outside of the corner business at Flint St. and Broadway to mirror the once Wagner’s Pharmacy that occupied the same building in the 1950s.
‘They did such a great job preserving its historic aspects, with the same art-deco lettering in their signage to replicate its past, so they deserve some kudos for that,? Perrault said, who attended the event along with other members of the DDA. ?
Lake Orion was among several other main street communities in Oakland County to receive top awards at the Main Street Oakland County ‘Main Event? Tuesday, May 12, at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
Clawson and Holly took home three awards, along with downtown development groups of Farmington, Ferndale, Highland Township, Oxford, Pontiac and Rochester who each earned two awards at the event.
Lake Orion has been part of the main street program since 2001 after its initial acceptance.
‘Main Street Oakland County is one of the best programs we ever started during my administration,? County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a press release. ‘It has literally transformed the downtowns of Oakland County while conserving our heritage. I applaud and congratulate the winners for all of their hard work as they create desirable and viable downtowns.?