Downtown Havre de Grace is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2012 Great American Main Street Awards, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced Wednesday.

The national honor recognizes communities across the country that serve as a model for comprehensive commercial district revitalization, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Washington-based nonprofit organization that presents the awards annually.

Judges look for communities that "share a commitment to recognizing their unique geographical, cultural and historic fabric and building their future around those resources-without compromising them," according to the trust. The winners will be announced in April at the National Main Streets Conference in Baltimore.

Two Maryland communities are past recipients of the Great American Main Street Awards. The town of Frederick won in 2005 and Baltimore's historic Federal Hill won in 2009. The national 2011 winners were Beloit, Wis.; Fort Pierce, Fla.; Lansing, Mich,; Newark, Del.; and Silver City, Nev.

Frederick and Havre de Grace are participants in the Department of Housing and Community Development's Main Street Maryland program, which strives to strengthen the economic potential of the state's traditional downtowns and cultural districts.