The Main Street Maine

Approach to Downtown revitalization

 

Currently, Maine state law (30-A MRSA §4301, sub-§§5-A) defines downtowns as follows:

 

“Downtown” means the central business district of a community that has served as the center of socioeconomic interaction in the community, characterized by a cohesive core of commercial and mixed-use buildings, often interspersed with civic, religious and residential buildings and public spaces, typically arranged along a main street and intersecting side streets and served by public infrastructure.”

 

Maine has several terrific downtowns consisting of historic buildings, healthy mixes of activities, lively economic exchange, cultural underpinnings, and unique defining characteristics. But many Maine downtowns have been threatened in recent years because people have chosen to live, shop and do business outside of downtowns, for a variety of reasons.

 

The Maine Downtown Center wants to help downtown stakeholders revitalize their downtowns to the point where they are the first choice for shopping, living, socializing, learning, relaxing, and doing business.

 

It is not the job of the Maine Downtown Center to revitalize Maine downtowns, or even to grant or loan money to that end. Rather, the Downtown Center serves to inspire, educate, train, and guide downtown stakeholders to revitalize their own downtowns.

 

The Downtown Center believes that this can be done most effectively by concentrating efforts in a few select downtowns a given time. So to this end, the Maine Downtown Center works with a small number of Main Street Maine communities who receive a comprehensive package of training and technical assistance over three years.

 

The Maine Downtown Center is affiliated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center.

 

The Downtown Center uses the Main Street Approach™, which was developed by the National Main Street Center, when providing assistance to Main Street Maine communities.

 

A. The Main Street approach – An Overview

 

The Main Street Approach® was developed by the National Main Street Center of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a partner of The Maine Downtown Center. The 1668 local Main Street® programs in over 40 states who have adopted this preservation-based approach have realized $16.1 billion dollars in reinvestment in their downtown commercial districts.

 

While commercial district revitalization can be addressed in many ways, the underlying premise of the Main Street approach is to encourage economic development, within the context of historic preservation that is appropriate to today’s market place.  This approach advocates a return to community self-reliance, empowerment, and the rebuilding of commercial districts based on its traditional assets: unique architecture, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.

 

The Main Street approach is incremental and will not produce wholesale, immediate change.  Expensive improvements, such as pedestrian malls constructed with once plentiful public funds, often fail to address the underlying causes of commercial district decline and do not always produce the desired economic results.  If a long-term revitalization effort is to succeed, it will require careful attention to every aspect of Downtown – a process that takes time and requires leadership and local capacity building.  The Main Street program should be seen as one of many tools that a community utilizes to generate economic and entrepreneurial growth.  Also, while they may be an important component of an overall plan for downtown revitalization, communities should not confuse substantial public improvement projects for the Main Street program.

 

A local Main Street program is not designed to tackle the bigger issues of an entire community.  The focus is limited to the revitalization of the central business district.  This certainly takes into account that a healthy, economically viable, and attractive Downtown is important to the community at-large’s overall health and vitality, and vice versa.

 

Both the public and private sectors of the community must be involved and committed for a local Main Street program to succeed.  Each sector has an important role to play and each must understand the other’s needs, strengths and limitations so that an effective partnership can be created.

 

B.     The National Main Street Center’s Four Point Approach

 

The Main Street methodology addresses the following four areas of concern and combines activities in these areas to develop a community’s individual strategy for redeveloping Downtown.  They are organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring.

1.                  Organization

 

The Main Street approach to Downtown revitalization requires the effort of the entire community.  The merchants, property owners, local government officials, and civic leaders must agree to support common goals for revitalization and join together in a partnership.  The Downtown development organization and the local Main Street Executive Director are key players.  A local Executive Director is necessary to act as an advocate for the Downtown and to coordinate the various efforts of individuals and groups to ensure that all are working together to develop the Downtown.

 

2.                  Promotion

 

The promotion of the Downtown as a single, unified commercial area – in the same way that a major shopping mall is promoted – will help attract customers and strengthen Main Street’s role as a viable business center.  The Downtown organization can coordinate an aggressive promotion and marketing campaign that includes a program of special events and business promotions.  If it is to thrive, the Downtown must improve both its self-image and the image it projects to potential customers and investors.

 

3.                  Design

 

Good design is essential to all aspects of Downtown revitalization.  The Main Street design philosophy is not a “purist” preservation approach, but one that seeks to utilize and enhance those elements of quality design that remain in each building.  Good design must be extended to include promotional literature, store window and merchandise displays, public building improvements, and street amenities.

 

4.                  Economic Restructuring

 

Economic restructuring seeks to change the ways in which Downtown “works” by restoring many of the elements that Main Street has lost over the past few decades.  While many small Downtowns may not regain their dominance as primary retail centers, careful economic and market analysis usually confirms that they can maintain economic strength by diversifying the present mix of retail uses and by attracting new retail and non-retail  functions, including office, recreation, services, and residential uses.  Retail and business retention and recruitment, development of effective merchandising techniques, encouraging entrepreneurial reuse of upper stories for Downtown housing and office space, and better utilization of existing and potential recreational assets are all aspects of economic restructuring.

 

Successful Main Street programs are usually structured as a non-profit corporation guided by an active working board.  Four standing committees that correspond to the four points develop projects and work plans for implementation.  Local programs hire a paid director to help coordinate the efforts of volunteers and implement the program.

 

 

C.     The National Main Street Center’s Eight Principles

 

Countless experiences in helping communities bring renewed life to downtown have shown time and again that the Main Street Four-Point Approach succeeds only when combined with the following eight foundation principles:

 

1.            Comprehensive

A single project cannot revitalize a Downtown or commercial neighborhood.  An ongoing series of initiatives of the four points is vital to build community support and create lasting progress.

 

2.            Incremental

Small projects make a big difference.  They demonstrate that “things are happening” on Main Street and hone the skills and confidence the program will need to tackle more complex problems.  Over time, small changes make a dramatic difference in the commercial district.

 

3.         Self-help

 

The Maine Downtown Center can provide valuable direction and hands-on technical assistance, but only local leadership will bring long-term success by fostering and demonstrating grassroots community involvement and building local capacity, entrepreneurism and commitment to the revitalization effort.

 

4.            Public/Private partnership

Every local Main Street program needs the support and expertise of both the public and private sectors.  Both local government and the private sector bear responsibility for funding the local Main Street program.

 

5.            Identifying and capitalizing on existing assets

To avoid mistakes or creating false expectations, one of the Maine Downtown Center’s key goals is to empower communities to recognize and make the best use of their unique offerings.  Local assets provide the solid foundation of a successful Main Street initiative.

 

6.            Quality

From storefront design to promotional campaigns to graphics to special events, quality must be the goal.  The local Main Street program and the commercial district must be synonymous with quality.

 

7.            Change

Changing community attitudes and habits is essential to bring about a commercial district renaissance.  A carefully planned Main Street program will help create paradigm shifts that change public perceptions and practices to support and sustain the revitalization process.

 

8.            Action-oriented

Frequent, visible changes in the look and activities of the commercial district will reinforce the perception of positive change.  Small, but dramatic improvements early in the process will remind merchants and the community that the revitalization effort is underway.  This requires the hands-on involvement of program leaders, staff, and volunteers.