Decades ago, downtown commercial districts served as the primary providers of goods and services to their communities. People
shopped, ate, transacted business, and recreated downtown.
Then, starting in the 1960s, malls, strip malls, and big box stores began attracting more and more shoppers, until many downtowns
withered. Their commercial cores now often suffer from a complicated cycle of disinvestment: with businesses leaving, rental rates
slip and property owners have less to invest in their buildings, giving the district a shabby, uncared-for appearance and making it
even harder to attract new businesses.
The Main Street program is an approach to revitalizing traditional business districts within the context of historic preservation.
Developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the 1970s, the Main Street approach has succeeded in more than 1,000
communities nationwide. Together, these programs have produced an investment in these districts of more than $5 billion and
spurred the rehabilitation of many historic structures, while providing space for 38,000 new businesses and creating 100,000 net
new jobs for local citizens.
The underlying premise is to encourage economic development within the context of historic preservation. The Main Street
approach encourages communities to use their unique assets--distinctive architecture, pedestrian friendly atmosphere, local
ownership, and personal services--to rebuild their downtowns. To do so, Main Street focuses on four major areas: Organization,
Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring, called the Four Point Approach™ .
Montana Main Street Program
The Four Point Approach™
Communities across the country are using the Main Street approach to revitalize their traditional business districts, whether they
have officially designated Main Street programs or just incorporate Main Street into existing economic development, historic
preservation, city management, or community planning programs. It's a technical assistance program that concentrates on four
major areas: Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring.
It can be structured in different ways, but most Main Street programs are freestanding, nonprofit organizations with a board of
directors. Each local Main Street program consists of business and property owners, residents, city officials, financial institutions,
schools, civic groups, preservationists, media, etc. Most of the work of the Main Street program is done by volunteers, often with the
direction of a paid executive director.
The four major areas of the Main Street program are:
1) Organization
How do you get everyone in the community working toward the goal of revitalizing your Main Street? In general, organizational duties
consist of raising money for projects and administration, recruiting volunteers, managing staff and volunteers, and managing the
finances.
2) Promotion
How do you attract potential shoppers, investors, and entrepreneurs? By marketing each commercial district's unique
characteristics, Main Street programs have launched promotional strategies that create a positive image through advertising,
special events, retail promotions, and marketing campaigns, which are carried out by local volunteers.
3) Design
How do you get Main Street back into top-notch physical shape? Main Street communities have discovered that capitalizing on their
best assets such as historic buildings and traditional downtown layout is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere created
through window displays, parking areas, signs, sidewalks, street lights, and landscaping conveys a visual impression of Main
Street: what it is and what it has to offer.
4) Economic Restructuring
How do you find a new niche for Main Street and its businesses? By helping existing businesses and by recruiting new ones to
respond to today's market, Main Street programs help convert unused space into productive property and sharpen the
competitiveness of merchants and other business owners.
shopped, ate, transacted business, and recreated downtown.
Then, starting in the 1960s, malls, strip malls, and big box stores began attracting more and more shoppers, until many downtowns
withered. Their commercial cores now often suffer from a complicated cycle of disinvestment: with businesses leaving, rental rates
slip and property owners have less to invest in their buildings, giving the district a shabby, uncared-for appearance and making it
even harder to attract new businesses.
The Main Street program is an approach to revitalizing traditional business districts within the context of historic preservation.
Developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the 1970s, the Main Street approach has succeeded in more than 1,000
communities nationwide. Together, these programs have produced an investment in these districts of more than $5 billion and
spurred the rehabilitation of many historic structures, while providing space for 38,000 new businesses and creating 100,000 net
new jobs for local citizens.
The underlying premise is to encourage economic development within the context of historic preservation. The Main Street
approach encourages communities to use their unique assets--distinctive architecture, pedestrian friendly atmosphere, local
ownership, and personal services--to rebuild their downtowns. To do so, Main Street focuses on four major areas: Organization,
Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring, called the Four Point Approach™ .
Montana Main Street Program
The Four Point Approach™
Communities across the country are using the Main Street approach to revitalize their traditional business districts, whether they
have officially designated Main Street programs or just incorporate Main Street into existing economic development, historic
preservation, city management, or community planning programs. It's a technical assistance program that concentrates on four
major areas: Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring.
It can be structured in different ways, but most Main Street programs are freestanding, nonprofit organizations with a board of
directors. Each local Main Street program consists of business and property owners, residents, city officials, financial institutions,
schools, civic groups, preservationists, media, etc. Most of the work of the Main Street program is done by volunteers, often with the
direction of a paid executive director.
The four major areas of the Main Street program are:
1) Organization
How do you get everyone in the community working toward the goal of revitalizing your Main Street? In general, organizational duties
consist of raising money for projects and administration, recruiting volunteers, managing staff and volunteers, and managing the
finances.
2) Promotion
How do you attract potential shoppers, investors, and entrepreneurs? By marketing each commercial district's unique
characteristics, Main Street programs have launched promotional strategies that create a positive image through advertising,
special events, retail promotions, and marketing campaigns, which are carried out by local volunteers.
3) Design
How do you get Main Street back into top-notch physical shape? Main Street communities have discovered that capitalizing on their
best assets such as historic buildings and traditional downtown layout is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere created
through window displays, parking areas, signs, sidewalks, street lights, and landscaping conveys a visual impression of Main
Street: what it is and what it has to offer.
4) Economic Restructuring
How do you find a new niche for Main Street and its businesses? By helping existing businesses and by recruiting new ones to
respond to today's market, Main Street programs help convert unused space into productive property and sharpen the
competitiveness of merchants and other business owners.
Farmers' Market,
downtown, Butte
downtown, Butte
Sheridan
County
Online
County
Online
| Montana Main Street Program "Revitalizing Your Commercial District" |
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