Becoming Minnesota Main Street

We are excited to be launching Minnesota Main Street to assist local communities in their commercial district revitalization efforts.

Training is an integral part to keeping the skills used in revitalizing downtown and Main Streets at their sharpest.  Minnesota Main Street offers access to a series of trainings each year to its members and member communities.

Minnesota Main Street 2010 Application Materials:

Associate Member Registration Form 2010

MMS Benefits and Timline 201006

Contact Emily at enorthey@mnpreservation.org or 651.293.9047 x 4 with questions about the application process.

Minnesota Main Street Program Coordinator Hired!


Preservation Alliance of Minnesota welcomes Emily Northey as Minnesota Main Street Program Coordinator

The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (“Alliance”) is pleased to announce that Emily Northey has been hired as its first Minnesota Main Street Program Coordinator.  Emily brings to the position a wealth of on-the-ground experience having built the local Brainerd Main Street program from the ground up as its Coordinator for the past three years.  Her excitement for the opportunity to lead the nation’s newest statewide coordinating program is evident.  “I have been passionate about understanding and revitalizing historic commercial districts since my senior thesis at Macalester,” said Emily in applying for the position. “Historic downtowns are the heart of their communities. These downtowns are central to a town’s identity for residents, visitors, and prospective businesses. For the future health of a community, it is critical that they have a vibrant downtown true to their unique history.”

Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and political science from Macalester College.  She had previously participated in the National Trust Main Street Center’s Main Street Basic Training while administering her local program.  Proficient in Spanish, Emily is also proficient in the language of Main Street and how it can catalyze positive change for our historic communities.

We are proud to welcome Emily as the Alliance’s fourth full-time staff person.  She began her position on May 1 representing Minnesota Main Street at the National Main Streets Conference in Oklahoma City.  Her first day in the office is May 10 when she will continue the work already begun to initiate the first application process for our designated Main Street communities.

The Minnesota Main Street Program is recognized by the National Trust Main Street Center® as the official statewide coordinating program in Minnesota. The Minnesota Main Street Program has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Downtown E-News

The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota has created a special e-newsletter focusing on issues and resources for business owners, elected officials, municipal staff, and citizens concerned about the future of their historic commercial districts.  The Minnesota Downtown E-News is published intermittently when sufficient news is compiled.  Sign up now by sending your e-mail address to enorthey@mnpreservation.org.

Excellent Response to Statewide Survey of Downtown Commercial District Revitalization Programs

Thank you to those communities that completed a downtown commercial district revitalization program self-assessment form.  The survey was completed in September of 2009.  Over 250 surveys were sent to a total of 100 communities with recipients being representatives of the local municipal government, heritage preservation commission, chamber of commerce, convention and visitors bureau, and/or other downtown revitalization nonprofit.  The 100 communities that received surveys were those that had once been Minnesota Main Street members, Hometown Minnesota members, or have a local downtown historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

We received a total of 54 responses from 49 different communities with representation from every part of the state.  The Minnesota Main Street Steering Committee is now tabulating the data to identify trends and move forward in selecting five communities for additional assessment as our first pilot, certified Main Streets in Minnesota in almost 15 years.  There will be more information to come as this process moves forward.  We anticipate launching the Minnesota Main Street Coordinating Program in early 2010.

Why Reinvestment in our Historic Main Streets Makes Sense

Many of us long for a time when our Main Street was the thriving commercial and social hub of our community.  Established residents talk of going to town for everything they needed, from a can of soup to a car, gasoline to gossip, and all things in-between.  Many of us also believe we can reestablish our Main Street as the heart of the community.  By stimulating local business development and incentivizing reinvestment, our downtown commercial districts are reemerging as the centers of community pride.

We believe that historic commercial districts are assets to a community. We’re the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, the statewide, nonprofit historic preservation organization.  At the Alliance, we’re working to reestablish the statewide Minnesota Main Street coordinating program, a comprehensive, community-driven, economic development program that revitalizes established commercial corridors.  Over the program’s 30-year history, 2,200 Main Street programs nationwide have leveraged almost $50 billion in public and private investment—a $25 to $1 return-on-investment that has created almost 400,000 jobs and 90,000 new businesses.  You can help us bring this program back to Minnesota to benefit your city or town.

What is the benefit of being a Main Street community?  What will the statewide coordinating program (Minnesota Main Street) do for my downtown district? We understand that the Main Street program may be new to your community as our state’s program ended almost 15 years ago.  That’s why we’ve uploaded a fact sheet with more information about the proposed Minnesota Main Street Program.

Minnesota Main Street Program Fact Sheet (May 2010)

History of the National Main Street Program

In response to growing economic woes and threats to Main Street commercial architecture, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), in 1977 launched the pilot version of the national Main Street program.  Since then, the program has become a proven small town and urban commercial corridor economic development program leveraging over $40 billion in public and private investment.  The Main Street program is a comprehensive commercial revitalization strategy that helps communities preserve some of their most significant assets-their historic buildings.   NTHP has developed the Main Street Four Point ApproachTM, tailored to local needs and opportunities:

  • Design: Enhancing the physical appearance of the commercial district by rehabilitating historic buildings, encouraging compatible infill, and developing sensitive design management systems.
  • Organization: Building consensus and cooperation among the many groups and individuals who have a role in the revitalization process.
  • Promotion: Marketing the traditional commercial district’s assets to customers, potential investors, new businesses, local citizens, and visitors.
  • Economic Restructuring: Strengthening the district’s existing economic base while finding ways to expand it to meet new opportunities. [1]

For urban Main Street programs, there is a fifth Approach:

  • Public Safety: Reducing crime and the perception of crime is a precondition for revitalizing neighborhood commercial districts.[2]

The Main Street Approach advocates “community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of traditional commercial districts based on their unique assets: distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.”[3] The program measures success with indicators such as job creation, building permits, construction dollars, Convention and Visitors Bureau counts,  and building renovation and new construction projects.

Minnesota Main Street Program Background

Statewide Main Street coordinating programs certify Main Street communities and assist cities and towns within the state in implementing the National Main Street Program.  The statewide coordinating program provides participating local Main Street organizations with training, tools, information, and networking.  Minnesota is currently one of only four states in the nation without a statewide coordinating program, essentially leaving our communities to implement the program individually without the support of a coordinated network.

In 1983, Minnesota joined 10 other states in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Network.  Through a competitive process, the Office of Environmental Resource Development (OERD), part of the Minnesota State Planning Agency, selected five pilot cities with a traditional downtown area and a population between 5,000 and 50,000.  The state selected: Fergus Falls, Hastings, Hopkins, Morris, and Stillwater.  Key accomplishments of the pilot cities in the two-year program included 66 rehabilitation projects, seven new construction projects, 61 new or expanded businesses, and 157 new downtown jobs.

Despite the successes of the pilot program, the state did not provide program funding between 1986 and 1990.  In 1990, the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED), which incorporated OERD into its department in 1987, launched a Small Town Main Street program to assist towns with 10,000 people or less.   The program provided access to National Main Streets consultants-however, the state provided no funding and only part-time staff.  State funding for the Minnesota Main Street Program ended entirely in 1995 as priorities changed within DTED.

After the dissolution of Minnesota Main Street, program users were largely left to seek assistance from providers of individual components of the Main Street Four Point Approach, but lack access to a comprehensive service provider and network.  The volunteer nonprofit Hometown Minnesota, Inc., provides networking opportunities and technical assistance, but it is not recognized by the National Main Street Center as a statewide coordinating program.  Historic communities must now wade through dozens of individual programs when seeking assistance.  Understandably, users are overwhelmed in assessing which program is most effective and how to coordinate results from multiple providers.

Reestablishing the Minnesota Main Street Program

Minnesota needs a statewide Main Street coordinating program to deliver this comprehensive economic development approach.  With paid staff and a stable budget, the Minnesota Main Street Program will assist our communities in maintaining an economically competitive downtown.  In 2007, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, the statewide, historic preservation advocacy and education organization, convened a 30-member Task Force to study the reestablishment of a state Main Street program.  Over a year of research was completed to understand the program’s record in Minnesota and several community meetings were held to gauge support and gather feedback.  With overwhelming support from dozens of communities around the state, the Task Force recommended in November of 2008 to reestablish Minnesota Main Street as a program within the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.

For More Information:

Emily Northey, Program Coordinator
Minnesota Main Street Program
651.293.9047 x103
enorthey@mnpreservation.org
www.mnpreservation.org

MN Main Street on Northfield Radio with Ross Currier While the Steering Committee was strategically visioning for MN Main Street’s future in June 2010, Ross and Emily snuck away to do a radio show on KYMN. Listen

Websites of interest for historic downtowns courtesy of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.  Click on the following link for a list of helpful websites with information about building codes, energy efficiency, and much more: WebSites of interest 7 15 09-IHPA.

How are different communities involvement in Main Street? The Northfield Downtown Development Corporation recently sent Ross Currier to the National Main Street Conference In Chicago, IL.  Read about Ross’s experience and the Main Street Program at http://nddc.org/weblog/post/1600/.

Recently, Lakeland Public Television of Brainerd aired an interview with Emily Roragen, Brainerd’s Main Street Coordinator.  This video provides a great discussion of Main Streets in Minnesota and at the National Level.  To watch, follow this link.

[1] From National Main Street Center Fact Sheet, see: http://www.mainstreet.org.
[2] Seidman, Karl. “Revitalizing Commerce for American Cities: A Practitioner’s Guide to Urban Main Street Programs.” Washington, DC: Fannie Mae Foundation, September, 2004.  6.
[3] National Main Street Center website, see: http://www.mainstreet.org.