What is the Kansas Main Street Program?

The Kansas Main Street Program is the state-level provider for the training, information, technical assistance and IWW funding that is provided to designated local Main Street programs. Administered by the Kansas Department of Commerce, the program is designed to help communities with a population of 50,000 or less to redevelop their downtown business districts.

All services are based on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street program, which, in the early 1980s, developed a Four-Point Approach to downtown revitalization. These points have successfully helped thousands of programs across the nation bring back the central business district as one of the treasures of each community.

What does this program do?

This program helps to revitalize a community’s downtown district, capitalizing on the downtown’s history, architecture and business mix by identifying the community’s vision and desires and using local resources to make it happen.  This is a self-help program and local leaders must have the will and the desire to make this program successful.  Continued long-term success will depend on the involvement and commitment of the community.  Kansas Main Street provides a proven framework for downtown redevelopment and a variety of services to designated communities. 

Why is Main Street important?

Main Street is a symbol of community economic health, local quality of life, pride and preserves community history (factors in industrial, commercial and professional recruitment).

A vital Main Street retains and creates jobs, which also mean a stronger tax base, and a healthy Main Street core protects property values in surrounding residential neighborhoods. The traditional commercial district is an ideal location for independent businesses because it:

· Keeps profits in town

· Supports families with family-owned businesses

· Supports local community projects

·  Provides an extremely stable economic foundation as opposed to a few large businesses with no ties to stay in the community

 A revitalized Main Street provides an important civic forum where members of the community gather for parades, special events and celebrations reinforcing a sense of community.

Many Main Street districts become travel attractions by virtue of the character of the buildings, location, selection of unique businesses and the events held there.

What is a “sense of place”?

A sense of place describes the various characteristics that give a particular neighborhood or community its own unique flavor.  Increasingly this unique flavor or character of a community is being understood as a valuable, driving force behind location decisions being made by the entrepreneurs, innovators and creators of the new economy. Where sense of place was once considered fluff, today creating a sense of place is one of the most critical elements of an overall economic development strategy. A sense of place also inspires feelings of familiarity, belonging and emotional attachments by their residents.

Why should my town worry about downtown revitalization?

The downtown or traditional commercial district is the most visible indicator of community pride, along with its economic and social health. It is either an asset or a liability in the effort to recruit new residents, new businesses and industries, retirees, tourists and others to your community and to help keep those you already have.

A vital central business district retains and creates jobs and stabilizes and enhances downtown property values, setting up a strong tax base that is less dependent on residential taxes for financial stability.  Long-term revitalization establishes capable businesses that serve the community and provides tax revenue for local government.  Downtown is also a good incubator for new small businesses – the building blocks of a healthy economy.

Finally, the downtown commercial district is the visual representation of a community’s heritage. The architecture of the commercial district is a physical expression of the community’s history.  The Main Street Approach encourages forward-thinking economic development in an historic preservation context so this community asset and legacy can be passed on to future generations.

What is the National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach?

The National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach is a conceptual methodology that any community may use as the template for its downtown revitalization effort. It is based upon the implementation of four functional components as the basis of a solid downtown revitalization program. These four points are:

Design: The improvement and enhancement of the physical environment of the central business district.  Creating an inviting atmosphere, through window displays, parking areas, signs, sidewalks, streetlights, landscaping and the buildings themselves conveying a visual message of what Main Street is and what it has to offer.

Promotion: Selling the image and promise of Main Street to all prospects.  Market the district’s unique characteristics to shoppers, investors and visitors through the creation and implementation of a unified, consistent plan for marketing the downtown area. The promotional strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotions and special events carried out by local volunteers.

Organization: The development of a strong, well-trained downtown corporate entity, preferably an independent, non-profit organization, whose sole responsibility is the enhancement of communication, volunteer development, program implementation and fundraising necessary to implement the Four-Point Approach.

Economic Restructuring: Learning to fully understand the social and economic characteristics of the downtown and its trade area so as to implement a strategy that will retain existing businesses and help business clusters to develop and recruit new businesses appropriate to the vision and trade area demographics of the downtown. Main Street programs help convert unused and underused space into productive property and works to help sharpen the competitiveness of business enterprises.

Can my community become a designated local Main Street program?

Any Kansas community with a population of 50,000 or less may apply to become a designated Kansas Main Street City after attending the annual Kansas Main Street Application Workshop (usually in February). Typically the application will be due in late May and announcement of new cities is always held the first full week of July.  Application assistance and review is available from the Kansas Main Street staff.

Once a consensus is reached that revitalization is essential for the community, group leaders should contact the Kansas Main Street program who will then go the community to address group leaders and present the basics of downtown revitalization generally and more specifically the Main Street program.

How does Main Street work locally?

Typically, interest in developing a local Main Street program comes from business or property owners, city government, civic clubs, the chamber of commerce, historic preservationists or other civically-minded groups. Community leaders from both the public and private sectors discuss goals, establish an organization (Main Street programs in Kansas are independent non-profit organizations), raise money to hire a Main Street Director and create committees and a board of directors to carry out the work. Once established, the program’s participants examine the commercial district’s needs and opportunities and develop a long-term, incremental strategy based on the Main Street Four-Point Approach to strengthen its commercial activity and improve its buildings.

Who should be involved in the local Main Street organization?

Everyone with a stake in the commercial district and its future should be involved.  Merchants, property owners, industries, local government and private citizens all benefit from a healthy local economy and from a historic city core that reflects the community’s heritage and ideals. A solid partnership is crucial to the Main Street program’s success. In fact an 1988 study of successful downtown revitalization programs in America, conducted by the National Main Street Center and the Urban Institute, found that programs which were funded primarily by local sources were much more likely to be successful than those that relied heavily on state or federal funds.  In addition, it is important that both the public and private sector support the program financially demonstrating their commitment to its goals.

Who pays for the Main Street program?  Is it a grant?

No. Financial support for the program comes from the local entities that have a stake in the downtown. The success of the Main Street program over the years lies in the fact that it is a local initiative, both organizationally and financially.  People care more about the success and become involved in something they personally have to invest in or donate their time to.

How much will it cost to be a Main Street program and how do we raise the funds?

The amount of funding necessary for a downtown revitalization program is a function of the level of activities necessary to attain the vision for the central business district in question. It will vary from community to community. Downtown revitalization is not cheap, in either dollars or in human effort. But the surest way for a community to fail at downtown development is to start the process by thinking only about the money required to “complete” the process. Downtown revitalization is an ongoing effort, not a time limited project – change happens in incremental steps, over time. Kansas Main Street can provide communities with some suggestions on start-up money needed depending on community size. The actual budget will be based on the work program.  All the money raised locally stays local to operate the program.  There is no cost to communities to apply for or receive benefits from the Kansas Main Street program once designated.

Don’t forget that while money can do a lot, it can only go so far in revitalizing districts. Volunteerism contributes to the Main Street vision – the success of the program relies on the amount of time, effort and money that volunteers contribute.

How long does a local Main Street program last?

Commercial revitalization is an ongoing process.  Just as a shopping center has a full-time staff and works constantly to ensure proper leasing, management and marketing, downtown commercial districts need ongoing attention, too.

What is IWW funding and how can I get funding?

The Incentives Without Walls (IWW) funding is a grant/loan program available only to local designated Kansas Main Street programs.  Local programs make application for specific projects on behalf of downtown businesses, which meets the IWW intent.  Individual businesses may not make application.  Applications will only be accepted from a designated local Main Street program in good standing.

Who should I contact for further information?

Inquiries regarding the program should be made to:

Jeanne Stinson, State Coordinator Kansas Main Street Program

Mary Helmer, Assistant State Coordinator Kansas Main Street Program