National Main Street Center: 1980 $18.3 billion total reinvestment 244,500 net gain in jobs 60,500 net gain in businesses 96,200 rehabilitated buildings 1,200 current communities Oklahoma Main Street Center:1986 $600 million total reinvestment 11,200 net gain in jobs 3,500 net gain in businesses 9,300 rehabilitated buildings 41 current communities 16 Small Towns (<5,000) 20 Mid-size Towns (5,000 to 50,000) 5 Urban Neighborhoods

Would these reinvestments have been made without Main Street? Let’s look at the “benefits” of Main Street. The revitalization of downtown is not dependent on just one thing. Single-issue community development is too simplistic. Main Street uses a 4-Point Approach ® that includes Organization, Design, Promotion (marketing) and Economic Restructuring.

Main Street focuses on the physical uniqueness of a commercial area. Historic preservation highlights the community’s built environment and provides the economic lure of tourism. Preserving the historic architecture recaptures the town’s physical distinction and emotional images.

The Main Street process doesn’t offer “the” big fix. Downtown revitalization is a step-by-step process that begins with a plan. First thing you’ll notice is a new coat of paint or uncovered transom windows. Since 1986, there have been 64 Oklahoma communities participating in Main Street and revitalizing their downtown business districts one brick at a time.

Main Street is very much a local program. Main Street works because of the local volunteers who make the “time” and dollar commitments to plan, implement and measure progress. It’s the local volunteers who pickup Friday night’s trash early Saturday morning to make Main Street an inviting area to work, play and shop.

The Oklahoma Main Street Program requires: 1. A signed Annual Agreement with budget 2. A work plan to guide local volunteers. 3. A nonprofit status. 4. An independent Board of Directors. 5. Attendance to 4 distinct trainings. 6. A monthly reinvestment report. 7. Paid staff

Summer of 1998, the Research and Data Management Division of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce conducted a study to compare Oklahoma Main Street towns with non-Main Street communities that held similarities in: 1. Population components 2. Annual retail sales 3. Geographic location 4. Proximity to larger cities 5. Retail sales as a % of total county retail sales 6. Per Capita retail sales

The study compared retail sales for Main Street towns and the non-Main Street communities termed “cohort” towns for various 3 year time periods. I. Period 1 - Annual retail sales for the "fiscal years" - 3 years prior to Main Street entry. II. Period 2 - Annual retail sales in the year of entrance and III. Period 3 - Annual retail sales for the fiscal years - 3 years after admission to Main Street Main Street towns were split into two groups, i.e. “Small Towns” (populations below 5,000) and “Small Cities” (populations between 5,000 and 50,000).

First Analysis: b Small Towns - The average growth in retail sales greatly favors the “cohort” towns during the three year period prior to joining the Main Street Program.

Small Towns – Next the analysis compared the average retail sales growth for the three year period after entry in the Main Street Program, ( Period II to Period III). B The improvement in sales growth rates favored Main 9.2 points to 0.8 of a point for the cohort towns.

Second Analysis: b Small cities - The second group of towns in Main Street were also compared to similar non-Main Street towns. The analysis for "small cities" compared successive 3-year periods, ('86 to '89, '87 to '90, '88 to '91, … ’95 to ’98) to measure improvement in retail sales growth. The average improvement for the Main Street towns was 7.9% while the average improvement for the cohort cities was 4.5%.

"This study shows… The Main Street Program has a tangible economic impact on small towns & cities not only increasing quality of life but also helping grow the local economy."

Perhaps a better question to ask … “Does the community want to bet its commercial future that Main Street doesn’t have a direct impact on growth?" Does the Main Street Process have a direct impact on a community’s economic well being?