1. National Main Street Center South Shore Chicago Urban Main Initiative
Dionne Baux
Director of Urban Programs
National Main Street Center
November 15, 2018
Images top to bottom: Fort Madison, Iowa,

2. Today’s Agenda:
Purpose: National Main Street Center’s introductory meeting with South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s board to provide information about NMSC and the Chicago UrbanMain program, current work underway and complementary capacity building tool for district managers.
Outcomes:
Main Street America
Urban Main Streets
Launch of UrbanMain
New cities
South Shore UrbanMain
UrbanMain Network
Open discussion / next steps

3. National Main Street Center – Main Street America
Main Street America is a program of the National Main Street Center. It is a national network of 1,000+ local affiliate organizations and 45 State, City, County-level Main Street Coordinating Programs.
Main Street programs support revitalization of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts.
The Main Street Approach equips local leaders and residents with a practical framework for improving the quality of life in their own communities.
Main Street America is united by a commitment to revitalizing older and historic commercial districts, supporting strong local economies, and enhancing the distinctive character that makes communities attractive to residents, visitors and businesses.

4. National Main Street Center
UrbanMain Initiative
Photo: Orlando’s Audubon Park Garden District

5. Urban Main Streets Succeed
Analysis of Performance of DC Main Street Programs Compared to Non- Main Street Programs, Prepared by Jon Stover & Associates, 2014
BOSTON
BOYLSTON MAIN STREET
The Main Street Approach has proven effective in the urban setting. A 2014 study by Jon Stover and Associates found that compared to commercial corridors that don’t participate in the Main Street Program, participating districts see approximately double the growth in the number of jobs and new businesses.

6. Main Street’s Urban Footprint
Dozens of urban neighborhood commercial districts across the country are part of the Main Street America Network, from Boston to DC, to San Diego, to Orlando.

7. Existing Urban Main Street Programs
Eci
Existing Urban Main Street Programs
BOSTON
BOYLSTON MAIN STREET
BALTIMORE
CANTON MAIN STREET
WASHINGTON DC
H – STREET MAIN STREET
Dozens of urban neighborhood commercial districts across the country are part of the Main Street America Network, from Boston to DC, to San Diego, to Orlando.

8. Launch of UrbanMain

9. New Cities / Partnerships
Work Underway
Baltimore, MD
Birmingham, AL Milwaukee, WI
Charlotte, NC Pontiac, MI
Chicago, IL Salt Lake City, UT
Pontiac, MI

10. Three Elements of the Urban Initiative
Delivery of the “new” Main Street Approach in urban commercial districts, which includes efforts to pilot the Main Street Approach in a way that helps us understand how and if it should be implemented differently in an urban setting; and
Delivery of specialized technical services for urban environments;
A new network specifically designed for urban district practitioners.  We launched this network Spring of 2017 in Seattle and had participation from Main Street directors from several existing Coordinating Programs.

11. 1. Delivery of Refresh in Urban Areas

12. 2. South Shore UrbanMain UrbanMain 18-month process
Fast Track Assessment
Market assessment
Organization assessment
Community assessment
Framework Development
Community engagement
Organizational development
MS 101 training
Transformation Strategy development
Work Plan Development
Implementing Change – the center will provide on-going support and project-specific assistance.

13. 3. UrbanMain Network Access to a specialized network
Exposure to a network of skilled-practitioners
Opportunity to exchange knowledge, expertise, collaborate and secure tools & resources specifically targeted for urban neighborhood districts

14. 3. UrbanMain Network
Urban convening successfully launched the UrbanMain network. The purpose of the convening was to build relationships and ensure its usefulness and sustainability to urban district leaders.
Participation Update:
11 or 34% Main Streets / 21 or 65% of non-Main Streets represented from 11 cities.
22 participants still loosely engaged.
Developing membership benefits.
2018 recruitment of new cohort.

15. UrbanMain Network Topics
Balancing/managing community & business engagement
Cultural and ethnic diverse strategies in organizing distressed retail/commercial corridors
Relationship/Partnership building / Diversified funding strategies

16. National Main Street Center
Thank you!
Dionne Baux
Director of UrbanMain
P: (312)
National Main Street Center