Main Street Program
Smithfield is a nationally affiliated Main Street community.
North Carolina Main Street Program
In hundreds of cities and towns throughout the United States, civic leaders are working to bring life back to Main Street. Whether it’s the major downtown corridor in a small town or the commercial center of a larger city, Main Street is being rediscovered. As they work to reinforce and rekindle the economic vitality and values that Main Street stands for, communities are utilizing the Main Street approach to community revitalization, and in North Carolina, communities are turning to the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center for assistance.Main Street America
Main Street America has been helping revitalize historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today it is a network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, Inc., a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.The Main Street Approach is a time-tested framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization centered around transformation strategies that articulate a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown or commercial district’s economy.
A program’s work on transformation strategies should be informed by a solid understanding of local and regional market data and sustained and inclusive community engagement. Transformation strategies are implemented through comprehensive work in four broad areas, known as the four points:
ECONOMIC VITALITY focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economies.
DESIGN supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual assets that set the commercial district apart.
PROMOTION positions the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics.
ORGANIZATION involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, and resources for the district.
Main Street revitalization is one of the most successful economic development strategies in America: every dollar a community uses to support its local Main Street program has leveraged an average of more than $38 in new investment.