# Presentation: 130133

## Main Street Revitalization

- Timothy A. Cullenen, AICP
- Cornell University
- Community and Rural Development Institute

## Main Street - Anywhere

- What is a “main street”?

- What does your “main street” look like?

- What would you like it to be and how would it look?

- How do you accomplish that vision?

## Main Street Revitalization

- National Trust for Historic Preservation - National Main Street Center

- Point Program
- 	-    Design
- Organization
- Promotion
- Economic Restructuring

## Design

- Enhancing physical appearance by:
- rehabilitating historic buildings
- encouraging supportive new construction
- developing sensitive design
- long term planning

## Organization

- Building consensus and cooperation among the many groups who have a role in the process

## Promotion

- Marketing traditional commercial district’s assets to:
- customers
- investors
- new businesses
- local citizens
- visitors

## Economic Restructuring

- Strengthening the existing economic base while finding ways to expand to meet new opportunities _*and*_ challenges from outlying development

## National Program

- _The Main Street Philosophy_:
- comprehensive
- incremental
- self-help
- public/private partnerships
- identifying/capitalizing on existing assets
- quality
- change
- action oriented

**Notes:**
Comprehensive:  a single project can’t do it.
Incremental:  many, small projects make a big difference
self-help: tech assistance available, but only local leadership can initiate long term success
ptnshp:  need support & expertise of both public & private sectors
existing assets:  local assets provide solid foundation
quality:  must be main goal
change:  changing of attitudes & habits is essential to success
action:  frequent, visible changes in looks & activities will reinforce the perspective of positive change.

## A Manual for Small Downtowns

- Dr. Martin Shields - Penn State University
- _[http://retailmarkets.aers.psu.edu](http://retailmarkets.aers.psu.edu/)_
- The Manual is designed for small communities unable to participate in the Main Street program because:
- too small
- lack resources and networks
- want to do it “on their own

## Goals

- Revitalize downtown
- Strengthen the local economy
- Improve the local quality of life
- Foster volunteerism
- Develop local leadership

## Let’s Build a Downtown

## Port Buelow

- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats

## Workgroups

- Local Business Development
- Beautification
- Promotion
- Tourism development

##  A 240 Second Review of Strategic Visioning

- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to be?
- How do we get there?
- How are we doing?

## Committee Mission

- You have 20 minutes to develop a strategic plan for your area
- Your group should develop 3 ideas, complete with implementation steps and progress checks
- Be ready to spend 5 minutes reporting your ideas

## Things to Remember

- Who will do the work?
- How will resources be raised?
- How will work be promoted?
- How will work be evaluated?
- How will work be celebrated?
- You are all volunteers with families, businesses, and jobs
- And, you pay taxes

## Things to Remember

- Think  BIG...........		                            ......Start small

## Committee Reports

## What did we learn?

## Contents: A Manual for Small Downtowns

- Revitalizing Downtown
- Getting Organized
- Planning Revitalization
- Strategies
- Three Case Studies
- Additional Resources
- Appendixes

## Principles of the Manual

- Organization
- Planning
- Implementation and Mobilizing Resources
- Promotion
- Evaluation
- Think BIG............ start small

## Strategies, Solutions, and Actions

- Retail Trade Analysis
- Crossroads Analysis
- First Impressions
- Community Economic Renewal - RMI

## Retail Trade Analysis

- Basic laws of supply and demand
- Pull Factors or Leakage
- Market Share = Sales / Consumer Spending
- Demographic Analysis
- GIS applications

## Major Retail Components

- Hardware and Building Materials
- Food Stores
- General Merchandise
- Automobile Dealers
- Gas Stations
- Apparel
- Furniture
- Eating and Drinking Establishments
- Drug Stores

**Notes:**
Data on retail sales is usually broken down in these major components. It is not unusual to find a county with a positive pull factor for one component, while “leaking” sales in another.

## Retail Sales and Population

**Notes:**
We don’t have data that directly measures spending by consumers. We can start by assuming that on average, per capita spending on retail goods and services is constant across the region.
Adding resident population to the graph helps us to put the level of retail sales in perspective. Onondaga County has almost half the region’s population, and therefore it should not be surprising that it has about half the region’s retail sales.
BUT you can probably see that Onondaga County’s share of retail sales is greater than its share of population.

## Supply/Demand for Food Stores

- Supply/Demand for Food Stores

## CROSSROADS ANALYSIS

- _PROCESS:_
- #1) AREA IDENTIFICATION
- #2) WINDSHIELD SURVEY
- #3) CODING OF SERVICES
- #4) SCALING OF SERVICES
- #5) INTERPRETATION & ACTION PLANNING

- Scaling of Commercial Services

## CROSSROADS ANALYSIS

**“****HOLES**” = missing services		**“Errors**” = businesses of concern

**Notes:**
5 YEAR RULE;  The line-score is important because we know from previous studies that approximately two-thirds of the 'holes' (a blank in a cell above the 'scale line' where we 'expect' one or more services) will 'fill in' in the next 5 years; and three-quarters of the 'errors' (a number in a cell where we 'expect' a blank) will go out of business in the next 5 years. 

Holes are potential business opportunities; errors are potential business losses.

The pattern exists because community services are largely functions of communities' population sizes and their citizens' income levels.

## The pattern implies four Policy Jobs for community developers:   

- 2) to find resources (e.g. dollars as well as a trained entrepreneur) to invest in the 'opportunity';

- 3) to determine whether the 'errors' are in actual danger of going out of business; and

- 4) to determine means of keeping endangered businesses open (e.g. in terms of business-management training or in having a business move  to a more viable location in order stay open).

- 1) to assess whether a 'hole' is a real business opportunity    (e.g. that no competition exists nearby);

**Notes:**
Comparison Study =  every 3 / 5 year should repeat

What study can show:	#1 location/location /location
		#2 Need for business plans
		#3 Need for obtaining capital

“Opportunities” - just below scale line   “RISKS” - just above
	*EXPLAIN WHY

Benefits:  low cost study of area business
                 opportunity to contact & assist “errors”
	Implement programs:  visitation/BRE,  training, education	

Connection to social capital - “holes” are filled

## First Impressions

- Raise local awareness about what a community looks like to a first-time visitor
- Illustrates community strengths and areas of concern
- Unbiased opinions and perspectives

## Community Economic Renewal 

- Rocky Mountain Institute of Community Economic Renewal

- #1)	Plug the Leaks

- #2)	Support existing businesses

- #3)	Encourage new enterprises

- #4)	Recruit compatible new businesses

- Community Economic Renewal

**Notes:**
Social Implications:    - Community gathering places
	             - Social Capacity Building
	             - transportation & travel costs
	             -   community wealth building  **economic leaks **
Leak Plugging puts money back into local economy = energy resources
Supporting Existing Businesses = Ithaca Hours
	- hand in hand with Leak Plugging
Encourage local new enterprises = “Value Added”  timber to “lumber”
  “creative” things - RLF, business incubators, etc.
Recruit = compatible means “sustainable” - to community, environment, business
Companies looking to relocate will notice “quality of life” and business environment

THEY ALL BUILD ON ONE ANOTHER

## NINE TOOLS OF ECONOMIC RENEWAL

- #1)	Ask why

- #2)	Manage demand

- #3)  Pursue development – not necessarily expansion

- #4)	Seek small solutions

- #5)	Find problem-solvers who care

- #6)	Increase the Multiplier Effect

- #7)	Find hidden local skills and assets

- #8)	Build social capital

- #9)	Organize regionally

**Notes:**
#1 WHY - identifies creative, sensible solutions
#2  DEMAND - no new supply can compete with more efficient use of existing
#3 DEVELOPMENT V. EXPANSION - this refers to community.  Quality over quantity
#4 SMALL SOLUTIONS - don’t put all eggs in 1 basket,  multiple/diverse is safer
#5  FIND PROBLEM SOLVERS - local people have “invested” in community
#6 MULTIPLIER - local businesses re-circulate $$$,  big boxes/chains suck it out
#7 LOCAL SKILL & ASSETS - hidden opportunities, find out what you have
#8 SOCIAL CAPITAL- “towns succeed because their communities, not just collections of buildings.  A community’s most important strength is the capacity of its people to work together.  PUTNAM
#9 REGIONALLY - look to tie into regional economy.  Look for opportunity.  “No man is an island”

## EIGHT STEPS TO ECONOMIC RENEWAL

**{COMMUNITY ECONOMIC RENEWAL - RMI PROCESS}**
- Step 1:  Mobilize the Community
- Step 2:  Envision the Community’s Future
- Step 3:  Identify What You Have to Work With
- Step 4:  Discover new Opportunities
- Step 5:  Generate Project Ideas
- Step 6:  Evaluate Project Ideas
- Step 7:  Select project Ideas
- Step 8:  Develop Project Action Plans

**Notes:**
Great Opportunity for community capacity building & education/outreach
Close parallel & builds upon previous slide of “9 tools of economic renewal”

VISIONING PROCESS:

Support local communities,  citizen groups, existing non-profits, start up nons, etc.

This process can lend itself to education & outreach from various technical assistance providers, such as Cooperative Extension,  community colleges, citizen groups, .......

PROCESS BUILDS CAPACITY - BUT IT IS IMPLEMENTATION THAT SHOWS SUCCESS

## Resources

- National Trust for Historic Preservation - National Main Street Center    www.mainst.org
- International Downtown Association   www.ida-downtown.org
- Dr.Martin Shields     http://retailmarkets.aers.psu.edu
- Rocky Mountain Institute   www.rmi.org