Main Street™ Program
Find out more about Main Street™ New Jersey and The National Main Street™ Center by clicking on the links below:

Main Street™ New Jersey
The National Main™ Street Center

The Four-Point Approach™

The National Main Street™ Center Inc.,a subsidiary of the National Trust For Historic Preservation, offers a comprehensive revitalization strategy that has been widely successful in towns and cities nationwide. Described below are the four points of the Main Street™ approach which work together to build a sustainable and complete community revitalization effort.
  1. Organization - Organization involves getting everyone working toward the same goal and assembling the appropriate human and financial resources to implement the Main Street revitalization program. A governing board and standing committees make up the fundamental organizational structure of the volunteer-driven program. Volunteers are coordinated and supported by a paid program director as well. This structure not only divides the workload and clearly delineates responsibilities, but also builds consensus and cooperation among the various stakeholders.
  2. Promotion - Promotion sells a positive image of the commercial district and encourages consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the Main Street district. By marketing a district's unique characteristics to residents, investors, business owners and visitors, an effective promotional strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotional activity, special events, and marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers. These activities improve consumer and investor confidence in the district and encourage commercial activity and investment in the area.
  3. Design - Design means getting Main Street into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets – such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets – is just part of the story. An inviting atmosphere, created through attractive window displays, parking areas, building improvements, street furniture, signs, sidewalks, street lights and landscaping conveys a positive visual message about the commercial district and what it has to offer. Design activities also include instilling good maintenance practices in the commercial district by rehabilitating historic buildings, encouraging appropriate new construction, developing sensitive design management systems, and long-term planning.
  4. Economic Restructuring - Economic Restructuring strengthens your community's existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base. The Main Street™ program helps sharpen the competitiveness of existing building owners. recruits compatible new businesses and new economic uses to build a commercial district that responds to today's consumers needs. Converting unused or underused commercial space into economically productive properties also helps boost the profitability of the district.

(source: Main Street™ New Jersey – a program of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs)


The Eight Principles of Success

The National Trust's Main Street Center Inc.'s experience in helping communities bring their commercial corridor back to life has shown time and time again that the Main Street Four-Point Approach™ succeeds. That success is guided by the following eight principles which set the Main Street methodology apart from other economic development strategies. For a Main Street project to be successful, it shall wholeheartedly embrace the following time-tested following Eight Principles. Depending on your district itself and your program's experience and resources, these principles, while always valid, may be applied in a variety of day-to day ways.

  1. Comprehensive - No single focus -- lavish public improvements, name-brand business recruitment, or endless promotional events can revitalize Main Street. For successful, sustainable, long-term re- vitalization, a comprehensive approach, including activity in each of Main Street's Four-Points is essential.
  2. Incremental - Baby steps come before walking. Successful revitalization programs begin with basic, simple activities that demonstrate that “new things are happening” in the commercial district. As public confidence in the Main Street district grows and participants understanding of the revitalization process grows more sophisticated, Main Street is able to tackle increasingly complex problems and more ambitious projects. This incremental change leads to much longer-lasting and dramatic positive change in the Main Street area.
  3. Self-Help - No one else can save your Main Street. Local leaders must have the will and desire to mobilize local resources and talents. That means convincing residents and business owners of the rewards they'll reap by investing time and money in the Main Street heart of the community. Only local leadership can produce long-term success by fostering and demonstrating community involvement and commitment to the revitalization effort.
  4. Partnerships - Both the public and private sectors have a vital interest in the district and must work together to achieve common goals of Main Street's revitalization. Each sector has a role to play and each must understand the others' strengths and limitations in order to forge an effective partnership.
  5. Identifying and Capitalizing on Existing Assets - Business Districts must capitalize on the assets that make them unique. Every district has unique qualities like distinctive buildings and human scale that give people a sense of belonging. These local assets must serve as the foundational aspects of the revitalization program.
  6. Quality - Emphasize quality in every aspect of the revitalization program. This applies to all elements of the process -- from storefront design to promotional campaigns to educational programs. Shoestring budgets and cut-and-paste efforts reinforce the negative image of the commercial district. Instead, concentrate on quality projects over quantity.
  7. Change Skeptics - turn into believers and attitudes on Main Street will turn around. At first, almost no one really believes that Main Street can really turn around. Changes in attitude and practice are slow, but definite - public support for change will build as the Main Street program grows and consistently meets its goals. Change also means engaging in better business practices, altering ways of thinking, and improving the physical appearance of the commercial district. A carefully planned Main Street pro- gram will help shift public perceptions and practices to support and sustain the revitalization process.
  8. Implementation - To succeed, Main Street must show visible results that can come only from completing projects. Frequent, visible changes are a reminder that the revitalization effort is under way and succeeding. Small projects at the beginning of a program pave the way to larger ones as the revitalization effort matures, and that constant revitalization activity creates confidence in the Main Street program's ever-greater levels of participation.

(source: Main Street New Jersey - a program of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs).