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The National Main Street Center announced Boyne City Main Street in Boyne City Michigan; Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association in Tupelo, Mississippi; and Kendall Whittier Main Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the 2020 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) winners. GAMSA is the nation’s top award for communities that have excelled in comprehensive preservation-based downtown revitalization. The winners were announced at the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s virtual PastForward Conference.
"This year's GAMSA winners demonstrate the power of our commercial district revitalization approach to transform communities and turn around local economies," said National Main Street Center (NMSC) President and CEO Patrice Frey. "While these winning programs hail from small towns and larger cities, they have all brought vibrancy to their downtowns through inclusive community engagement, dedicated small business support, and innovative partnerships. I know their stories will serve as an inspiration to Main Streets across the country as they work to respond to the impacts of the pandemic.”
Boyne City Main Street: Boyne City, Michigan
Located along Lake Charlevoix and the Boyne River in Northern Michigan, Boyne City has harnessed its picturesque waterfront location to become a hub for year-round outdoor recreation. The Main Street program has both enhanced access to natural resources and improved the sense of place downtown, thanks to a streetscape redevelopment project, developing a boardwalk and marina, adding public art, and implementing a façade grant program. A strong roster of events, from outdoor music to food festivals, along with a dedicated volunteer base, has also brought vitality back to downtown.
The Boyne City Main Street program has been a catalyst for economic development. Since the Main Street program got its start, the downtown has seen 91 net new businesses and has a vacancy rate of just 1 percent, down from 5 percent in 2003. Throughout the pandemic, Boyne City Main Street has ramped up their small business support, with a focus on connecting business owners to funding opportunities, helping them get online, and connecting merchants with resources to safely reopen. The Main Street program has also deeply invested in its residents. As its downtown grew, Boyne City Main Street has worked with public and private partners to expand workforce housing.
Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association: Tupelo, Mississippi
Downtown Tupelo has built on its legacy as the home of Elvis Presley and transformed its Main Street from a buttoned-up corridor that shut down after 5 p.m. to a bustling district with live music, art galleries, and farm-to-table restaurants thriving alongside legacy businesses. When the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association (DTMSA) got its start in 1990, the downtown’s vacancy rate was 13 percent. Thanks to DTMSA’s supportive entrepreneurship environment, vacancy is just four percent today. DTMSA has continued to offer support to small business owners during the pandemic. The program launched a dedicated website to support local merchants and provide one-on-one assistance with services like e-commerce support, social media training, and web development.
DTMSA has leveraged public and private partnerships to drive investment and development downtown, including converting a vacant former fairgrounds site into a vibrant mixed-use district that doubled the size of downtown. Fairpark is now home to a visitor center, arena, museum, restaurants, convention center, and hotel. DTMSA continued to change the face of downtown by connecting Fairpark with the original downtown core and the Elvis Presley Birthplace through a major streetscape project. DTMSA has spearheaded a range of inclusive community events that has made Tupelo the center of community activity.
Kendall Whittier Main Street: Tulsa, Oklahoma
In just 10 years, Tulsa’s Kendall Whittier District has transformed from an area of decades-long blight into a thriving neighborhood with a mix of galleries, breweries, restaurants, and non-mainstream retail. When Kendall Whittier Main Street (KWMS) got its start in 2010, the area had a 35 percent occupancy rate and was known as Tulsa’s red-light district– home to vacant storefronts and adult-oriented businesses. Thanks to community-led business recruitment and retention efforts, occupancy has grown to 100 percent today. In all, KWMS has seen a total of 350 jobs created and $158 million private dollars reinvested. Even after COVID-19 forced many businesses to temporarily shut their doors, no businesses in the district have permanently shuttered due to the pandemic. KWMS credits a Rent Relief Program with making all the difference.
With people-centered transportation projects, affordable housing initiatives, and more than 20 annual events that reflect the diversity of the community, Kendall Whittier has seen progress without marginalization. From art walks and outdoor concerts to yoga and food truck festivals, KWMS aims to offer free or low-cost programming that appeals to everyone in the community. Kendall Whittier’s revitalization has been so successful that it has become a model for other Tulsa neighborhoods and sparked a citywide Main Street program.
Learn more about each 2020 GAMSA winner here:
BOYNE CITY MAIN STREET
DOWNTOWN TUPELO MAIN STREET ASSOCIATION
KENDALL WHITTIER MAIN STREET
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Downtown Ames hosted a festival for the 46th annual RAGBRAI race (The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa).
7 Ways To Bring Your Main Street On Screen
You don’t need to be a big-name district to make a video that goes viral; you just need to know what you’re doing.
Comcast Newsmakers: Revitalizing Downtown
Matt Wagner, National Main Street Center's Vice President of Revitalization Programs, discusses competitive advantages, incrementalism and the power of the Main Street America network
Community Spotlight: Main Street Homer, Louisiana
Main Street Homer (Homer, Louisiana) was awarded a $25,000 A Community Thrives social impact grant from Gannett/USA Today Network to create an arts center with affordable artist studios and classroom/event space.
Evolution, Acceptance, and Change: The Main Street Approach as a Catalyst for Revitalization
Nearly slated for demolition 30 years ago, downtown Cedar Falls has experienced an amazing transformation through its revitalization journey using the Main Street Approach.
Main Street Roots Run Deep in Downtown Wytheville
Since starting as Executive Director, Todd has helped the organization achieve Virginia Main Street Designation Status and national Accreditation.
Announcing the 2018 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center, Inc., announced Downtown Oregon City, Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency, and Howell Main Street as the 2018 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) winners during its annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
Main Streets in Action
We rolled out four new Main Street America videos highlighting the power of the Main Street movement, Main Street Approach, economic impact of Main Street, and the incredible volunteers that make Main Street's grassroots network so effective.
Community Spotlight: Ridgefield Main Street
Ridgefield Main Street is an energetic, up-and-coming Washington Main Street program located just north of Vancouver, Washington.
Want to do something big? Start small.
A series of small, incremental improvements, when taken together, provide momentum for long-term economic transformation and improved quality of life in a community.
Michigan Main Street Refresh Implementation: The Refresh from Our Communities’ Perspective
Here's a bit of background on each of the communities. Read on for the Refresh Implementation Q&A.
Announcing the 2017 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center, Inc. announced the 2017 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) during its annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Reality of Main Street — Letter from the President
The National Main Street Center and the Brookings Institution have jointly authored a response to Mr. Hyman’s piece, The Reality of Main Street, that is featured on Brookings’ blog.
Michigan Main Street Refresh Implementation: Our Process and Lessons Learned So Far
Michigan Main Street Center was the first Coordinating Program to implement the new Main Street approach on a large scale. In this article, they share their robust process and valuable lessons.
The Reality of Main Street
There is another way for smaller communities to compete in today’s economy and we believe a strong main street strategy is at the heart of it.
The Myth of Main Street? Letter from the President
Letter from past MSA President, Patrice Frey
The Lowdown in Downtown LaBelle
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Strategic Planning Through Transformation Strategies – Saline, Michigan
Back in October 2015, we introduced the three key components of the refreshed Main Street Approach: inputs, outputs and Community Transformation Strategies.
Revitalization and Main Street Transformation
For a lucky few downtowns, greatness may happen effortlessly with a strong sense of place that seems to develop organically and simply sustain itself. For most places, success doesn’t happen by chance.
Revisit Your Community’s Unique Assets: Connecting Asset-Based Economic Development to Community Transformation Strategies
This need for change results from the heavy emphasis on three components of the refreshed Main Street Approach.
The 2016 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The 2016 winners are a diverse group in geography and character, but together demonstrate the broad applicability of the Main Street Approach:
Main Street Nation Radio
The first official show under the Main Street Nation banner aired in June 2015 on WJR-760 AM Detroit.
The Path To The Future
The economic value of historic preservation on Main Street.
Refresh Demonstration Project Sites: Learning Labs for the Updated Main Street Approach
A series of demonstration projects providing the opportunity to test new strategies on the ground, learn from practitioners, and refine the approach.
Why Business Retention and Expansion Plans are Important for Downtowns
A business retention and expansion plan, properly implemented, not only helps keep businesses open but possibly even helps them expand.
Wisconsin Main Street: 27 Years of People, Places and Progress
While there have been over $1.2 billion in public and private investment in Wisconsin Main Street communities over the past 27 years, what really makes it special are the people and places that have been involved.
Pop-Up Art Tour
Main Street Bartow's empty storefronts become pop-up art galleries to promote economic development.
A Walk Through Rehoboth Beach Main Street
Although a “beach town,” Rehoboth Beach is open 365 days a year, and with that has the unique challenge of catering to both year-round residents and tourists within a wide range of ages, interests and economic levels
Independent We Stand Makes Main Streets a Priority
In communities across the country, hardworking business owners and buy local advocates come together to foster an organized effort to reinvent and revitalize Main Streets and downtown districts.
Announcing the 2015 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center is pleased to announce that Cape Girardeau, Mo., Montclair Center, N.J., and Rawlins, Wyo. were selected as the 2015 Great American Main Street Award® (GAMSA) winners.
