Tennessee Main Street Community

Downtown Kingsport Association is proud to be part of the Tennessee Main Street Program. For decades, a bustling downtown was the social, cultural and financial lifeblood of communities across America. With today’s interstates spidering through land that used to be thought of as “out there,” Main Street’s shops and diners, once filled with familiar faces, have been competing with big box stores and parking decks in sprawling suburban communities. Here in Tennessee, we’re not ready to let downtown become a memory.

 

Tennessee joins a growing national movement to improve the business climate in America’s traditional downtowns. Main Street works with these communities to provide technical assistance, training and guidance to improve the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of traditional commercial districts. The “Main Street Approach to Revitalization”™ guides communities to develop strong, broad-based local organizations and to create a road map for implementation and management of the revitalization process.

 

In the middle 1980s Tennessee Main Street Program joined the National Main Street Center as a coordinating partner. Since then our program has engaged with towns and cities across Tennessee, spreading the national methodology and language of “Main Street” , developed more than 30 years ago and successful in more than 2,500 communities across America.

 

The National Main Street Center’s © “Main Street Approach to Downtown Revitalization” comprehensive downtown revitalization advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment and the rebuilding of traditional business districts based on unique assets such as distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment and local ownership. In other words, we believe in community-driven, common sense solutions to make our downtowns safe, appealing and vibrant places where folks want to shop, live and make memories.

 

Downtowns play an important role in a community’s economic development strategy. These commercial cores usually account for as much as 30 percent of a community’s jobs and 40 percent of its tax base. Downtown is also a community’s crossroads – a place in our hearts and minds that evoke strong emotions and help define our identity.

 

The benefits of downtown revitalization are clear:
Revitalization protects the existing tax base. Private investment in banks, businesses and commercial property and public investment in streets, sidewalks and water and sewer lines are protected and enhanced.

 

Revitalization provides an incubator for new business. A viable downtown offers opportunities and incentives for the new entrepreneurs such as lower rent and technical assistance.

 

Revitalization helps attract industrial development. Downtown reflects the overall image a community projects to potential investors. An invigorated downtown makes a very positive statement about the whole community.

 

Revitalization provides a point of focus and stability. A vibrant downtown gives the whole community and region a sense of pride and positive self-image. It also serves as an anchor that holds the community together and provides the stability necessary for economic growth.

 

The unique way in which we implement this program is known as the
Main Street Four-Point Approach