Indiana Main Street Communities Participate in Community Strategy Workshops

Beginning this spring, seven Indiana Main Street communities will participate in Community Transformation Strategy Workshops, with the assistance of Main Street America consultants. The two-day workshops will help continue the advancement of each communities’ downtown area. The workshops are sponsored by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs’ Indiana Main Street Program and will be held from April through August 2022.

“These seven communities have established effective and successful Main Street programs. The workshops will further build on their strengths through targeted community development strategies,” said OCRA Executive Director Denny Spinner. “Through the workshops, these organizations have the ability to become examples for future main streets.”

The participating organizations include five Nationally Accredited Main Street organizations and two PreservINg Main Street grant awardees. The five NAMS communities include Frankfort, Newburgh, Seymour, Shelbyville and Wabash. The two PreservINg Main Street communities are Brookville and Kendallville.

The workshops provide services to assist the Indiana Main Street organizations to define community-informed and market-driven strategies that can direct and strengthen their revitalization efforts.

“We believe these seven communities will be able to implement the recommendations and demonstrate a measurable impact to be a case study for the other Main Street communities in Indiana,” said Matt Wagner, chief program officer of Main Street America. “Community engagement and enthusiasm will make for a dynamic and successful program!”

The visits will involve community input by a pre-visit self-assessment, research on market conditions, specific gaps and key opportunities that can strengthen the downtown district. For a workshop agenda and meeting locations, contact Andrea Kern at [email protected] or 317-607-4821. For more information on the Indiana Main Street program, visit in.gov/ocra/mainstreet or the National Main Street Center at mainstreet.org/home. Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 40 years. Today, it is a network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, that share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have leveraged more than $89.57 billion reinvested, 154,435 businesses started, 687,321 jobs created, and 303,836 buildings rehabilitated. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.