Downtown Kinston Revitalization (DK) is an Affiliate Main Street program and a quasi-public-private 501c3 non-profit. This means we follow the protocols and methodologies for revitalization created by the National Main Street organization, overseen by the North Carolina Main Street program, the local Director is a City employee guiding the revitalization, the Board of Directors manages the non-profit, and all work in partnership for success with one agenda focused on our mission to spearhead historic commercial district revitalization using the Main Street approach that promotes economic development within the context of historic preservation.
Downtown Kinston Revitalization joined the State and National Main Street programs in 1984 to guide the non-profit organization in its efforts to revive economic vitality in downtown.
With this partnership comes required procedures, protocols, and reporting to facilitate and monitor local program success including Board job descriptions, member evaluations, and committee expectations. A working Board is the primary distinguishing difference from other non-profit organizations.
Every community and commercial district is different, with its own distinctive assets and sense of place. The Main Street Approach™ offers community-based revitalization initiatives with a practical, adaptable framework for downtown transformation that is easily tailored to local conditions. The Main Street Approach helps communities get started with revitalization, and grows with them over time.
Main Street is a national movement that guides thousands of communities as they work to revitalize their downtowns, sparking their local economies while they restore or develop culturally and historically significant resources in these areas. Main Street America leads a National movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
The NC Main Street program provides downtown strategic economic development planning and project-specific technical assistance to 81 communities in the Main Street programs. It offers a robust calendar of training and educational opportunities which includes the country's largest statewide downtown revitalization annual conference. NC Main Street initiatives build local capacity for downtown revitalization, small business development, and the rehabilitation of historic properties.
The Main Street Approach is a time-tested framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization that has strengthened downtowns across the country. The strategies that guide this approach are organized around four points: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization.
• The Main Street Approach is centered around Transformation Strategies that articulate a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown or commercial district’s economy.
• A program’s work on Transformation Strategies should be organized around the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization.
• A revitalization program’s work (and its Transformation Strategies) need to be informed by a solid understanding of local and regional market data, and sustained and inclusive community engagement.
Transformation Strategies, generated through community engagement and informed by analysis of the district’s market position, help to guide a revitalization program’s work. An effective Transformation Strategy serves a particular customer segment, responds to an underserved market demand, or creates a differentiated destination.
Defining the Four Points
Transformation Strategies are implemented through comprehensive work in four broad areas.
• ECONOMIC VITALITY focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economies.
• DESIGN supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual assets that set the commercial district apart.
• PROMOTION positions the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics.
• ORGANIZATION involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, and resources for the district.
Information in this article is from www.mainstreet.org and www.ncmainstreetandplanning.com.