What is Main Street Milwaukee?

	The Four Point Approach
	Public-Private Partnership

Throughout 2003, the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development (DCD) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) conducted over thirty planning sessions with over 100 stakeholders and volunteers to address new, comprehensive strategies for neighborhood economic development in the City of Milwaukee. Main Street Milwaukee is the result of this public-private collaborative effort.

Participants in the 2003 planning process emphasized the need for a coordinated, comprehensive approach to neighborhood economic development in the City of Milwaukee, technical assistance to small businesses to encourage and retain entrepreneurship along commercial streets in the City, and a true public-private partnership between DCD and LISC to fully exploit available resources for neighborhood economic development. Participants fully realized the potential of neighborhood economic development to create new jobs and wealth, to reduce crime, and to increase neighborhood pride and quality of life.

Main Street Milwaukee is the result of this planning process. The program utilizes the Main Street Four-Point Approach, a proven and effective national model for neighborhood economic development.

The Main Street Four-Point Approach™

The Four-Point Approach, developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been used in thousands of communities nationwide as a community-driven, comprehensive and flexible approach to economic development on traditional commercial streets. The Four-Point Approach emphasizes concrete, incremental changes to affect long-lasting, meaningful improvement in a commercial district, provides an effective framework for community organization and input, and provides districts with access to a nationwide network of economic development knowledge and practice.

The Four-Point Approach promotes simultaneous change in four key areas to ensure effective, sustainable revitalization. Main Street Milwaukee districts must create at least four working committees to address each of the four points. The four points are:
 

Organization
To ensure that commercial districts act as a unified voice as they make decisions affecting their future, each Main Street district must build an effective strategy to build consensus and cooperation among diverse stakeholders. Stakeholders, which may include merchants, residents, lenders, community leaders and others, must work together to create a successful revitalization program.
Economic Restructuring
Effective revitalization requires strengthening and diversifying the district’s economic base. Each Main Street’s economic restructuring committee works to retain and expand existing businesses, to convert underutilized or vacant commercial space to productive use, to attract new, market-supportable businesses, and to sharpen the competitiveness of local businesspeople.
Promotion
Successful urban retail districts attract customers and foster community pride through festivals and other events, and by developing marketing materials to promote the district throughout the region. The Promotion Committee for each Main Street district works toward developing promotions and marketing materials to create a positive image of the district, attract new investment and new businesses, and improve retail sales.
Design
Each Main Street’s Design Committee works toward maximizing the district’s inherent visual opportunities. Design directs attention to all physical elements of the commercial district: public and private buildings, signs, landscaping, merchandising, displays and promotional materials. The Design Committee  utilizes specific programs and resources to improve upon and utilize the district’s existing physical characteristics to help improve the overall physical appearance and cohesiveness of the district.

Public-Private Partnership

Main Street Milwaukee is operated through a unique public-private collaboration between the Milwaukee Department of City Development (DCD) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

Using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, Milwaukee DCD coordinates the program, oversees the management and designation of districts, and expedites the delivery of City services and programs to designated districts. LISC uses funds and resources raised from various private sources to provide designated districts with specialized consultant services, small grants, and to utilize knowledgeable people from Milwaukee and other Main Street cities for training and mentoring of designated districts.

The Main Street Milwaukee Partners Board oversees the administration of the program. The Partners Board consists of nine members, including Mayoral appointees, Common Council members, and representatives from community funding sources appointed by LISC. The Partners Board is responsible for selecting Main Street Districts, monitoring program progress and success, and advocating new and continued support for neighborhood business districts.

To ensure that Main Street resources are directed to those areas that are most likely to succeed under the Main Street model and to ensure that resources reach those districts that are in most need of Main Street assistance and benefits, Main Street Milwaukee designated districts through a competitive application process.

By using both private and public funds, and by mobilizing the resources of both the private and public sector, Main Street Milwaukee maximizes the likelihood of success of designated Main Street districts. Main Street districts gain access to the necessary resources for success: diverse funding sources, technical assistance, and access to a nationwide network of knowledge and experience in urban economic development. 

 

Why Main Streets?   Why Neighborhood Economic Development?   Main Street Results Main Street Milwaukee provides a proven, successful framework for approaching neighborhood economic development in the City of Milwaukee. This framework, which has proven successful in other major cities, has been tailored to Milwaukee’s unique circumstances. The program coordinates the efforts of public and private entities to focus on the revitalization of Milwaukee’s neighborhood commercial districts. It is a comprehensive, City-wide, community-driven approach to economic development that will empower business owners, property owners, community members, and other stakeholders to revitalize their commercial districts. Why Neighborhood Economic Development? A healthy city is dependent on healthy neighborhoods; vital commercial corridors are an essential element of healthy neighborhoods. While many commercial districts in Milwaukee pulse with economic vitality, creating jobs for area residents, providing essential goods and services, building wealth for community members, and adding to the quality of life in City neighborhoods, other commercial districts are in need of revitalization to allow them to realize their full potential as vital commercial corridors. Commercial revitalization creates new jobs and new businesses in the City, adds value to the City’s tax base, and can help to build wealth in urban communities through increased entrepreneurship and the ownership of new business enterprises. Vital commercial corridors offer urban residents a nearby source for essential goods and services, help combat blight, and can become a source of pride and neighborhood identity. Main Street Results The Main Street approach has been used in over 1,700 communities nationwide, including in the cities of Boston, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Detroit. The Main Street approach has proven to be an effective strategy for economic development for a diverse array of communities nationwide. Through local Main Street efforts nationwide, over 200,000 new jobs have been created, 94,000 buildings have been renovated, and over $17 billion has been reinvested in aging commercial corridors. The Main Street approach provides a framework for success for urban commercial districts. The reasons for its success include:   Community Participation   The Main Street approach not only encourages community participation, but thrives on it. The approach requires the establishment of at least four working committees, made up of a diverse array of stakeholders, bringing together residents and business owners, lenders and property owners, and citizens and government officials to build consensus and cooperation and form a unified vision of the future of the district. As a result, new developments are made to be more palatable to neighborhood residents, and the entire community can speak as a unified voice when working to attract new businesses and retain existing businesses. Better citizen participation can also lead to more effective management of the program, further ensuring success. Capacity Building   Capacity Building Main Street districts gain access to the resources necessary for success in revitalization. The city-wide coordinating program, made up of a public-private partnership, provides districts with mentoring and training programs, access to diverse funding sources, and a wide array of free technical services, including architecture and urban planning services. Main Street districts hire a full-time manager whose sole duties are related to the creation and management of the Main Street program. Districts also can benefit from a ready network of economic development professionals both in Milwaukee and nationwide. In addition, non-designated commercial districts in the City have access to Main Street training and other services, allowing the entire community to gain from revitalization efforts, and helping prepare non-designated districts to seek Main Street designation. Marketing and Promotion   The Main Street approach emphasizes marketing and promotion to increase retail sales through events and marketing materials. Marketing and promotion can also bring festivals and special events to neighborhoods, thus increasing community pride and quality of life. Main Street Milwaukee may also increase awareness both within the city and throughout the region of Milwaukee’s diverse shopping and entertainment districts. This can attract more visitors to Milwaukee while increasing sales in urban commercial districts. Emphasis on Incremental, Sustainable Changes The Main Street approach recognizes that revitalization cannot be achieved through a single project, but requires a culmination of many smaller, incremental projects. More small projects will have a more long-lasting, sustainable effect on the vitality of the commercial district than would fewer large projects. Main Street districts will focus their initial efforts on achieving small, simple projects that create the knowledge necessary to address more complex problems and more ambitious projects later on.

Benefits and expectations   Benefits   Expectations Benefits to Districts Designated Main Street Milwaukee districts receive access to a variety of technical assistance and funding from the Main Street Milwaukee city-wide coordinating program. Assistance includes:   Grants   Financial assistance is available to each Main Street contingent upon satisfactory performance of the district. Assistance includes funding for a professional manager for each district, funds to cover operational and administrative costs, funds for physical improvements within districts, and façade grants. As Main Street Milwaukee works toward districts being self-sufficient by year six of district designation, public funding will ideally be scaled back year by year, while district’s cover a greater share of costs with district-raised funds. Technical Assistance   Districts gain access to technical services and training that enables to them to manage and maintain a viable revitalization program for the long term. Volunteers and staff learn through training and workshops the skills necessary to engage in successful urban revitalization. Districts benefit from a variety of specialized consulting services, including architectural, engineering and urban planning services, business planning assistance, and marketing consultation. Non-designated commercial districts in the City have access to some Main Street training and workshops to build districts’ capacity for economic revitalization, and prepare districts for possible designation as Main Streets. Citywide Main Street District Promotion Staff of the Main Street Milwaukee coordinating program actively market all Main Street districts throughout the City to raise awareness of Milwaukee’s diverse commercial districts, to attract new customers and business to Main Streets, and to encourage residents and tourists to visit neighborhood commercial districts throughout the City. Expectations Designation as a Main Street Milwaukee district imparts responsibilities as well as benefits. To receive Main Street funds and benefits, each district enters into an annual contract with Main Street Milwaukee outlining mutual expectations. These expectations include that districts hire a full-time manager, plan to establish a Main Street program for a minimum of six years, follow an established work plan and report monthly to the Main Street Milwaukee coordinating program. Main Street districts are evaluated yearly based on these and other expectations and annual work plans.