Maine Downtown Center: Program Overview

 

The mission of the Maine Downtown Center is to foster downtown development that is dynamic and community-based, and results in economic development, business growth, job creation, housing revitalization, historic preservation, and cultural enhancement.

 

The Center's objectives are to:

(1)   Provide training and technical assistance to communities that demonstrate a willingness and ability to revitalize their downtowns;

(2)   Promote and build awareness about the importance of vital downtowns and;

(3)   Serve as a clearinghouse/point of contact for information related to downtown development in Maine.

 

The Center offers services on two levels.

(1)    The Center is a resource for all Maine Communities that want to revitalize their downtowns; offering useful information, contacts, advice, training, and support. Staff can help over the phone, by e-mail, or visit communities and give a presentation or lead a discussion.

(2)    Assistance to Main Street Maine communities . Main Street Maine communities are selected through a statewide competitive process based on specific criteria related to an applicant community’s willingness and ability to revitalize their downtowns. In 2001, the center designated four Main Street Maine communities: Bath, Gardiner, Saco and Waterville. In 2002, Eastport and Norway were designated as Main Street Maine communities. Skowhegan and Van Buren were designated in 2005, and in 2006 we welcomed Biddeford as our newest Main Street Maine community. You can learn more about this program under the Main Street Maine Program section of this website.

 

The State of Maine Legislature established the Maine Downtown Center in 1999 (LD 2600) to encourage downtown revitalization in the state. The Maine State Planning Office, The Department of Economic and Community Development and the Maine Development Foundation were charged with coordinating the efforts of the Center. The Downtown Center is now housed at the Maine Development Foundation and is supported by a mix of private and public funds.

 

The Maine Downtown Center employs a national model called the Main Street Approach to Downtown Revitalization™. Developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the program advances economic development within the context of historic preservation and advocates public-private partnerships to ensure lasting success. Today forty-four states have Main Street programs in a total of more than 1,700 separate communities, ranging from small towns to targeted neighborhoods in big cities.

 

The Maine Downtown Center is affiliated with the National Main Street Center, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Downtown Center provides training and technical assistance based on the National Main Street Center's Four-Point Main Street Approach ™-a comprehensive, incremental approach that advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of downtown districts based on their traditional assets: unique architecture, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.

 

The Downtown Center maintains an active Advisory Council that supports the Downtown Center by annually evaluating the program and setting priorities, raising funds, selecting Main Street Maine communities, and promoting the Center and downtowns.

 

The Maine Downtown Center is a program of the Maine Development Foundation. The foundation is Maine's champion for sustainable, long-term economic growth. Created by the Legislature in 1978, MDF is a catalyst for new ideas and provides common ground for solving problems and advancing issues. MDF enables leaders to act, informs and guides policy decisions, advances higher education and skills of workers, and develops new approaches.