Nearly every Main Street director I’ve spoken to has a project, a plan, or a dream that they’d love to accomplish if they had access to the resources to make it happen. When I was a local director, my project involved updating an outdated farmer’s market plaza in the heart of our district — long overdue for a remodel — along with a massive vacant building next door that had fallen into disrepair. I wanted to help figure out how to pay for the project, but I felt like I didn’t have the tools — like I was sitting in conversations where people were speaking a foreign language. I knew I could apply for some small grants, but nothing that would cover the multi-million dollar price tag to fund these massive projects. This experience kicked off a journey of inquiry to learn more, to understand how to attract capital and community investment, and ultimately, to join the Unlocking Capital on Main Street pilot project at Main Street America.

Unlocking Capital on Main Street

A few months ago, the Unlocking Capital on Main Street project launched to support two states and six local Main Street districts in their efforts to attract and absorb capital into their local districts, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). RWJF has a focus on supporting community health in mid-sized cities across the country, and they recognize the impact of a healthy Main Street in improving the health of the entire community.

This pilot is also a partnership with the Center for Community Investment (CCI); we are utilizing their Capital Absorption Framework as a tool to guide this work. The framework centers on three functions: articulating a shared priority, creating an investable pipeline of projects, and improving the enabling environment. CCI has spent over a decade supporting communities across the United States in this work in partnership with a variety of organizational stakeholders, including large healthcare institutions, community development organizations, financial institutions, government, and foundations. Main Street America was invited to participate in part because of our network’s experience in organic, grassroots community and economic development at the local level. 

We announced several months ago the selection of Virginia and Wisconsin as our coordinating program partners, along with three local communities in each state. This June, those six Main Street communities convened groups in both states as part of the pilot program process. Each community had invited a group of local stakeholders that often included a local Main Street director, staff from the local municipality, local developers or business owners, and in some cases, representatives from the banking industry. We were also joined by teams from both Coordinating Programs, which are already supporting community investment in a variety of ways across their states. 

Building Shared Priorities

As part of our convenings, the groups spent some time sharing their motivations for involvement in the project, learning more about the framework, and exploring ways Main Streeters are already involved in their community investment ecosystems. At the heart of the workshop was the opportunity to work as a team with Coordinating Program staff to develop and articulate a shared investment priority for each local Main Street district to help guide their work throughout the duration of the pilot program. 

Developing shared priorities is hard — we all bring our individual experiences, personal motivations, and perspectives to the conversation. Main Street’s role in the middle of many communities positions us uniquely to invite and gather a diversity of perspectives, to look & listen to different stakeholders, and to support a participatory process that prioritizes authentic relationships, meaningful community participation, and shared power. The shared priority helps bridge the gap between the values a community holds and the strategy they are looking to employ. 

Groups were tasked with identifying a shared aspiration (what they want more of) and a related specific result (how much of the aspiration they hope to accomplish within a specific time frame). Each Wisconsin community wanted to leverage the program to tackle a challenge they’ve been working on. In Racine, this meant working to find ways to fill vacant spaces that they have partnered with their city to help get ​“whiteboxed” or ready for tenants. In West Allis, the focus that emerged related to finding ways to transition several properties owned by retiring property and business owners into new hands in a district with shifting demographics. The team from On Broadway Inc. in Green Bay was looking to find ways to attract small-scale developers to do smaller infill development projects in a district that has experienced strong growth and investment primarily focused on larger projects. 

In Virginia, some similar priorities emerged, as the team in Portsmouth also focused on vacancy reduction — along with reshaping outdated negative narratives about the district and community. The River District Associate in Danville wanted to leverage the program to attract capital to a district adjacent to their GAMSA-winning downtown that hasn’t experienced the same level of reinvestment, starting with a place for entrepreneurs to build their businesses. The Main Street Mosaic in Roanoke aims to support the redevelopment of a district that has experienced disinvestment and demolition and is ripe for new investment to flow in. 

Each community developed a shared priority, focusing on reducing vacancy, increasing local property development and ownership, or creating or developing a catalytic project to serve as an anchor for additional investment. These priorities will continue to be refined throughout the process, but they lay the groundwork for the development of a pipeline of investable projects in each district.

Lessons Learned and A Bit of Advice

Main Streeters had the opportunity to tour several of the districts, and along with the workshops, we’ve been learning a lot. Here are a few of our takeaways so far:

• Main Street’s involvement in the capital or community investment ecosystem varies. We’ve developed a spectrum to help local districts identify a role they are best suited to play on that spectrum.
• Community investment is a complicated field with its own set of acronyms, terms, and tools. While Main Streeters don’t have to learn it all, it’s critical to have partners who understand the field and can help support a local district in this work.
• Relationships with partners are critical in this work. Coordinating programs and local municipalities can be incredible partners on this journey, especially if they already have experience in property development or running a loan fund.
• In community investment work, process matters. This work can often take years or even decades to pay off, and it requires what CCI calls taking a ​“Balcony View” of the ​“Dance Floor”. Main Streeters are doers, and this slow and deliberate planning work can feel uncomfortable at times. 

If you’re thinking you’d like to be more involved in your community investment ecosystem, here are a few things you can do to prepare: 

1. Make sure you have an up-to-date property inventory. You may want to use the BOOMS (Building Opportunities on Main Street) Tracker as a tool to help with that.
2. If you aren’t already doing it, consider hosting a downtown property or possibilities tour at least once a year to help people see vacant properties or newly developed projects that could serve as an inspiration for additional investment.
3. Begin building relationships with your local banks and CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) — even if you don’t have a specific ask for project financing today, those relationships can be critical when a project is ready for investment. 

What’s Next?

The next phase of the pilot involves the development of an investable pipeline of projects — local Main Street programs are working to translate their shared priorities into tangible, investable projects. Much of the work focuses on developing relationships within their investment ecosystem and securing the necessary funding to launch their first project. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue on this journey!

Downtown Decorations, a Main Street America Allied Member, is this quarter’s Main Spotlight advertiser. For more information about what they do to support Main Street organizations, click here.