May 5, 2020
On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Liz Parham, the Executive Director of North Carolina Main Street Center. She works with designated Main Street communities across the state to conduct strategic planning and education programs. These initiatives, among others, are designed to increase the economic capacity of communities.
The Main Street program was inspired by the National Main Street Center, which began in 1980. The idea behind the program was born out of the increasingly commercialized society that developed in the late 1970s and 1980s, with malls and strip centers popping up everywhere.
Because of these rapid developments, there was concern among communities that their downtown districts would become vacant. The Main Street program was started, then, to “put new uses back into those really key properties, those buildings, that were in our downtown districts all across the state.”
“The heart and soul of the community is in the downtown,” continues Liz. “Historic buildings are unique to that town. If you lose that heart and soul, you do not just lose it downtown; you lose a community’s identity. Even today, industries do not move into a community that does not have a heart and soul.”
The Main Street program has brought life back into these communities. Residents develop a sense of pride upon seeing physical improvements to historic buildings, as well as new businesses coming to life. It inspires the citizenry to share the good news and invest for the good of the community in their own, individual ways.
Just last year alone, $270 million was invested in Liz’s designated Main Street. Collectively, $3.2 billion was invested since the beginning of the program in 1980. As Liz says, “It’s very much a public-private partnership, which I think is good for everyone. They are sharing in the expenses; but they are also sharing in the success.”
Liz actually began to do downtown work when she was finishing college. Upon graduation, Liz moved around for a number of years serving on the Main Street programs of different cities. In that time, she has seen directors of the program grow in number, from a small handful when she started, to about 20 now spread out among 64 designated Main Street communities.
Asked about how the Main Street program is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Liz says that they are working with a lot of small businesses to help them build an ecommerce presence through websites and social media profiles. The Main Street program’s website has a dedicated COVID-19 resource page that is extremely active and updated with new information every day.
Beyond looking at federal resources, the program is helping small businesses to develop and execute innovative marketing and investment strategies amid quarantine measures all around the country. All of this builds towards the long-term goal of recovery and resiliency.
CONNECT WITH THE MAIN STREET PROGRAM:
www.ncmainstreetrurualplanningcenter.com
www.ncmainstreetconference.com
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www,lifeinthecarolinaspodcast.com