The City of Marshall Main Street combines historic preservation with economic development to restore prosperity and vitality to downtown and neighborhood business districts.

The Main Street concepts involves a Four-Point approach, as follows:

ORGANIZATION

This involves getting everyone working toward the same goal and assembling the appropriate human and financial resources to implement a Main Street revitalization program.

PROMOTION

Sells a positive image of the commercial district and encourages consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the Main Street district. By marketing a district’s unique characteristics to residents, investors, business owners, and visitors, an effective promotional strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotional activity, special events, and marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers. These activities improve consumer and investor confidence in the district and encourage commercial activity and investment in the area.

DESIGN

Brings Main Street into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets — such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets — is just part of the story.

ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING

Strengthens the community’s existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base. The Main Street program helps sharpen the competitiveness of existing business owners and recruits compatible new businesses and new economic uses to build a commercial district that responds to today’s consumers’ needs. Converting unused or underused commercial space into economically productive property also helps boost the profitability of the district.

The four points of the Main Street approach correspond with the four forces of real estate value, which are social, political, physical, and economic.

For more information, please contact the City of Marshall Main Street Executive Director Carolyn Howard at (903) 702-7777.