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Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

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Dionne Baux and MSA partner working in Bronzeville, Chicago.

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Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

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Three Main Street America Staff members standing in front of a mural in Marion, Iowa.

Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams

About

We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.

Overview Who We Are How We Work Partner Collaborations Our Supporters Our Team Job Opportunities Contact Us
Two community members in Emporia Kansas pose with a sign saying "I'm a Main Streeter"

Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street

Our Network

Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.

Overview Coordinating Programs Main Street Communities Collective Impact Awards & Recognition Community Evaluation Framework Join the Movement
Dionne Baux and MSA partner working in Bronzeville, Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America

Resources

Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!

Overview Knowledge Hub Field Services Government Relations Main Street Now Conference Main Street America Institute Small Business Support Allied Member Services The Point Members Area
People riding e-scooters in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo

The Latest

Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.

Overview News & Stories Events & Opportunities Subscribe
Woman and girl at a festival booth in Kendall Whittier, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street

Get Involved

Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

Overview Join Us Renew Your Membership Donate Partner With Us Job Opportunities

During the nine years I've worked at Main Street America, I’ve observed one particularly persistent and seemingly intractable obstacle to revitalization in our downtowns and districts: a lack of capital to support small-scale development, whether it’s a rehab of a corner store, the creation of upper floor housing, or any number of other creative new uses. (For purposes of this project, I define small-scale development as those projects under $5 million in project costs.)

"The banks just aren't interested," I'd hear on site visits to Main Streets, as building owners or Main Street Directors would explain their vision for the renovating a cool building and express frustration at the difficulty of finding conventional capital. Crucial predevelopment funds – which typically take the form of grants – are scarce. Adding to the challenge, the most robust national incentive for historic preservation – Federal Historic Tax Credits – is often an ineffective tool for small deals. Specifically, the transactional costs associated with this incentive are often too high for small projects, and the conventional wisdom is that tax credits usually don’t pencil on projects under $5 million (though there are some exceptions.)

Many terrific, potentially transformative projects simply do not happen because building owners and small-scale developers lack needed resources. Consolidation in the banking industry in recent decades reduced the number of lending institutions through which small-scale developers can secure debt, as larger banks tend to favor larger-scale projects. Small-scale projects that do make it across the finish line are often self-financed by building owners, many of whom solicited loans from friends and family after being shut out by conventional sources.

But self-financing isn’t a scalable solution. Small-scale developers typically have limited personal funds to deploy and have a hard time accessing other sources of private equity. This issue affects building owners and developers of color the hardest as they continue to face systemic barriers in securing financing today. And with more than an estimated $850 billion in real estate capital available nationally Main Street communities deserve a lot better than “passing the plate” to friends and family to fund critical economic development projects.

Main Street America’s Small Deal Initiative

Without a scalable solution, the lack of capital will continue to suppress economic development, marginalize communities of color and rural places (where a lack of capital is particularly pronounced), and perpetuate our culture of waste and environmental destruction by leaving high quality existing buildings vacant or underutilized. It also jeopardizes the future of many of our country’s cool and irreplaceable historic resources – the very assets which help our communities establish a sense of place and powerfully connect us to the past.

Over the next several months, with thanks to the support of our Board of Directors and Interim President & CEO Hannah White, I'm embarking on a project to learn more about the specific barriers to small-scale real estate development on our Main Streets and identify solutions for financing small-scale deals. Ultimately, the goal of Main Street America’s Small Deal Initiative is to accelerate investment in small-scale real estate development projects on Main Street, specifically those under $5 million in project value.

As this work begins, I’d love to hear from you with your thoughts on the topic: Do you know of innovative financing approaches that have succeeded in transforming a building (or buildings) in your town? Do you know of any other folks in your city, state or region that are trying to address this same challenge of a lack of capital for small scale development?

Please send me a direct message at pfrey@savingplaces.org.

And stay tuned for more this fall, including a forthcoming survey on the topic and my next blog which will dig deeper into the many reasons that small-scale development matters.

Looking to Learn More?