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.
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.
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!
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
Main Spotlight: Is the Historic Tax Credit program a good opportunity for your Main Street?
The Historic Tax Credit has preserved more than 44,000 historic buildings over the life of the program. Photo by Troy Thies.
Main Street America’s place-based economic development framework centers a commercial corridor’s assets, including the local culture and historic buildings, as a pilar of the revitalization process. Maintaining, restoring, and reusing old and historic buildings can be an expensive and complicated undertaking. Diverse funding sources, partnerships, and tax credits are usually required to make these types of projects feasible. The Historic Tax Credit is the largest federal program specifically supporting historic preservation for commercial buildings, leveraging over $100 billion in private investment in the rehabilitation of historic properties.
Since 2000, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) has provided over $2 billion in funding for historic preservation initiatives utilizing the Federal Historic Tax Credit, becoming one of the country’s largest tax credit syndicators and investors. NTCIC assists developers and individuals seeking tax credit financing for historic rehabilitation, and their varied and stable investor base provides ready access to capital for qualified projects.
Is your Main Street looking for historic preservation financing opportunities?
For Main Street-oriented historic preservation initiatives anticipating a renovation cost exceeding $5 Million, NTCIC:
Provides guidance to developers and individuals seeking tax credits for historic rehabilitation
Connects individuals to investors actively seeking historic projects to support and finance
Evaluates the specifics of development projects and identifies additional sources of capital available
Ensures the financial transaction is successful and provides projects with maximum benefits
If you are interested in the program and looking to submit project details and to discuss your next historic preservation initiative, contact NTCIC by completing the form available on the Historic Tax Credit webpage.
For projects expecting a total renovation cost of less than $5 Million, NTCIC can connect you to resources and experts in your area that can help secure and monetize historic tax credits.
For inspiration, we showcase below two NTCIC supported projects: a school building turned artist residence/studio in Atlanta, GA and a warehouse turned food incubator in Buffalo, NY. With a visionary investor/developer, a supportive community, and the right funding and technical expertise, a historic building can become a catalyst for economic development in your Main Street community and provide a sense of pride of place for residents.
The Academy Lofts in Adair Park - Fostering Creativity and Inclusion with Beautiful Live-Work Spaces
The former George Adair Elementary School in Atlanta, GA, vacant since 1973, was transformed into a live-work atmosphere where creative enthusiasts, artists, and entrepreneurs live, work, and support each other and their local communities. NTCIC financed over $3 million in combined tax credits to preserve the historic building and create affordable housing for local BIPOC artists and a nonprofit organization supporting art education. Their experienced team of professionals also provided guidance, financial underwriting, and below-market rates. Read more about the Academy Lofts in Adair Park >
27 Chandler Street - From Vacant Warehouse to Innovative Food Incubator
In Buffalo, NY, a long-vacant warehouse was transformed into a community-based food incubator thanks to financing from NTCIC. The space is now home to dozens of local food entrepreneurs, including an indoor mushroom farm, gourmet ice cream, and a meal prep company. 27 Chandler Street also serves as the home base for the city’s first taco food truck. The project has created many new employment opportunities and continued the revitalization efforts of this once industrial thoroughfare in central Buffalo. NTCIC helped monetize over $4 million in tax credits generated by the project at well below market rates, which in turn has enabled the tenants within the space to operate nearly tax-free for 10 years. Read more about 27 Chandler Street >
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
In honor of National Disaster Preparedness Month, we are providing some practical steps that Main Streets can take to prepare for the next, inevitable disaster.
Main Street America is leading a coalition urging that the EPA make available the GGRF funds for adaptive reuse and location-efficient projects because of the substantial greenhouse gas emissions reduction offered by such developments.
On May 9, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2023 which included a cultural district located within a designated Main Street America community.
From 19th-century mill girls to Maine's mill redevelopments and the regional manufacturers of tomorrow, learn about the amazing history and promise of the New England mill.
This article was published on January 10, 2023, by Next City, a nonprofit news organization focused on socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable urban practices.
Learn how Rethos, the Coordinating partner for Minnesota Main Streets, has partnered with Reuse Minnesota and the Minnesota GreenCorps Program to encourage community-led preservation.
Main Street organizations and other public-private partnerships can provide the focal point needed to fulfill the large number of roles required to reuse or redevelop a house of worship in a way that benefits the community.
How do those amazing Main Street rehabilitation projects happen? And what policies and public support make them happen? In the Behind the Ribbon Cutting series, we look at a project or businesses from concept to opening day to break down the partnerships and funding brought to bear and recognize how we can advocate for policies and resources for revitalization across the country.
Main Street America welcomed the National Association For Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) to our Twitter channel to share stories of resiliency in Latino communities.
We sat down with Lindsey Wallace, Director of Strategic Projects and Design Services and manager of the the National Park Service Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program, to learn more about her perspective on disaster preparedness on Main Street.
To support Georgia Main Streets throughout the recovery process and position them for long-term sustainability, Main Street America launched the Georgia Main Street Innovation Grant Program, made possible through generous support from The Williams Family Foundation of Georgia.
The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) Main Street Task Force is working to increase education, compile examples and data, and provide recommended changes at the national level where necessary.
In 2016, the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center partnered with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Department of Interior Architecture (UNCG) to provide design assistance to Main Street communities.
In 2015, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to engage Wisconsin Main Street organizations and farmers markets in the Metrics and Indicators for Impact – Farmers Markets (MIFI-FM) toolkit.
With 413 National Park areas¹ and over 1,000 Main Street America programs, it’s no surprise that many of the communities following the Four Point Approach serve as gateways to our national parks.
We measure the effectiveness of our last marketing campaign, weigh whether the investment in new street lights outweigh the political capital spent, and debate if the thousands of volunteer hours are worth the impacts created by a one-day event.
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.