Indiana Main Street encourages community-driven revitalization of downtown areas in Indiana cities and towns. The people who make up the Main Street network are passionate advocates, dedicated volunteers, influential stakeholders, and community organizers who work every day to turn the tide in their communities - catalyzing reinvestment, creating jobs, and fostering pride of place. Main Street-style transformation is a combination of art and science: communities first need to learn about the local economy, its primary drivers, and its regional context (the science), but they also need to convey that special sense of place through storytelling, preserving the older and historic structures that set it apart, broad and inclusive civic engagement, and marketing (the art). To support this powerful network, the National Main Street Center has a revitalization framework – the Main Street Approach - that helps communities leverage both the art and science of downtown revitalization to create a better quality of life for all.
Indiana Main Street Four Point Approach The Four Point Approach involves: Organization involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, and resources for the district. Promotion positions the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community's unique characteristics. Design supports a community's transformation by enhancing the physical and visual assets that set the commercial district apart. Economic Vitality focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economies.
Indiana Main Street Program Levels The Indiana Main Street Program accepts applications for three levels. A brief description of each level is below:
OCRA's Downtown Affiliate Network (ODAN): Organizations working to build capacity to execute the Main Street Four Point Approach, or groups who prefer to specialize in event-related activities only. Members of ODAN may also be those who are working the Main Street Four-Point Approach but do not meet the qualification for OCRA’s definition of Historic Preservation Ethic and/or Fabric. Members of OCRA’s Downtown Affiliate Network must meet the ODAN Criterion Standards.