Main Street is a coast-to-coast volunteer movement led by the National Main Street Center involving more than 1,000 community programs across the country. These programs produced investment in these districts of more than $5 billion and directed the rehabilitation of countless historic buildings.  At the same time, space was provided for 38,000 new businesses and 100,000 new jobs were created for local residents.

Main Street has become an effective program as a result of numerous national economic trends. More specifically, downtown and neighborhood business districts are no longer the providers of goods and services to their respective communities.  Commercial cores are now affected by a cycle of dis-investment. Businesses are leaving, rental rates are slipping and property owners are investing less in their buildings; giving a district a less than cared for appearance.  In the case of Homestead specifically, Hurricane Andrew created an almost insurmountable hurdle for new business and patron creation.

In contrast to to those trends adversely affecting downtown commercial districts, numerous positive factors have been developing which support the revitalization of Main streets.  For example:

• Many consumers are no longer attracted to the homogeneity and impersonality of shopping malls and chain stores.
• The downtown commercial core represents a substantial portion of a community’s economy and associated jobs, tax base, municipal investment, etc.
• As a result of the increased mobility of consumers, the market area that a commercial district serves is greater than in the past.
• An increasing number of Americans enjoy visiting and shopping in unique, historic shopping places.   

These factors essentially mitigate the negative trends affecting downtown and form the basis for the Main Street Program.  Main Street is a program of gradual, managed improvement building upon Homestead’s assets through the professional and collaborative repositioning of our business district.