Orlando’s Main Street Initiative
While select areas of Orlando are renowned as an international tourism destinations, with a wide variety attractions ranging from amusement parts to spring training games, the city’s urban core could soon be well on its way to enjoying its own success. The City of Orlando made history when it was chosen as a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Program, representing the first urban district in the Southeast to be selected. The program offers incentives for entrepreneurs and small business owners to consider relocating to or opening up in a refurbished commercial district.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, non-profit membership organization focused on the survival and revitalization of our nation’s diverse historical places and communities, through leadership, education, advocacy and resource availability. Its Main Street Program was specifically developed to target central commercial districts of towns and cities, implementing effective strategies to achieve the goals and values of the larger organization.
The program is designed around a four pronged approach: organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring. The organization quadrant of the plan requires the entire community to fall in line on the same page and work towards the same objectives. This includes not only coordinating the human aspect of the effort, getting the right people in the right places, but also securing the financial capital to make revitalization a realistic possibility.
The promotion aspect of the program centers around a unified marketing message urging consumers and investors alike to choose the developing district as a destination for their business, shopping and entertainment options. Integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels both provide awareness about the area’s improvements and emphasize the unique characteristics that benefit the urban center, differentiating it from the greater community.
An import part of enticing visitors to the district lies in the aesthetic appeal of the area. This is where the design prong comes into play, taking advantage of scenic or historically significant buildings, renovating older structures and making the area itself more accessible and pedestrian friendly.
Economic restructuring allows for the existing businesses housed in the upgraded commercial district to remain competitive, while recruiting successful companies and aspiring entrepreneurs to launch new business ventures in the vicinity, limiting unused commercial space thus making the district more profitable.