UTAH MAIN STREET PROGRAM



Utah communities foster downtowns with distinctive character, thriving businesses, and welcoming spaces for residents and visitors alike. The Utah Main Street Program (UMSP) cultivates vibrant downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts through place-based economic development and community preservation.  

"There's no other program that I'm aware of that can come close to the Main Street America Four Point approach to creating a vibrant downtown.  We highly recommend it to any community looking to revitalize their downtowns."

- Paul Larsen, Economic Development Director, Brigham City


Main Street America 2023 Coordinating Program Logo

MAIN STREET AMERICA



The Utah Main Street Program is a Coordinating Program of Main Street America. Main Street America™ has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today it is a network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.


UTAH MAIN STREET PROGRAM BACKGROUND



The Utah Main Street Program initially ran from 1996-2006 and then was piloted from 2019-2021 with Brigham City and Price. During the 2021 Legislative session, S.B 94 created the Utah Main Street Program within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (now known as Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity). In July of 2022, Utah Main Street Program moved to the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement.


UTAH PROGRAM NETWORK



As of 2023, 17 Utah Main Streets and business districts are designated as UMSP affiliate communities.









UTAH MAIN STREET & MAIN STREET AMERICA'S FOUR-POINT APPROACH




UMSP seeks to build a strategy centered around a community’s unique heritage and attributes, focusing on what’s special to make it a great place to live and visit. The program provides a framework and resources to support Utah Main Street Program Affiliates’ downtown revitalization efforts and requires the community to commit to the time-tested Main Street America Four-Point Approach® downtown revitalization developed by Main Street America™ which includes:

*The Utah State Historic Preservation Office may occasionally link to outside sources of information. SHPO and the state of Utah do not necessarily endorse the provider of the content and are not responsible for any content published on the external site.



Sustainable Organization


Effective Promotion


Quality Design


Economic Vitality


This Approach is a unique preservation-based economic development tool that enables communities to enhance downtown and neighborhood business districts by leveraging local assets. It is a comprehensive, incremental strategy that addresses the variety of issues and problems that challenge traditional commercial districts. Utah Main Street helps businesses, residents, governments and visitors thrive by connecting them to this customizable framework to focus local efforts, energy, and resources to create a more vibrant downtown. This transformation strategy articulates a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown or commercial district’s economy.


FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES




The Utah Main Street Program offers tools, resources and funding opportunities to Utah communities accepted in the program. To learn more about funding opportunities that enhance the Utah Main Street Program, visit the new State of Utah Funding Opportunities Portal to explore state and federal resources available. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS




The next round of Utah Main Street Program community designation applications will be announced in 2024. Please check back for more information on eligibility and how to apply.


HAVE A utah main street program QUESTION? WE CAN ANSWER THAT.

Chelsea Gauthier

Utah Main Street Program Coordinator

(801) 535-2501