gilroy downtown
The Main Street Approach
Written By Larry J. Mickartz
D
owntown Gilroy has seen
its ups and downs. Today,
it is on the verge of a major
revitalization. There are
new businesses coming in, a yoga studio,
a restaurant, and a music venue. More
businesses are calling about availability.
Of the 18 URM (unreinforced masonry
building) 16 are on their way to being
available of lease or purchase. The 5th to
6th streets paseo is built and is moving
towards its final fashionable look. The garlic
mural on the Gardner building and the
train mural on the Fifth Street Coffee have
been refurbished. Eigleberry Street is being
redone with new paving, curbs, sidewalks
and lights. Some would say the raid on
the furniture store pot grow was a blow to
downtown; others say thanks for
the cleanup!
Many have already discovered the
shopping, food, music and entertainment
offerings downtown and have become
regulars! Downtown events like Fifth Street
Live, The Wine Stroll, the Car Show, the
Beer Crawl and the Christmas Parade are
big hits.
The GDBA (Gilroy Downtown Business
Association) was looking for a way to
capitalize on this momentum and get to the
Downtown we all want. They selected the
Main Street program.
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The Main Street program began in 1977
as a three-year pilot for the National Trust
for Historic Preservation. The goal was to
preserve the downtown’s heritage while
sparking reinvestment. The three target
cities were Galesburg, Illinois, Hot Springs,
South Dakota and Madison, Indiana. The
results were astonishing: 30 new businesses,
25% sales tax increase, $11 gain in private
investing for every program management
dollar. From this pilot the National Trust
developed a replicable model, The Main
Street Program.
Today, there are 1,200 Main Street
programs… many with remarkable success
stories. In 2014, three members of the
GDBA attended the California Main Street
conference in Hanford. Armed with new
knowledge the GDBA is taking on the
challenge.
Success is based on the
Main Street Four-Point Approach:
• ORGANIZATION establishes con-
sensus and cooperation by building
partnerships among various groups
that have a stake in the commercial
district. Organization brings together
downtown’s nonprofits, volunteers
and stakeholders.
G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E
MARCH / APRIL 2015
• PROMOTION takes many forms, but
the goal is to create a positive image
that will rekindle community pride
and improve consumer and investor
confidence in the downtown district.
The main focus of promotion is
events, promotions and image devel-
opment.
• DESIGN means getting Main Street
into top physical shape and creating
a safe, inviting environment for
shoppers, workers and visitors. The
major focus here is on buildings,
streetscape and planning.
• ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING
strengthens the community’s existing
economic assets while diversifying
its economic base. Market analysis,
real estate and business development
are the major elements of economic
restructuring.
Behind the Four-Point Approach
are eight principals:
Comprehensive:
No single focus but a multi level approach.
Incremental:
Small steps lead to downtown revitalization.
gmhtoday.com