June 17, 2010
- The city of Portland and the Portland Development Commission will name the first Portland Main Street Districts, the culmination of a competitive process that resulted in five district finalists, each of which raised the required $30,000 in community support to be eligible for the program: 42nd Avenue Main Street Coalition, NE Alberta Main Street Program, Hillsdale Community Foundation, Multnomah Village Bloc Initiative, and St. John’s Main Streets Coalition.
- Announcement will take place on Friday, June 18, at 9:00 a.m. at Ladybug Coffee, 8438 N. Lombard St., Portland, Oregon
- PDC Chair Scott Andrews will make welcoming remarks and will introduce Mayor Sam Adams and Doug Loescher, Executive Director of the National Main Street Center, based in Washington, DC, who will recognize Portland’s status as the first urban Green Main Streets Program.
Each of the designated Main Street districts will receive considerable financial and technical assistance and intensive training to embrace and promote its unique assets, while also capitalizing on the abilities of residents, business owners, and volunteers who work and live in the business district.
The Main Street program has financial support from the city’s General Fund, and is closely tied to the Portland Economic Development Strategy, which calls out 20-minute neighborhoods, vibrant commercial corridors and healthy neighborhood businesses as a key objective. The program is a proven model developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Center. Portland’s program will add an emphasis on sustainability to the National Trust’s framework.
