Governor Snyder Announces Three New Michigan Main Street Communities

LANSING, Mich., Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Rick Snyder today announced the three new communities that have been selected by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to take part in its Michigan Main Street program.

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Grayling, Three Rivers and Wayne have been designated Select Level communities and will receive five years of intensive technical assistance with a focus on revitalization strategies designed to attract new residents, business investment, economic growth and job creation to their central business districts.

"The Michigan Main Street program will help these communities create opportunities for redevelopment, placemaking and economic growth just as it has in downtowns throughout Michigan for the past 10 years," Snyder said. "Vibrant communities and downtowns are critical as we look to attract new investment, help local businesses grow and retain and attract the talent that is needed to reinvent Michigan."

The Michigan Main Street program ties in with the governor's placemaking efforts across Michigan. Studies show that investing in placemaking creates vibrant city centers and makes the state economically stronger.

There are 44 communities participating in the Michigan Main Street program at all levels, including 21 at the Select and Master levels.

The underlying premise of Main Street is a Four Point Approach® that encourages community economic development in four areas:

• Organization: getting everyone working toward the same goal and assembling the appropriate human and financial resources to implement a Main Street revitalization program.
• Promotion: selling a positive image of the commercial district and encouraging consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the Main Street district.
• Design: getting the downtown into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets, such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets, is just part of the story.
• Economic Restructuring: strengthening a community's existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base.

"Programs like Michigan Main Street provide downtown communities with the tools needed to develop thriving downtowns," said MSHDA Executive Director Scott Woosley. "In turn, these tools can be used to create jobs, provide desirable places to live and build a sense of place for Michigan residents."

MSHDA is dedicated to building a thriving and vibrant future for Michigan and provides tools and resources to improve people's lives through programs that help create places where people want to live and work.

For further information on the Michigan Main Street Program, visit www.michiganmainstreetcenter.com or contact Laura Krizov, manager of the Michigan Main Street Center, at 517-241-4237 ([email protected])

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents and to engage in community economic development activities to revitalize urban and rural communities.*

*MSHDA's loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds as well as notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues. Proceeds are loaned at below-market interest rates to developers of rental housing, and help fund mortgages and home improvement loans. MSHDA also administers several federal housing programs. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mshda

SOURCE Michigan State Housing Development Authority