Media Release

September 18, 2008

City Examines Potential Neighborhood Business District Revitalization Program

A community-driven, comprehensive method of revitalizing older, traditional business districts, known as the Main Street™ Program, will be the focus of an open meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Kaiser Permanente Town Hall, 3704 N. Interstate Avenue, Portland. 

“Exploring Commercial Revitalization: Toward a Main Street™ Program” offers meeting participants the opportunity to learn more about the program and its potential for Portland from representatives of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which developed the nationally-acclaimed Main Street™ Program. Speakers include Kathy La Plante of  the National Trust's Main Street Center; Kathy Kottaridis with Boston Main Street Program and Heritage Boston; and Elise Tinsley, Baltimore Main Streets and the National Trust's Main Street Center.

The meeting is part of the State of Oregon’s effort to reinstitute the Oregon Main Street Program™, a statewide commercial district revitalization program administered through the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.  

Portland’s commercial districts provide entertainment, shopping and services and contribute to the city’s vibrancy and praised quality of life. Many of Portland’s neighborhood commercial districts have seen a renaissance, and a few not only serve local residents, but have attracted national attention for their character, events and one-of-a-kind shopping and dining experiences.

To support and nurture its neighborhood commercial districts, the City of Portland is proposing the creation of an urban main street program. Main street programs advocate a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of traditional commercial districts based on their unique assets: distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.

The Portland program is being modeled on other urban main street programs found in such cities as Boston, Baltimore and Washington, DC. Part of the process in establishing a main street program will be to examine opportunities to make it unique to Portland. 

The main street effort is spearheaded by the Portland Development Commission, the Office of Mayor-Elect Sam Adams, the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department, the Bureau of Planning, and the Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Alma Flores, City of Portland Bureau of Planning, 503-823-7801 or Randy Evans, Portland Development Commission, 503-823-0119.

Links: National Trust’s Main Street Program website http://www.mainstreet.org/

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PDC was created by Portland voters in 1958 to serve as the city’s urban renewal agency as laid out in Chapter 15 of the City’s Charter. PDC provides comprehensive housing, development and economic development programs within the Portland region.

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