Wayland Main Street
Cause Area
- Community
Location
120 W. Superior StreetPO Box 408Wayland, MI 49348 United StatesOrganization Information
Mission Statement
By strengthening connections between city government, businesses, and area citizens, the Wayland Main Street Downtown Development Authority exists to improve infrastructure and aesthetics of the district, facilitate the revitalization or reclamation of historic downtown buildings, and foster a successful business environment within the city.
Description
The Michigan Main Street (MMS) Program supports downtowns and traditional commercial neighborhood districts by promoting and implementing the Main Street Four-Point Approach in communities across the state. This approach helps build partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders and encourages historic preservation. It promotes environmentally-sustainable redevelopment, integrates communities’ cultural assets and fosters entrepreneurial development and downtown living.
Michigan Main Street communities are designated through a competitive application process that makes them eligible for technical assistance services provided by the state through the MMSC. Today, the MMS program has 16 active Selected and Master Level communities, each of which has adopted the Main Street Four-Point Approach. Under the leadership of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center, the program is in over 2,000 communities and has stimulated $49 billion in reinvestment in traditional commercial districts.
After one year as an associate community, Wayland became a Main Street community in June 2010. As a grassroots program, every project is created and carried out by dedicated volunteers. The volunteers fall into four committees that follow the Four-Point Approach of Design, Economic Restructuring, Organization, and Promotion. Although the State program does not help fund the local Main Street program, they offer leadership and technical assistance to staff and volunteers to help them achieve desired results. In our first year of a five-year Selected Level, we have made large strides towards the revitalization of downtown Wayland.