BOONE, Iowa—Tuesday, February 28th 2023 the Downtown Boone Team invited community members from organizations throughout Boone to come together and learn more about the Iowa Economic Development’s Main Street Iowa Program and to update them about how the designation efforts are moving forward. Boone County Chamber’s Executive Director, Mike Hammond gave an overview of the Main Street Approach which allows communities like Boone to capitalize on the unique identity, assets and character of their historic commercial districts. These strategies are locally implemented through comprehensive work in four broad areas: known as the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Organization, Promotion and Design.
Downtown Boone President, Kelley Molitor led a inspiring panel discussion with Executive Directors and Board members from other Iowa Main Street communities- those who work with the program day to day and see how the program transforms their town from the inside out. The Downtown Boone Team are thankful to the Main Street Community representatives who joined from Iowa Falls, Story City, Jefferson, Jewell, and Grundy Center. The results from these communities and the benefits of this program were discussed as well. The results these communities have seen are beautiful downtown districts, the creation of more downtown businesses employing additional people and funding in building improvement projects resulting in private investment of the downtown district. They’ve seen how this program benefits communities by attracting businesses and residents, fostering community pride and demonstrating how public-private partnership works when everyone in the community works together.
Next steps include a Downtown Assessment with Iowa Economic Development Authority April 26-28. The application for the Main Street Iowa Program is due in the Spring of 2024 with the designation awarded and announced in August of 2024. The work continues in Boone with the upcoming assessment in April and everyone is encouraged to join a focus group and participate in one of the many committees it takes to prepare and implement such a comprehensive community program. To find out how you can get involved, please contact Mike Hammond at Mike@BooneCountyChamber.com. Follow on social media to keep updated: https://www.facebook.com/DowntownBooneIowa or visit us online at: https://www.boonecountychamber.com/downtown-boone
More information about Main Street Iowa including the economic impact reports and videos offering training on the program, can be found at https://www.iowaeda.com/main-street-iowa/
(contributed press release and photos, Downtown Boone Team)
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