Main Street Mojo

Tennessee downtowns tell a story of community vitality

By Sharon H. Fitzgerald

Tennessee’s commissioner of economic and community development, Matt Kisber, doesn’t need to be persuaded about the importance of a community’s central business district. A native of Jackson, Tenn., Kisber was working by age 12 at the downtown department store founded by his great-grandfather a century ago.

“One of the first things I did in 2003 when I came onboard was to reinstitute the Main Street Program. It had been cut in a prior year by an earlier administration due to budget restraints,” Kisber recalls. “I had a number of communities that came to talk about why it was such an important program. They were selling the convinced.”

So far this year, the Tennessee Main Street Program has certified 15 community organizations working hand-in-hand with the state to nurture and revitalize downtown commerce. During 2004, the participating communities collectively created nearly 200 Tennessee businesses. The state’s Main Street team helps communities develop long-term strategies to promote downtown growth, forge public-private networks and take advantage of training opportunities. Tennessee’s program is affiliated with the National Trust Main Street Center, which encourages communities to restore prosperity and vigor to downtowns and neighborhood business districts. According to the national organization, for every public dollar invested into a downtown revitalization program, the return rate averages $37.

“I know how important the central business district is to the vitality and health of a community. An effective community development program has to have a Main Street component. It has to,” Kisber says. “I’m a firm believer that the central business district tells the story of a community. I heard an analogy once, that if shopping centers and subdivisions are the hands and feet, then the heart of the community is the downtown. I subscribe to that theory as well.”

So does Lisa Childress, executive director of the Downtown Kingsport Association. “A vibrant downtown shows that there’s a lot of life, a lot of energy surging, that progress is booming,” she says. “A vibrant downtown shows that you’ve got growth going on.”

In Kingsport, that growth is evidenced by small specialty shops and restaurants as well as renovation of the historic train depot, which is now a bank. “My big deal is, when you think about going shopping, I want your destination to be downtown Kingsport. Think downtown first,” Childress says.

Luring people to the central business district has been a recent Kingsport focus. An Oktoberfest in 2004 and a St. Patrick’s Day event in March both were unqualified successes. “We believe that arts and entertainment is one of the big things making vibrant downtowns now,” she explains. “It’s bringing in young professionals and retired people who want some nightlife also. Just because they’re retired doesn’t mean they’re ready to go to bed at 8 o’clock.” To answer that demand, one downtown restaurants offers bluegrass concerts on Friday evenings.

Kingsport has the right idea, according to Melinda Keifer, director of the Tennessee Main Street Program. The former head of Operation CityScape, Cookeville’s downtown revitalization effort, Keifer knows firsthand the challenges of keeping a downtown surging. “When you think about the concept of growth and an economic foundation, growth happens from the inside out, not from the outside in. Historically, those core centers, if nothing by location, have been our commerce centers of all of our cities and got us to where we are today,” she says.

Yes, central business districts are ideally suited for offices, shops, restaurants and small entertainment venues, Keifer notes, but they also make prime locales for call centers, mail-order operations and technology startups. Lease and purchase prices for older downtown buildings are generally lower than outlying properties, and government grants are often available for energy-efficient renovations. Some communities such as Kingsport are designating their downtowns as redevelopment districts to trigger appropriate grant programs, and many downtowns enjoy special tax designations.

“Downtowns are ripe for the picking,” Keifer says. “There are incredible investment opportunities in Tennessee downtowns, particularly in our larger municipalities.” She says mixed-use development “is absolutely the way to go,” with bottom-floor retail and office and residential uses on higher floors.

A run-down, boarded-up central business district can be “the kiss of death. It reflects work ethic. It reflects community buy-in and the community’s ability to partner,” Keifer stresses. On the other hand, lively downtowns “tell you that the people who live in that community care about who they are. It really is a community’s biggest billboard. … The downtown is one thing every community has that’s different. We all have a McDonald’s and all those other things that contribute to a cookie-cutter environment. But downtown is what differentiates you from the guy next door.”

Tennessee’s Main Street communities are: Cleveland, Collierville, Columbia, Cookeville, Fayetteville, Franklin, Gallatin, Greeneville, Jackson, Johnson City, Kingsport, McMinnville, Murfreesboro, Tiptonville and Union City.