Orlando Main Streets Offers New Training Videos and Documents for District Leaders

Orlando Main Streets has released new training documents and videos designed for local district leaders. The resources, labeled Main Street 101 webinars, are now available for review by the nonprofit boards that manage the city’s commercial areas. This release supports the ongoing technical assistance provided by the City of Orlando to its designated districts.

The program was established in 2008 by Mayor Buddy Dyer and the Orlando City Council. The city recognized the role that neighborhood commercial districts play in the overall health of local communities. Since its creation, the program has offered annual financial support, technical aid, and intensive training to help create and strengthen these commercial hubs. Each district operates under its own work plan, which is envisioned and implemented by a specific nonprofit Board of Directors.

These districts function as the economic backbone for the city’s existing neighborhoods. They receive training based on the Main Street Four Point approach, a standard provided by both Orlando Main Streets and Main Street America. The four points include organization, design, economic vitality, and promotion. In return for this support, each Main Street organization must hire a full-time Executive Director, raise matching funds, and incorporate as an organization. They are also required to implement programs according to their annual work plan.

The mission of Orlando Main Streets is to provide technical expertise, education, and resources to designated districts. The program guides these groups in revitalizing their commercial neighborhood districts through asset-based economic development strategies. These strategies aim to achieve measurable results, including increased investment, business growth, and new jobs. The vision is for the districts to remain organizationally sound and economically viable centers of commerce that showcase Orlando as a thriving urban city.

Orlando Main Streets operates as a coordinating program within the Main Street America network. Main Street America has helped revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. It serves as the leading voice for preservation-based economic development and community revitalization across the country. The network includes small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts. Since 1980, over 2,000 communities have joined the network, securing $61 billion in new investment and creating more than 525,000 net new jobs.

The Main Street Approach relies on broad-based community engagement and strategic focus on core revitalization principles. These principles focus on economic vitality, quality design, effective promotion, and sustainable organization. The network has rehabilitated 251,000 buildings to date. Orlando Main Streets leads a grassroots network consisting of over 40 Coordinating Programs and more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities across the United States.

The program continues to emphasize the importance of collaborative partnerships between businesses, stakeholders, and residents. These partnerships are intended to create a unique sense of place and local business prosperity. The new training materials allow district leaders to access the educational tools necessary to maintain these standards. The webinars are part of the broader technical assistance framework that the city has maintained since the program’s inception in 2008.