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Eligibility

Any Alberta community that satisfies certain eligibility criteria may apply to the Main Street program. Our experience suggests that communities that are able to meet the basic conditions below have a much greater chance of successfully implementing a main street initiative based on the Four Point Approach. The program’s framework is a flexible one that recognizes and responds to the combination of resources, needs and opportunities that is unique to each community.

A historic main street. Our program is designed to help municipalities preserve significant concentrations of historic buildings in downtown areas. For application purposes, these are considered to be clusters of fifteen or more buildings of at least fifty years of age that have strong heritage character and retain a substantial portion of historic building material. Historic buildings must make up no less than sixty percent of the potential historic main street area in order to have sufficient "raw material" for a main street project.

Broad-based community support. A main street initiative is a partnership at several levels and depends on support from municipal government, business organizations and the public. The willingness of downtown building and business owners to support and commit funds toward building rehabilitation is especially vital to achieving the visible design improvements essential in a successful main street project.

An economically viable downtown. A core of businesses in the traditional commercial area that is not dominated by shopping malls or highway commercial areas provides the economic means that is essential to the survival of the main street area and to sustaining the community heritage it embodies.

Commitment to the Four-Point Approach. Communities must be willing to hire a main street coordinator and able to match the coordinator salary subsidy provided by the program. Often referred to as the “glue” of a main street project, the coordinator is an indispensable facilitator of wide-ranging project activities in organization, design, marketing and economic development. Communities also work with a project architect, using program funds provided for that purpose, to ensure an appropriate and cost-effective treatment of historic resources in the main street area.

Commitment to project planning. All project communities undertake two comprehensive planning sessions, known as Visioning and Resource Team sessions, in the first six months of the project. Based on public involvement, these activities build consensus and set out a blueprint for implementing a Four-Point approach that is unique to each community. The nature and scope of these planning activities sets the Main Street approach apart from initiatives that focus primarily on physical enhancement. To see how this process works in more detail, please refer to the Resource Team Reports on our Resources page.

A project office on main street. A prominent location for the project office on main street gives the downtown initiative visibility and accessibility to the public and business community. Office rent and operating expenses are contributed by the partner community but are often shared with a local business organization.

Ability to raise additional funds and support. Being able to raise additional funds, support and volunteer interest for local projects and activities broadens community support, builds local capacity for a sustainable long-term initiative, and greatly extends communities’ resources to match the contributions of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation and other grant programs.