About the Moline Centre

The National Main Street Program is a community-driven, comprehensive methodology used to revitalize older, traditional business districts throughout the United States. It is a common-sense way to address the variety of issues and problems that face them. The underlying premise of the Main Street approach is to encourage economic development within the context of historic preservation in ways appropriate to today's marketplace. Main Street advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of traditional commercial districts based on their unique assets: distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.

Moline City of Mills Mural Brochure

City of Mills Mural Creation Photos

Goals:

• Stabilize the core
• Strengthen tourism and convention business
• Keep sales dollars in the city of Moline
• Stimulate new private investment in Downtown

Moline Centre Main Street is:

• A regional leader
• A research and information source
• A destination maker and marketer
• A business recruiter
• Special events producer
• Transportation and access advocate

Principles:

• Moline Centre Main Street presents a comprehensive approach to downtown revitalization. It addresses areas in which action must take place. Design improvements alone will not bring about meaningful change; effective marketing, a strong organizational base, and solid economic development strategies are all necessary to reverse the cycle of decay (urban sprawl) from which many downtowns suffer.
• Moline Centre Main Street relies on quality. The quality inherent in downtown commercial architecture and in the services downtown businesses offer their customers, each making the downtown unique in the marketplace and giving it many marketing advantages.
• Moline Centre Main Street is making meaningful, long-term revitalization possible through publication partnerships. Neither public nor private sectors can bring about the change in downtown alone. Combining the talents and resources of both sectors brings all the skills necessary for revitalization to occur together in a unified program.
• Moline Centre Main Street involves changing attitudes. Demonstrating that positive change is taking place downtown is central to the success of a downtown revitalization program.
• Moline Centre Main Street focuses on existing assets. Each community is unique, and each downtown has special characteristics that set it apart from other downtowns across the country. Downtown Moline has many assets to promote and market.
• Main Street is a self-help program. Through the efforts of grass-roots volunteers, the will to succeed, and the desire to succeed, change is evident and crucial to downtown development.
• Moline Centre Main Street's approach is incremental in nature. The Central Business District did not lose its economic strength overnight, it happened over a period of years. Main Street relies on a series of small improvements that change public attitude about downtown. Gradually the small changes build into larger ones as resources and the organization gain strength.
• Moline Centre Main Street is implementation oriented. By identifying and prioritizing the major issues downtown must confront, Main Street can develop programs of work that break down the large issues into smaller tasks. Then, through the work of committee members, Moline Centre Main Street will have the capability of achieving quantifiable tasks.