Four Point Approach

The Pennsylvania Downtown Center

Olde Town Grove City is a Main Street program, a division of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. The Pennsylvania Downtown Center has adopted the Main Street Four-Point Approach developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The mission of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center is to advance the sense of place, quality of life and economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s downtowns, traditional neighborhood business districts and nearby residential areas.

 What PDC Does

Since 1987, PDC has provided affordable services and benefits to its members, tailored to their unique economic and social conditions. These communities include urban and rural communities of all sizes. PDC’s philosophy identifies ongoing professional management as a critical key to the success of revitalization. What Does a Healthy Downtown Do?
  • Spurs Business Development
  • Increases the Local Tax Base
  • Creates Jobs
  • Stimulates Housing
  • Increases Occupancy Rates
  • Fights Sprawl
  • Draws Investors
  • Rehabilitates Empty Buildings
  • Reflects the history of the community
  • Promotes Civic Pride
  • Utilizes Existing Infrastructure
  • Increases Community Involvement
  • Reaffirms Commitment by Local Leaders

The National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Approach to Downtown Business Center Revitalization

The Main Street Four-Point Approach™ 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 traditional business districts. 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. The Main Street Approach 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.

The Main Street Four-Point Approach™ is a comprehensive strategy that is tailored to meet local needs and opportunities. It encompasses work in four distinct areas — Design, Economic Restructuring, Promotion, and Organization — that are combined to address all of the commercial district's needs. The philosophy and the Eight Guiding Principles behind this methodology make it an effective tool for community-based, grassroots revitalization efforts. The Main Street approach has been successful in communities of all sizes, both rural and urban.

The Main Street approach is incremental; it is not designed to produce immediate change. Because they often fail to address the underlying causes of commercial district decline, expensive improvements, such as pedestrian malls or sports arenas, do not always generate the desired economic results. In order to succeed, a long-term revitalization effort requires careful attention to every aspect of downtown — a process that takes time and requires leadership and local capacity building.