2007 National Main Street Convention

I had the privilege of attending the 2007 National Main Street Convention in Seattle at the end of March. A record 1600 people from all over the U.S. and even Canada attended. 43 states participate in the Main Street program and some states had 50 or 60 people attending. I was the only person attending from a main street program in Hawaii. Also attending was a representative from the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Office, which hopes to start the Hawaii program up again in the near future.

As you know, our organization is Haleiwa Main Street DBA North Shore Chamber of Commerce. We became a main street program in 1989, but the state stopped funding the program in 1995, and over time, we evolved to what we are today with Haleiwa Main Street being a “program” of the Chamber. We are in the process of actively pursuing the “economic revitalization” of the main street program either through the City and County of Honolulu or through the state because the program will do much to improve business districts and communities (not to mention preserving our history for future generations). A requirement is a “coordinating program”, a governmental agency, to get Main Street going again.

Main Street is a program and a proven approach to commercial district revitalization created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The revitalization process is centered in four areas: Promotion, Economic Restructuring, Design and Organization. The Main Street program emphasizes a community’s unique heritage and attributes. Using local resources and initiative, the program helps communities develop their own strategies to stimulate long term-economic growth and pride in the heart of the community — downtown.

Why pursue Main Street and emphasize our culture and history? Cultural heritage tourism, or tourism that involves experiencing places and activities that represent the history, culture and natural environment of a place, is big business. Visitors to historic sites and cultural attractions stay longer and spend more money than any other kind of visitor: on average, 36% more. Most importantly, cultural heritage tourism diversifies the economy, preserves the community’s unique character and makes the community more attractive to these higher-spending, more culturally-sensitive visitors.

There were many valuable educational sessions available to choose from. However, I tried to focus on ones that I thought would be the most useful to the Chamber and moving our community forward. One I chose was “Demographics, Disabilities, and Design Review.” The ADA is not most people’s favorite subject, but the demographics of the boomer generation will require businesses and communities to plan for them because they will have such a significant social and economic impact on communities beginning now. Basically, smart communities will develop a “boomer strategy.”

There are 78 million boomers and they are the most educated and wealthiest generation in history. By 2020, more than one third of Americans will be over 50. Boomers will live longer, have more active lifestyles and work longer, phasing into retirement. Seventy years old will be the equivalent of 50 years old for the previous generation and most will not experience serious physical limitations until they are over 70. Where boomers live and what kind of lifestyle they choose will impact communities considerably.

When boomers retire, many will want to return to the small-town atmosphere they grew up in where they can walk and be less dependent on the car. Accessibility to historic buildings will mean we need to make our historic resources boomer friendly. Boomers will be seeking “affordable, mixed income, handicapped-accessible, intergenerational housing in a historic downtown building near shopping, restaurants, public transit and the library.” This workshop provided specific, practical and reasonable tools to address the adaptation of historic buildings for accessibility that fit in with building design. If you are interested in more information on this subject, please contact me.

A BIG MAHALO TO OUR MEMBERS
• Bill Barnfield for writing sample letters of support for funding of Haleiwa Town walkway and Laniakea road improvements.
• Breaker’s Restaurant for hosting our February Business After Hours.
• Joan Gossett, Scott Ray and Kevin Seid for volunteering on the Walkway survey project.
• Paul Saccoccio for assisting with legal documents connected with the Telephone Exchange Building.
• Laura Figueira from Senator Bunda’s and Judy Fomin from Representative Magaoay’s for helping with the Chamber’s Historic Preservation Day booth at the State Capital.