Writer: Ryan Gandolfo
2 min read February 2024 — “Main Street” has played a pivotal role in local economies, providing a one-stop shop for residents in small towns to convene for shopping and social matters as well as celebrating the history and culture of a community. But investment is needed to revitalize these central roads that give towns their American charm.
In an effort to revitalize key community assets in Pennsylvania municipalities, Gov. Josh Shapiro recently proposed a $25 million investment toward the Main Street Matters program.
The initiative will use direct funding through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to address various needs among small businesses, downtowns, and mains streets across the Commonwealth.
“Main streets are a vibrant part of our culture here, so we need to protect and grow them,” Crystal Seitz told Invest:. The outgoing president of Reading & Berks County Pennsylvania’s Americana Region noted that Berks has four main streets and one downtown.
“Our county is shaped like a diamond and we have these main streets stationed around the diamond and the city in the center — just like a donut. We do get a lot of interest from visitors to our main streets,” she said.
In Berks, two of the four main streets situated in the county are more developed, with West Reading experiencing more economic activity. Seitz added that the funding from Main Streets Matters would help some of the other main streets, such as Hamburg and Kutztown, reestablish themselves.
“During the pandemic, some small businesses were lost and the main streets are rebuilding. The program funding will help them start to figure out how to revitalize at a higher level,” said Seitz.
According to the DCED, the Main Street Matters program is a part of Shapiro’s economic development strategy that proposes $600 million in new and expanded investments to create equitable economic opportunities.
“If we want to attract new businesses to Pennsylvania, support entrepreneurs, and create good-paying jobs, then we’ve got to make sure our communities have healthy, vibrant Main Streets lined with shops and small businesses,” said Shapiro in a press release.
In the United States, main streets have both risen to prominence and fallen on hard times as economic cycles have rewarded and punished small businesses. As Ada Louise Huxtable wrote in a 1976 article from The New York Times, “Main Street has proved no more stable or invulnerable to change than any other part of the urban environment.”
While inevitable change has dictated the economic vibrancy of U.S. main streets throughout the decades, their resilience and evolution is on display.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.visitpaamericana.com/
