Hiring a director will be a big step for the Mainstreet Mexico program, the president of the organization told the Mexico City Council at its May 27 meeting.

Erik Richardson from Mainstreet Mexico updated council about the Main Street program.

The Ledger reported in May 2024 that the city received approval by the Missouri Main Street Program in the fall 2023 for a grant to help the city set up its own Main Street program.

“The premise behind the Mainstreet Mexico project is to appreciate the value of community and create an environment for downtown to prosper and grow,” the story stated. 

Missouri Main Street Connection, the umbrella organization for MIssouri, now an independent nonprofit, launched in 1989 as part of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Richardson said in an email to the Ledger. Mainstreet Mexico kicked off in April 2024, Richardson said.

Mainstreet Mexico said on its Facebook page that it is a “vibrant community organization dedicated to preserving the historic charm and promoting the economic vitality of downtown Mexico.” Richardson told the Ledger the group hopes to have a director within the next three to four months.

During the council meeting, Richardson offered ideas on how the local Main Street organization, a nonprofit, can be successful.

“In order to do an intentional, successful job, you need to take your time building back up to it,” said Richardson, telling council that building a program revolves around building a team, building and training a board and starting those relationships and conversations with other community stakeholders. 

Richardson said because local people did a good job with that, Main Street Missouri brought in a team of consultants.

“Not all the groups get these,” he said, noting that Main Street Missouri representatives said local Main Street people were making good progress and the consultants could help the city make a “warp-speed jump forward.” 

The consultants, awarded through a selective process and funded by a major grant from USDA, visited Mexico on May 21-22, Richardson said in the email. 

“This consulting team has worked with Main Street America on thousands of communities like ours all over the country,” he said.

In the council meeting, he said out of the process that occurred, Main Street officials here developed a blueprint of priority projects and strategies that can be implemented. He discussed some highlights from the consultants’ visit, such as facade improvements, because they attract tourists, retain businesses and generate traffic, including from local people. Plus, facade improvements can help bring in new businesses.

Consultants said local people need to avoid “creating a really beautiful ghost town,” Richardson said, and said that under the surface, many conversations, building on conversations the team had happened over the last year, had to do with structural improvements needed in some buildings and spaces. 

Also in the council meeting, Richardson shared some other ideas that local people can pursue, such as increasing walkability. He said the next phase for the local Main Street organization is to get business owners and some community organizations to invest in projects.  

In the email, Richardson said Mainstreet Mexico stays busy, preparing applications for some buildings to be added to the National Historic Registry and the upcoming Jeep event on June 28, in partnership with the Village Square Association.

“As we look forward, the board and our volunteers will begin to prioritize and implement some of the consultant recommendations including key projects for façade improvements and the walkability of our downtown area,” he said. ”One of the most exciting cornerstones will be the development of a business innovation center in the heart of the city with space and resources to help new, small businesses. That will be a great step forward and shows the strong work being done with Gigi McAreavy and others in city leadership.” McAreavy is the economic development director with the city.

Richardson said funding for programs like Mainstreet Mexico comes from a combination of city and county government support, business and individual contributions from the community and from outside grants geared toward specific projects.

Mainstreet Mexico can have an effect here on business, he said.

“Main Street revitalization programs in communities like ours create meaningful impact ranging from increased investment, growth of new businesses and new tourism dollars, and an ongoing cycle of strong volunteer service,” he said. “While we are in the early stages of our development, our Mexico program was chosen for this consulting visit because of our promising potential to become another showcase success for the program. To offer a comparison, Warrensburg, which is just a little larger than Mexico, has seen more than 90 new businesses launch and grow since 2015.”

Richardson added: “Excelsior Springs, with a population just a couple thousand less than Mexico, is a helpful glimpse into the future for us, because they are entering their tenth year since launch.

“For every dollar invested in their Main Street partnership last year, they raised an additional $7.51. Among a number of other things, they drove over $600,000 in private building improvements and generated 35,000 visits for their downtown special events.”