Snyder Announces Michigan Main Street Community Designation for Otsego and Downtown Lansing - News, Weather and Sports for Lincoln, NE; KLKNTV.com

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SOURCE Michigan State Housing Development Authority

LANSING, Mich., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gov. Rick Snyder today announced two communities have been selected by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to take part in the Selected Level Michigan Main Street program. Those communities are Otsego and the City of Lansing's Downtown district. Lansing's Old Town district has been part of the Michigan Main Street program since 2006.

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As part of the Selected Level of Michigan Main Street, Otsego and Downtown Lansing will receive five years of intensive technical assistance, with a focus on revitalization strategies designed to attract new residents, business investment, economic growth and job creation to their central business districts.

"The Michigan Main Street program will help these two communities create opportunities for redevelopment, placemaking and economic growth just as it has in downtowns throughout Michigan for the past 10 years," Snyder said. "Vibrant communities and downtowns are critical as we look to attract new investment, help local businesses grow and retain and attract the talent that is needed to reinvent Michigan."

The Michigan Main Street program ties in with Governor Snyder's placemaking efforts to create vibrant communities across Michigan. These efforts are based on numerous studies showing that investing in placemaking creates vibrant city centers and downtowns, making the state economically stronger. There are currently 42 communities participating in the Michigan Main Street program at all levels, including 18 at the Select and Master levels.

The underlying premise of Main Street is a Four Point Approach® that encourages community economic development in four areas:

• Organization: getting everyone working toward the same goal and assembling the appropriate human and financial resources to implement a Main Street revitalization program.
• Promotion: selling a positive image of the commercial district and encouraging consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the Main Street district.
• Design: getting the downtown into top physical shape. Capitalizing on its best assets, such as historic buildings and pedestrian-oriented streets, is just part of the story.
• Economic Restructuring: strengthening a community's existing economic assets while expanding and diversifying its economic base.

"Programs like Michigan Main Street provide downtown communities with the tools needed to develop thriving downtowns," said MSHDA Executive Director Scott Woosley. "In turn, these tools can be used to create jobs, provide desirable places to live and build a sense of place for Michigan residents."

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority is dedicated to building a thriving and vibrant future for Michigan. MSHDA provides tools and resources to improve people's lives through programs across the state. These programs assist with housing, build strong neighborhoods, and help create places where people want to live and work. MSHDA's programs work in four areas: affordable rental housing, supporting homeownership, ending homelessness and creating vibrant cites and neighborhoods.*

For further information on the Michigan Main Street Program, visit www.michiganmainstreetcenter.org or contact Laura Krizov, manager of the Michigan Main Street Center at 517-241-4237 (krizovl@michigan.gov)                                                                        

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents and to engage in community economic development activities to revitalize urban and rural communities.*

*MSHDA's loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds as well as notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues. Proceeds are loaned at below-market interest rates to developers of rental housing, and help fund mortgages and home improvement loans. MSHDA also administers several federal housing programs. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mshda

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