Main Street Building Services

Building Services are provided by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency free of charge to active, designated Illinois Main Street communities. All services will meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation for historic and potentially historic properties.
Available to business and/or property owners of any commercial property within the identified downtown boundaries of an Illinois Main Street community, Building Services involve a one-on-one approach where the Main Street designer provides assistance for a specific building. Communities can submit one request per year, with additional requests available as previous projects are implemented. To request these services, obtain an Architectural Assistance Request Form from your Main Street Manager. Projects can include one or more of the following: Site Visit Assessment Report Facade Design General Recommendations Sign Design Technical Information Graphic Design Preliminary Cost Estimate Project Follow Up Urban Design and Streetscape Disaster Evaluation

Site Visit

An on-site meeting with Main Street staff, the Main Street Manager, and the building owner provides a forum to discuss both interior and exterior design options, address questions, and identify maintenance issues. A site visit is necessary for the staff to produce a facade design.

We can provide a color drawing showing proposed changes to a structure's facades. Changes may include the addition of an awning or a new sign, reinstallation of upper-floor windows, improved storefront, or simply additional window graphics. Illinois Main street design staff can also recommend alterations to proposed designs by other design professionals to make the project more appropriate to the historic commercial district. We can often work directly from other professionals’ computer-generated drawings.

Sign Design

We can manipulate existing sign or graphic designs, such as taking a business card and extrapolating it into a sign, or we can start from scratch to produce designs that express the individuality of a small business. In addition to color drawings of sign suggestions, we can include information on sign materials and installation techniques.

The colors, font, and Dickensian image of this design for a new bookstore in Aledo were suggested by the store's name.

Graphic Design

Developing a business identity is extremely important in today’s competitive marketplace. Illinois Main Street can develop a logo for your business, along with a package of graphic design items, such as business cards, price tags, and letterhead. As was the case for Tangibles and Of The Prairie, whose logos are shown below, we helped to devise names for new businesses that, when combined with graphic design, achieved a unified business identity. When implementing our designs, we can provide printers and sign makers with electronic files of the artwork, thereby reducing some of the production costs. We have also designed logos for Main Street organizations, such the suggested logo for the Downtown Bloomington Partnership, shown below right.

Assessment Report

A component of a typical design package is an Assessment Report that contains maintenance and code issues as well as their possible solutions. Questions raised at the site visit will be answered in the report.

General Recommendations

An item-by-item description of all proposed changes is often very helpful when discussing a scope of work with a contractor. This document is included with the schematic design package. Click here to download a sample General Recommendations document (PDF).

Technical Information

We will include copies or links to applicable technical information, such as Preservation Briefs from the National Park Service, product information, and repair procedures.

Preliminary Cost Estimate

An itemized listing of potential expenses. While local costs may vary, this preliminary estimate does give the owner a general idea of project cost.

Project Follow-Up

Illinois Main Street staff are available by phone to answer questions during the bidding and construction phases. Though unable to provide construction management or inspections, the designer will answer questions about design changes, products, and proper preservation techniques.

Urban Design and Streetscape projects

The IHPA architectural staff provide technical assistance to communities contemplating urban design or streetscape projects. Currently, the IHPA staff are not preparing any design drawings, but are assisting communities who are seeking design professionals to prepare these. The IHPA emphasis on streetscape design services is timed to coincide with major funding programs. If the federal enhancement program is funded by a future Congress, special emphasis and training will be directed towards this design service.

Disaster Evaluation

In the event of a fire or other catastrophe, an Illinois Main Street architect will visit the site to determine the extent of damage and whether demolition is required.

Click here to learn about Illinois Main Street’s Community Services

Click here to access the Illinois Main Street Project Archive	Click here to download an illustrated glossary of a typical Main Street building (PDF)	Click here to see examples of implemented Illinois Main Street designs

Visit the Illinois Main Street Web site on the Lieutenant Governor's page at http://www.state.il.us/ltgov/mainstreet/default.htm. Visit the National Main Street Center Web site at http://www.mainstreet.org/ Please look elsewhere on this website to obtain information about financial incentives or about Certified Local Governments.

Click here to learn more about reusing upper floors of Main Street buildings