Community Services

Community Services are planning, preservation, and design presentations and workshops organized by the Program Manager and given by our staff. Available free of charge to every Illinois Main Street community, these services are divided into two categories: Community Training, whose sessions are open to the public (surrounding communities should be encouraged to attend), and Design Committee Training sessions intended for members of the Design Committee.

Pictured is a Basic Design Training conference held in Bloomington in June of 2004. A tornado warning prompted moving the presentation into the kitchen of this historic community center.

COMMUNITY TRAINING

These public sessions promote the importance of quality design and the preservation ethic as it relates to downtown revitalization and business improvement. The local Design Committee is required to attend. Other audience members can include business owners, design professionals, contractors, Main-Street volunteers, interior designers, graphic designers, history buffs, historical-society and preservation-commission members, realtors, Main-Street board members, local government representatives, and interested citizens. If you feel that your community would benefit from any of the Community Services, contact your Manager to request a session.

Basic Design-Training Presentation
Stresses the importance of good design, preservation, building maintenance, basic improvements, financial incentives, and other key issues. Every new Illinois
Main Street community must receive this presentation before it can submit Design Assistance Request Forms or schedule Advanced Design Training. Communities can request this presentation at any point for further education. (2½ hours)

Advanced Design-Training Workshop
Designer and attendees walk through the downtown discussing specific successes and potential areas of improvement and then examine case studies to arrive at appropriate design solutions. Owners are encouraged to bring their unique concerns and problems to discuss and solve. (2 hours)

Advanced Design-Training Presentations
Topics include upper-story development, mid-20th-century storefront preservation, economics of historic preservation, and retail displays and interiors. Additional topics will be available as they are developed. (¾ - 1½ hours)

DESIGN-COMMITTEE TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE

These presentations are intended to educate the local Design Committee on issues ranging from committee procedure to dispensing design advice.

Design-Committee Training
Based on the National Main Street Center’s Design Committee Handbook, shown at right, this session examines committee procedure, activities, and work-plan development. (2 hours)

Advanced Design-Committee Training
This session examines historic architectural styles, concepts of quality design, currently available historically appropriate building materials, and local design-review issues. (2 hours)

Special Committee Meetings
Periodic meetings can be scheduled to review plans, discuss current and future projects, and provide a forum for answering questions. These serve to direct, clarify, and resolve issues that effect a community's design orientation. They also bring the designer up to date on the status of local projects.

Design Guidelines Development
Main Street designers are available to assist Design Committees in the development and/or review of Design Guidelines for their downtown districts.

Consultation
Designers are available to provide input on any Design-Committee activity, should the committee wish. Projects can include walking tour brochures, sign ordinance review, zoning ordinance review, district expansion, comprehensive-plan review, work-plan review, etc.

Click here to learn about Illinois Main Street’s Building 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.	"Basic" maintenance of your historic structure.
Starting Early: Creating Child-Friendly Downtowns	Mid-Century Main Street: Working with Commercial Resources from the Recent Past	Click here to learn more about reusing upper floors of Main Street buildings