Main Street New Jersey to Hold NJ Downtown Revitalization and Management Institute Workshop in Montclair
Sandy-Impacted Homeowners Have Until August 1 to Apply

TRENTON, N.J – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today announced that registration is still open for Main Street New Jersey’s Downtown Revitalization & Management Institute. This year’s one-day intensive workshop, the second in a four-part series, is themed “Where Feet Meet the Street: Innovative Public/Private Placemaking Projects.” This workshop will focus on how to design, fund, and leverage placemaking projects.  The workshop, which takes place on July 24, is just steps away from the heart of the award winning Montclair Center, a Main Street New Jersey community since 2007.

“We are pleased that Main Street New Jersey, through the Downtown Revitalization & Management Institute, is able to provide an educational resource for towns to create and revitalize downtown districts, especially under current economic conditions,” stated DCA Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III. “Our hope is that the guidance offered by experts participating in this program will result in prosperous business districts that help strengthen communities throughout New Jersey.”  

Through a four-point approach of organization, economic restructuring, design, and promotion, the Main Street New Jersey program provides communities with technical assistance and training to improve downtown business districts. The DRMI workshop assists property owners in improving, creating, reforming and maintaining viable communities for residential and business activities.

In addition to a wide variety of workshop topics, the event will include three expert speakers to highlight their experiences in revitalization.  Talks will be given by Gary Toth from Project for Public Spaces, Prema Katari Gupta the Director of Planning and Economic Development for Philadelphia's University City District, and Josh Bloom of C.L.U.E Group and the Montclair Center District who will use the Center itself as a case study.

“Participants in this workshop will be given an opportunity to not only learn from national placemaking experts, but also see placemaking in practice within the Montclair Center district itself,” said Jef Buehler, Coordinator of the Main Street New Jersey program at DCA. “Effectively enhancing and maintaining a community’s place goes hand-in-hand with growing both its local economy and small businesses.” 

Promotional sponsors for the workshop are the Montclair Center, APA NJ, Downtown New Jersey, and the Transit Village Initiative.

The Main Street New Jersey program, which was established in 1989, is a revitalization program that promotes the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts in New Jersey. The Improvement District program helps businesses and property owners of a community to organize as a single entity, raise funds for activities that enhance or expand upon municipal services, and manage themselves to become a more effective destination for commerce.

For more information and to register for this workshop, please visit www.mainstreetnewjersey.com on the DCA website.

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