Cleveland Main Street Association, Inc. (CMSA) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit charitable organization seeking membership in the National Main Street Center and Main Street America network. The unique individuals who make up CMSA are passionate advocates, dedicated volunteers, influential stakeholders, and community organizers who work every day to turn the tide in their communities—catalyzing reinvestment, creating jobs, and fostering pride of place.
Purpose and Philosophy
The purpose of Cleveland Main Street Association, Incorporated is to foster, promote, maintain, and encourage the civic, social, commercial, tourist, and economic welfare of our city. Main Street contributes to the entire community by preserving the quality of life and aesthetic values that make Tahlequah unique. As a partner of CMSA, you will be directly involved in aiding and revitalizing your community. This revitalization is only possible with your participation and support of the committed efforts of the Main Street committees that represent the initiative. This resurgence creates lasting improvements that ensure long-term success for the heart of our community. Main Street relies on its dedicated volunteers and members who cooperatively work toward an improved, cohesive downtown of which all citizens will be proud!
Mission Statement
Working to make Cleveland a vibrant place to live, shop, and play!
About the Main Street Movement
Over the past 35 years, the Main Street movement has transformed how communities think about revitalizing and managing their downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Cities and towns across the nation have come to see that a prosperous, sustainable community is only as healthy as its core.
The Main Street Four-Point Approach® is a unique preservation-based economic development tool that enables communities to revitalize downtown and neighborhood business districts by leveraging local assets – from historic, cultural, and architectural resources to local enterprises and community pride. It is a comprehensive strategy that addresses various issues and problems that challenge traditional commercial districts.
As a unique economic development tool, the Main Street Four-Point Approach® is the foundation for local initiatives to revitalize their districts by leveraging local assets—from cultural or architectural heritage to local enterprises and community pride.
The four points of the Main Street approach work together to build a sustainable and complete community rejuvenation effort. They are Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Reconstruction.
Economic Vitality
The resurrection of a downtown or neighborhood commercial district requires focusing on the underlying Economic Vitality of the district. This work is rooted in a commitment to making the most of a community’s unique sense of place and existing historic assets, harnessing local economic opportunity, and creating a supportive business environment for small business owners and the growing scores of entrepreneurs, innovators, and localists alike. With the nationwide growing interest in living downtown, supporting downtown housing is also a key element of building Economic Vitality.
Design
A focus on Design supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical elements of downtown while capitalizing on the unique assets that set the commercial district apart. Main Streets enhance their appeal to residents and visitors alike with attention to public space through creating pedestrian-friendly streets, including public art in unexpected areas, visual merchandising, adaptive reuse of older and historic buildings, and more efficiently-designed buildings, transit-oriented development, and much more.
Promotion
Promoting Main Street takes many forms, but the ultimate goal is to position the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and the hub of economic activity while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics. This can be done through highlighting cultural traditions, celebrating and preserving important architecture and history, encouraging local businesses to market cooperatively, offering coordinated specials and sales, and hosting special events aimed at changing perceptions of the district and communicating to residents, investors, businesses, and property-owners that this place is special. ​
Organization
A strong organizational foundation is key to a sustainable Main Street revitalization effort. This can take many forms, from a standalone non-profit organization to a special assessment district to a program housed in a municipality or existing community development entity. Regardless of the organizational type, the focus is on ensuring that all organizational resources (partners, funding, volunteers, etc.) are mobilized to implement the Community Transformative Strategies effectively.