BOUNTIFUL—Bountiful has been selected as one of seven newly designated Tier 1 Promising Communities to become part of the Utah Main Street program that is dedicated to helping communities statewide cultivate economically vibrant downtowns.

“We’re a preservation based economic revitalization program for historic downtowns or neighborhood commercial districts,” said Utah Main Street Manager and Statewide Program Coordinator, Chelsea Gauthier. “Our program is housed within the State Historic Preservation Office at the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. So we do a lot of community engaged approaches.”

Gauthier said it is a statewide coordination program of the national nonprofit Main Street America. “There’s about 45 other statewide coordination programs doing this work in thousands of communities both rural and urban across the country engaged in this.”

The BDAC building was one of the first grocery stores on Main Street. Photo by Becky Ginos

 The program has a four point approach framework, she said. “We go off of it and also tailor things to how we are in Utah and use a really localized approach.”

Initially there was a Main Street program in the state that ran in the early 1990s to mid 2000s, said Gauthier. “Then we came back with a pilot program in 2019 to 2021. Right after that in 2022 is really when the program came back to life in the state of Utah and we’ve grown to have 29 communities throughout the state that we’re working with now so Bountiful is one of our newest additions.”

“We initially pitched the Utah Main Street program to the Main Street merchants,” said Carter Radcliffe, community coordinator for the Bountiful Davis Arts Center (BDAC). “I had pitched Main Street America to Sarina (Ehrgott, executive director) last year. We finally heard back this last month.”

Main Street America really wants to focus on community building, he said. “The community art center is a local part of the community that is really grounded in the community. It was important for us to help with getting funds to help with other community-led revitalizing of Main Street and making it really a cultural hub for the community.”

The art center is working on getting museum accreditation, said Radcliffe. “That is part of our strategic plan over the next three years. We really want to focus on being the artistic hub of Northern Utah and beyond.”

Radcliffe said being a part of the network gives them access to help with planning and organizing different events in the city. “It’s also keeping the spirit of the city and Main Street alive by keeping the local shops that we have and the history of the buildings really present.”

The plaques on Main Street teach people about the buildings that they are in, he said. “Like the art center is one of the first grocery stores on Main Street. So just reminding people of the state's history that is rooted in Bountiful.”

Tier 1 communities are cities that are just getting started, really wanting to start the Main  Street journey, said Gauthier. “It might be like how Bountiful is already a successful downtown but you’re really trying to figure out what’s the organizational structure and focus on taking city plans and downtown plans to get to the next step.”

It’s a three tiered process, she said. “Cities can be in Tier 1 anywhere from one year to three years. Tier 2 and 3 are the bulk of our program so there’s a little bit more data that they’re collecting, really getting that organizational structure set up, creating the building capacity to do the community revitalization work.”  

In Tier 2 that’s really where there is a ton of technical assistance that the program provides, Gauthier said. “There are some grant opportunities that come up. Both Tier 2 and Tier 3 are nationally recognized, so meeting the standards by Main Street America as well as Utah Main Street. So 2 is affiliate and then hitting Tier 3 is nationally accredited."

Gauthier said they’re looking at creating a sense of community and that identity in Bountiful’s downtown. “Downtowns have a different, very distinct look and feel to them. So we ask ‘are you telling the story of your downtown and really helping and working with communities to see what makes your downtown different from other places’ downtowns?’ Because each community does have a different local flair.”

It’s a community led movement, she said. “We’re here just to provide and support and help bounce ideas off of each other. We help provide the tools to get there.”