Main Street Alabama coming to Selma to work on downtown development plan

Main Street Alabama is bringing a five-member resource team to Selma to work with the Selma Main Street Program on its next steps for downtown revitalization.

The resource team visit is a service Main Street Alabama provides to guide local revitalization efforts. Over the course of three days, Nov. 4 – 6, the team will gather information through interviews, community conversations, tours and research to better understand downtown Selma and identify opportunities for continued growth.

Community members are encouraged to meet with the resource team on Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at George Evans Reception Hall on 2 Lawrence St. to share their ideas, perspectives and hopes for downtown Selma.

“The resource team wants to hear directly from the people who know Selma best: the people who live, work, own businesses, invest and participate in the community,” according to a statement from Main Street. “The visioning process is designed to help identify what the district stands for, what the community values and what people want downtown Selma to become.”

The resource team will focus on Main Street calls its four-point approach, looking at organization (building local support and leadership), design (signage and visual elements), promotion (how downtown can be marketed) and economic vitality (identifying ways to expand the economic base).

The resource team will present an outline of its findings and first actions during a public presentation on Nov. 6. Those recommendations will then be developed into the Selma Main Street Program Strategic Guide, which will be delivered approximately six weeks later.

Selma recently became a full member of the Main Street community. Main Street Alabama is a private non-profit and state coordinating program of Main Street America. More than 30 cities in Alabama, including Demopolis, Marion and Montgomery in the Black Belt, are full members of Main Street Alabama.