MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Downtown Maryville is a bustling place featuring wondrous sights of the surrounding hills and rivers, filled with unique local businesses. City leaders said they think it can be a place filled with nightlife and thriving, large businesses.
Before downtown Maryville can achieve that though, they are working on rebranding the area. For that, they are working with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development through a program designed to transform communities and make them more appealing to visitors.
"We also want the downtown to be a destination for people who are heading to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but we also want it to be a place where people who live here can enjoy the downtown, the nightlife, and all the restaurants and businesses that are here," said Christy Slavick, the chair of the Maryville Downtown Association.
The 'Tennessee Main Street' movement includes three parts: a strategy to revitalize areas a network of linked communities and a national support program. It is partially run through the National Main Street Center.
The program approaches communities through with four main goals: design, economic restructuring, promotion and organization. They work to create a safe and inviting area in downtown areas while renovating buildings and improving streetscapes with improved signs and aesthetic qualities.
It also tries to diversify the ways communities make money, strengthening their assets and making them more appealing to business leaders. After that, they promote cities and improve their public image, attracting tourists who want to see the sights.
And finally, the Main Street movement builds close partnerships between groups with stakes in downtown areas, while also creating a non-profit organization that locally operates the program.