This week, Cathleen Edgerly & Julie Reinhardt attend the National Mainstreet Conference where they shared the community development programs created by Downtown Lansing Inc, such as Middle Village Micro Market. Middle Village Micro Market is a shopping experience that fosters local entrepreneurship, giving them the chance to test their concepts and perfect their and products. The merchants open a micro storefront inside Middle Village Micro Market where they grow their brand and customer base.
This one-stop shopping retail market was created by Downtown Lansing Inc. with the support of Lake Trust Credit Union. The program helps remove barriers to store ownership which creates strong, viable businesses that add local jobs and improve the local economy in a significant way. As part of the programming, each merchant attends the Small Business Learning Series, a monthly training series tailored to small business development. The Small Business Learning Series partners with Lake Trust Credit Union, The Capital Region Small Business Development Center, The Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, Allen Neighborhood Center, and Lansing Regional Smart Zone to provide educational programming across industries.
Downtown Lansing Inc. is committed to promoting the culture and sustainability of our downtown district. As community developers and solution creators – we are dedicated to balancing the needs of our residents, businesses and visitors to build a stronger future where Downtown Lansing is known for our culture, opportunities, and activities at all hours of the day.
Some of the Downtown Lansing Inc. team went to Boston, where other Main Street communities got together to share ideas and share the passion of Downtown communities. Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Downtown Lansing Inc. is proud to be an accredited Main Street community. Utilizing the Main Street Four-Point Approach, Downtown Lansing grows to be highly self-reliant with representation and involvement from a broad cross-section of the community. Downtown Lansing Inc does this by reaching out to Downtown stakeholders, increasing the lines of communication, and engaging the community in the Main Street program.
