Economic Development

Main Street Program

In August 2022, the City of Fort Worth launched a new pilot program in partnership with Main Street America - a proven national leader in grassroots, commercial district revitalization in many cities across the country.

Following a competitive Request for Applications (RFA) process, two Fort Worth neighborhoods – Historic Northside and Polytechnic Heights – were selected to implement Main Street's Four-Point Approach through unique, community-led transformation strategies that would help drive economic vitality, improve design, build organizational capacity, and promote each district.

In 2025, the pilot program was extended for another two years through support from the Fort Worth Local Development Corporation (LDC).

Fort Worth was the first city in Texas to partner with Main Street America on a coordination program that spans multiple corridors across the city.

	Information for Historic Northside (Managing Organization: Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce)		Information for Polytechnic Heights (Managing Organization: Texas Wesleyan University)
Contact: Dee Lara O'Neal		Contact: Dr. Dwala Chandler
Boundaries: View Historic Northside boundary map(PDF, 1MB)		Boundaries: View Polytechnic Heights boundary map(PDF, 1MB)
Reporting Annual Report - 2023(PDF, 15MB) Year 1 Assessment(PDF, 1MB) Community Asset Mapping Summary(PDF, 2MB) Annual Report – 2024(PDF, 14MB) Transformation Strategy Update - 2025(PDF, 12MB) Work Plan Workshop - 2025(PDF, 19MB) State of Historic Northside 2025 – Proposed Urban Design Guidelines(PDF, 8MB) Report: Small Business Anti-Displacement Workshop – 2025(PDF, 353KB)		Reporting Annual Report - 2023(PDF, 9MB) Community Asset Mapping Summary(PDF, 3MB) Annual Report – 2024(PDF, 2MB) Report: Small Business Anti-Displacement Workshop – 2025(PDF, 396KB) Presentation: Logo Reveal, Vision and Key Goals – 2026(PDF, 53MB)

Curious how these boundaries and districts were chosen? Check out the FAQ section below.

Main Street news

Program goals

The goal of the Main Street America pilot program is to give community stakeholders the proven tools to understand and influence their own economic future, and drive positive change in the district.
Each of the pilot communities will create or strengthen a district-focused managing organization, as well as a full-time community quarterback (hired district staffer) who will take on the role of implementing the community transformation strategy, organizing and training stakeholders, and moving the district towards its long-term goals.
The community quarterback will collaborate with district stakeholders to create strong boards and organize community volunteers to represent different aspects of the district (neighborhoods, business owners, etc.) and will work with them to develop actionable goals, paths to achieving those goals, and additional metrics to inform their success.
Together, these stakeholders will utilize Main Street's Four-Point framework to organize their work and their communities to create a strong district organization and vision:
- Economic vitality: Inspiring new investment and jobs in the district, and cultivating an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- Organization: Build strong leadership and organizational capacity while ensuring broad community engagement and forging partnerships across sectors.
- Design: Create an inviting atmosphere by celebrating the historic character of the area and fostering people-centered public spaces.
- Promotion: Communicate and market the district's defining assets and unique voice.

Main Street America 4 points infographic

Overview

As part of this initiative, the Main Street America technical services team and the City provide direct support to grant recipients over a three-year timeframe – which was extended another two years in June 2025. The two pilot communities will receive the following:

Training and technical support from Main Street America for the chosen managing organization, as well as the community, its board, and partners to help build a robust revitalization knowledge base and to help inform future strategies and work.
A customized transformation strategy for their district, which includes a work plan and metrics to put the strategy into action while providing tangible goals to measure progress.
Direct support from City staff to assist with training and facilitate projects within the district.
Up to $120,000 in operational support funding over three years for a full-time staff person/community quarterback, dedicated to implementing the Main Street programming and working with community stakeholders.
Up to $150,000 in project implementation grants over three years to support the overall strategy, which will be awarded on a project-by-project basis. The goal for these funds is to energize the community through visible projects, and help the managing organization build the capacity to fundraise on their own for the long-term sustainability of both the organization and the district.

These funds and training are meant to catalyze the program and community through partnership.

Timeline and Training

Following the City of Fort Worth’s fiscal calendar year, the pilot program runs from October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2025. The trainings will be scheduled at the community’s pace, as identified by the managing organization, but the general timeline for implementation and primary activities will include:

Year One (October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023): Start-up program (hire manager and work with launch committee), kickstart community education, trust building, and begin organizational development.
Year Two (October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024): Continued community education and organizational development, committee development, and transformation strategy development.
Year Three (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025): Transformation strategy refinement and implementation.
Years Four and Five
- View the presentation of the Main Street extension(PDF, 4MB)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can my organization apply?

Currently, applications are closed and the City of Fort Worth is evaluating the current active programs.

If you are an organization located in a historic commercial district in the City of Fort Worth and interested in the Main Street Program for your district, please reach out to the City of Fort Worth’s Economic Development Department to express your interest and find out about gearing up for potential future rounds.

You are also invited to join the training sessions in either community, and if feasible, we recommend you joining our team at the National Main Street Now Conference – which both communities and City staff attend for training each year. We also recommend you check the Main Street America website for free tools and trainings, or join as a general member.

To find out more about the Main Street initiative in Fort Worth, you can view the workshop presentation(PPTX, 11MB) given during the application period.

Thank you for your commitment to your neighborhood commercial districts, and for building a Full-Strength Fort Worth.

How were the organizations and districts chosen?

These requirements applied to the original applications for Fort Worth's first two pilot programs.

Applications for Fort Worth's Main Street Pilot Program closed at 8 p.m. on Monday, June 6, 2022. The winning districts were announced in early August 2022.

Applicants for the Main Street pilot program had to meet the following criteria:

Eligible areas must have the majority of their commercial district in a Neighborhood Empowerment Zone, with special consideration given to those that include an Urban Village or a Revitalization Target Area. (View these areas on an interactive map.)
Eligible areas should have significant historical or cultural assets, and a desire to preserve them.
Eligible areas should demonstrate a need for community capacity-building, as well as the need for a community economic development organization exclusively focused on the district and a dedicated individual to staff it.
Applicants must be a "managing organization" based in the neighborhood, or have a significant presence and support with the intention of locating an office there. These organizations must have sufficient staffing and sound financials to sustain economic development work in the neighborhood or demonstrate that there is significant support from organizations or individuals who will aid in fulfilling this objective.
Managing organizations must be a local community development corporation, merchant association or chamber of commerce with a 501c(3), 501c(4) or 501c(6) status, and must have a Federal Employment Identification Number.
If the managing organization is not already district-focused, a new entity or organization will need to be established within the district. (This can be a subsidiary of an existing organization.)
If no such organization exists, a new organization can be established. As part of the application, it will need to demonstrate support and backing of institutions or other organizations that have a proven track record with the community.

If applicants met the above criteria, they were then evaluated by a team of people through an application and site visit process on the following:

Ability of the organization to organize community and key stakeholders, fundraise or secure other grants, manage grant funding with fiscal responsibility, organize projects and events, and participate in the program with full commitment.
Alignment of current activities the district has been working on or identified to work on with the Main Street program goals and Four-Point Approach.
Need for an organization to work to organize the community and commercial district due to development pressure or threats of displacement from rapid gentrification.

How were the boundaries chosen?

The City of Fort Worth, through planning and community engagement processes, identified targeted areas of focus for investment for under-resourced areas of the city and areas to concentrate the development of walkable, urban, neighborhood commercial districts. (Please read the previous FAQ question for more detail on eligible areas.)

Community organizations serving these areas and their district business districts were invited to apply and as a part of their application submit their boundaries of focus. Once selected, the managing organizations had the opportunity to work with the organization that wrote letters of support to co-author the final boundaries for the three years.

As a reminder, these areas are pilot areas, focused on commercial and small business properties in historic neighborhoods.

How can I get involved?

Please reach out to the individual district organization to find out how you can get involved.

If you are an organization or foundation looking to provide program-wide support, please reach out to the City of Fort Worth Economic Development Department to discuss specific opportunities.