Purpose: To strengthen and broaden the economic base of the Main Street District.

Ongoing Projects

1. Christmas in July promotion
2. Encourage and incentivize shopping local day to day
3. Host quarterly ‘Business After Hours’ events (weekly coffees); Gather businessowners to listen, learn and create connection
4. Host three business-oriented trainings (Succession planning, Employee recruitment, Employee training, Customer service, How to start a new business, marketing, social media, finding employees, creating and maintaining websites if applicable, making sales through websites if applicable, Website/eCommerce training, Get businesses to have a web presence)
   

Ongoing Program Activities

1. Business Succession Planning
2. Business Visits
3. Collect and distribute basic market data (including available downtown properties)
4. First Dollar Presentation/ribbon cutting to new businesses
5. Maintain list of properties for sale/lease
6. Open 4 Business application
7. Publish newspaper articles for business anniversaries
8. Recruit businesses to fill vacancies
9. Research available funding sources and share with investors/developers
10. Share district’s investment statistics with stakeholders on regular basis (city council, board, businesses, etc.
11. Work to keep an eye on problematic or derelict properties

2022
First Tier Priorities

1. Roll-out Market Study and Strategies Results
   
   • Publicize recent survey results to community
   • Create materials to share survey data with developers/investors to show housing needs
   • Highlight what product lines businesses should expand on (i.e. have a salon start providing women’s clothing), then promote those expansions
2. Culinary Contract
3. Get businesses to have consistent hours, extended ours and coordinated hours so everyone is open at the same time.
4. Create incentives for buildings and new/expanding businesses
5. Work to enhance relationship with development group for housing programs
   
   • Share survey results with them
   • Create public housing needs list
     

Second Tier Priorities

1. Share pros of 2nd story housing with business owners
2. Share with business owners the data that shows a great deal of workforce that leaves Coon Rapids for work and
3. come up with plan to keep more people working local.
4. Share with public the types of jobs that exist in Coon Rapids to show them they may not need to commute for work.
   
   2023
   Update building & business inventory
   Market our needs for new businesses and vacant buildings to new businesses
   Recruit new businesses: Identify top 3-4 needs/wants (shopping, food, medical (dentist/optometry); Identify building space opportunities; Recruit; Incentivize
   
   2024
   Market Analysis – Ready to Recruit
   Work to recruit more daycare options for Coon Rapids