Vision Statement

vision statement

Ticonderoga Montcalm Street Partnership, Inc. (TMSP) seeks to create meaningful, long-term change in Ticonderoga’s traditional business district, employing the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center (NTMSC) Four Point Approach and Eight Principles.

TMSP’s Main Street approach to downtown revitalization is based on Four Points:

•Design – which involves improving and enhancing downtown Ti’s physical appearance in order to convey a visual message about downtown and what it has to offer.
•Organization – which means building consensus and co-operation among all the diverse groups that play roles in downtown Ticonderoga .
•Promotion – which involves marketing to shoppers, investors, new businesses, tourists and others the many unique characteristics of Ticonderoga and its downtown that “ring cash registers.”
•Economic Restructuring – which means strengthening and diversifying the existing economic base of the downtown and in turn enabling the community to support the ongoing use of historic commercial buildings and preserving unique community assets.

TMSP also relies on NTMSC’s Eight Principles:

•TMSP’s Main Street Approach is a comprehensive approach to downtown revitalization – Design improvements, effective marketing, a strong organiza-tional base and solid economic development strategies are all necessary to reverse the cycle of disinvestment and decay from which downtown Ti suffers and to sustain preservation activity.
•TMSP’s Main Street Approach relies on quality – As downtown architecture tells the history of Ti as a community and reflects the enthusiasm past generations have invested in Ticonderoga , these buildings embody quality in construction, craft and style that cannot easily be replicated today. TMSP projects will aim high, to reflect the same standards.
•A public-private partnership is needed to make meaningful, long-term downtown revitalization possible – Neither the public nor the private sector alone can bring about change; each sector brings unique skills and works most effec-ively in particular areas. Combining the talents of both under TMSP’s umbrella brings together a full set of skills necessary for revitalization to occur in a unified program.
•TMSP’s Main Street program focuses on existing assets – Creation of a strong revitalization effort rooted in downtown Ticonderoga’s unique architectural heri-tage fosters a TMSP organizational structure that builds on the opportunities available in Ticonderoga and builds adaptability into the Main Street process.
•TMSP’s Main Street program is a self-help program – Without a broad-based will to succeed and desire to work hard to create change, downtown revitalization efforts cannot succeed. TMSP is a grass-roots, volunteer-driven organization geared to providing local initiative and inspiring an enthusiasm in entrepreneurs and property owners that grant programs and consultants alone cannot provide.
•TMSP’s Main Street program involves changing attitudes – Changing people’s skeptical attitudes about downtown Ti’s ability to regain economic viability — demonstrating that positive change is taking place downtown — is central to implementing and sustaining TMSP’s downtown revitalization program.
•TMSP’s Main Street approach is incremental in nature – Ti’s downtown business district did not lose its economic strength overnight; it happened slowly over a period of years. Improvements will be gradual, too, and TMSP’s vision is to contest any public attitude that equates gradualism with triviality by building small changes over time into larger ones and by becoming increasingly strong and increasingly efficient in mobilizing resources for downtown Ti’s revival.
•TMSP’s Main Street program is implementation oriented – By identifying and prioritizing the major issues that downtown Ticonderoga must confront, TMSP develops work programs that break down the large issues into smaller tasks. By developing a strong network of volunteer support, TMSP builds an organizational structure capable of achieving the quantifiable tasks mapped out in work plans.

TMSP makes a three-year commitment to TMSC’s National Main Street Program, its Four Point Approach and its Eight Principles and hires a full-time program manager. While all the changes necessary to restore downtown Ticonderoga’s economic viability will not happen in three years, NTMSC’s experiences with communities across the nation demonstrate that it takes a minimum of three years for local Main Street programs’ organizational structure and full-time coordination of the local network of volunteer activity to become self-sufficient and firmly rooted in the community.