The Indiana Main Street Initiative is Eric’s bold plan to reclaim our historic downtowns, restore community pride, enhance small business formation, and stimulate economic and population growth for small town Indiana.
The American Dream is out of reach for too many Hoosiers - we can’t be a state where only 3 or 4 counties are thriving. We need to be a state where all 92 counties are thriving.
For the first time, the Indiana Main Street Initiative would give Indiana an economic development plan and playbook for the more than 2 million Hoosiers who live in rural Indiana.
Putting the private sector in the driver’s seat, Indiana will provide $100 million annually for smaller communities to revitalize their downtowns.
Go Deeper: Learn more about Van Wert, Ohio - Eric’s mom’s hometown - where the community is already putting this plan in action.
Problem: Indiana has 80+ cities that range in population from 2,500 to 30,000 people. Nearly 1/3 of Indiana’s population lives in rural Indiana.
Most of these communities have experienced a significant loss in population over the last 40 years.
To make matters worse, current projections show that 59 of Indiana’s 92 counties are expected to lose population from 2015 to 2051.
Solution: The Doden Administration will create the Indiana Main Street Initiative (IMSI) with a $100 million per year budget.
The IMSI will focus on rural communities of 30,000 people or less. A qualified community will receive $5-10 million in state funding up to 30% of a project to revitalize core assets.
Based on our case study, we estimate that projects will be funded roughly 30% private sector, 30% state government, 30% federal programs, 10% local government.
