Main Street Wellington is using the national Main Street revitalization program. Main Street is not a project or grant, but a process based upon an implementation strategy for locally initiated goals and objectives. Participating communities receive various forms of assistance, all of which directly or indirectly help the local organization and manager develop their community's assets, as well as identify and strengthen their weaknesses. Being a Main Street community means implementing a comprehensive economic revitalization effort which is based upon:

1. Organization - Building partnerships to create a consistent economic development and revitalization strategy. Diverse groups, merchants, bankers, educators, public officials, the chamber of commerce, and civic groups must work together to improve the community.
2. Promotion - Re-establishing the community's image as a compelling place for shoppers, investors, and visitors. This means not only improving sales but also sparking community excitement and involvement. Promotions can range from street festivals to retail merchandising, from community education to aggressive public relations.
3. Design - Enhancing the visual quality and image of the community. Attention must be paid to all elements of the business district not just buildings and storefronts, but also public improvements, rear entries, signs, landscaping, window displays, etc.
4. Economic Restructuring - Strengthening the existing economic assets of the business district while diversifying its economic base. Activities include recruiting new businesses to provide a balanced retail mix, converting vacant buildings into housing, offices, entertainment or cultural facilities, and sharpening the competitiveness of Main Street's traditional merchants.

The Main Street plan is being used successfully in towns all across the country. Main Street involves all aspects of the central business district and is based around eight principles of revitalization.

1. Main Street is a comprehensive approach to downtown revitalization. It must address all the areas in which action must take place. Design improvements alone will not bring about meaningful change; effective marketing, a strong organizational base, and solid economic developement strategies are all necessary to reverse the cycle of decay from which many downtowns suffer.
2. Main Street relies on quality. The quality inherent in downtown commercial architecture and in the services downtown businesses offer their customers make the downtown unique in the marketplace and give it many marketing advantages.
3. Main Street is making meaningful long-term revitalization possible through public/private partnerships. Neither public nor private sectors can bring about change in downtown alone. Combining the talents and resources of both sectors brings all the skills necessary for revitalization to occur together in a unified program.
4. Main Street involves changing attitudes. Changing attitudes to reflect the positive changes happening downtown is central to the success of a downtown revitalization program.
5. Main Street focuses on existing assets. Each community is unique and each downtown has special characteristics that set it apart from all other downtowns in the country. Main Street has many assets to promote and market.
6. Main Street is a self-help program. Through the grass-roots effort of the volunteers, the will to succeed and the desire to work hard to bring about change is evident and crucual to downtown development.
7. Main Street's approach is incremental in nature. The Central Business District did not lose its economic strength overnight, it happened over a period of years. Main Street relies on a series of small improvements that change public attitude about the downtown. Gradually, the small changes will build into larger ones as resources and the organization will gain strength.
8. Main Street is implemenation-oriented. By identifying and prioritizing the major issues the downtown must confront, Main Street can develop programs of work that break down the large issues into smaller tasks. Then, through the volunteer committees, Main Street will have the capability of achieving the quantifiable tasks the "Program of Work" maps out.