Main Street Oakland County Presents Tools to Help You Stay in the Game in a Tough Economy Workshop Series

Waterford, Michigan, May 22, 2009 -- Main Street Oakland County presents a series of three workshops to help local communities cope with tough economic times. Featuring local, state, and national experts, these workshops are opportunities for the architect, planner, preservationist, Main Street staffer, developer, business or building owner, DDA board, DDA committee members and community officials to explore new topics and focus on relevant downtown revitalization, preservation and sustainability issues.

All three workshops will be held at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph, Waterford. Cost per session is $75 each; $25 each for Main Street Community representatives and college students with current student ID. Register for all three workshops by June 9 for only $200.

Registration includes conference materials, continental breakfast, lunch and snack. Professional Continuing Education Credits are pending for American Institute of Architects (AIA) CES Credits and American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) CM Credits. For details, agendas, registration and more information, see www.mainstreetoaklandcounty.com.

Downtown Economic Reality: The Good & The Bad
Friday, June 19, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Topics include:

• Learn the Impact from Declining Property Values
• What Can We Do Now in a Down Economy?
• Co-Op Advertising: Working Together to Promote Your Business & Your Community
• Be Proactive in View of Recent Practices and Negative Tendencies Toward DDAs
• Financing Projects Today: Can It Be Done?
• Visual Merchandising: Design that Sells
• Business Assistance Teams (B.A.T.) & Small Business Development Center Resources

Destination Downtown: The Rise of Place Based Assets
Friday, July 17, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Topics include:

• New Economy in Old Downtowns
• Place Based Destinations: Hidden Treasures - Building Your Community Assets
• Making the Most of Your Local Resources: Starting a Historic District
• Strengthening Your Historic District Commission
• Assessing Your Historic Building & SHPO Programs
• Brick Masonry Restoration

Lead Your Downtown from Brown to Green
Friday, August 14, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Topics include:

• Brownfields: Out of the Red, Into the Black
• The Green Side of Historic Preservation and Downtown
• Michigan's First Green, Sustainable, and LEED Certified Restaurant
• Tapping Your Foodshed with a Farmers Market
• Greening Downtown Infrastructure: Stormwater Solutions and Parking Lots
• Lighting: LED Case Studies of Cost Savings and Payback for Municipalities and Building Owners
• Not Just for Tree Huggers: Urban Forestry - Managing Downtown Canopy, Social and Psychological Street and Park Trees