Bountiful's Main Street shops and restaurants will get state-backed help with planning, promotion, and preservation after the city was named a Tier 1 Promising Community in the Utah Main Street program.
The designation, announced July 15, makes Bountiful one of seven communities newly added to the 29-member statewide network focused on revitalizing historic commercial districts. Park City, Tremonton, Smithfield, Midway, Milford, and Midvale also joined in the same round.
Carter Radcliffe, community coordinator for the Bountiful Davis Arts Center, told the Davis Journal he spent a year building support for the application among Main Street merchants and BDAC Executive Director Sarina Ehrgott.
"I had pitched Main Street America to Sarina last year. We finally heard back this last month," Radcliffe said.
Radcliffe said the network gives Bountiful access to help with planning and organizing events, while keeping the history of Main Street buildings visible. The BDAC building itself was one of the first grocery stores on Main Street, and historical plaques along the corridor tell the district's story.
What Tier 1 means
Chelsea Gauthier, Utah Main Street's program manager, said Tier 1 is for communities just getting started on the Main Street journey. Bountiful already has a functioning downtown, she said, but the designation helps the city build organizational structure and move existing plans forward.
Communities typically spend one to three years in Tier 1 before advancing to Tier 2, which brings more extensive technical assistance and eligibility for grant funding. Tier 2 and Tier 3 communities earn national recognition from Main Street America.
At the Tier 1 level, Bountiful gains access to monthly meetings, monthly check-ins with program staff, quarterly "Ask an Architect" webinars, a designated state liaison, and free registration for the annual Main Street Workshop and the SHPO Preservation Engaged conference, according to the program's Tier 1 roadmap.
Path forward
To advance to Tier 2, Bountiful must complete Main Street 101 training, attend 10 monthly check-ins and one annual workshop per year, submit biannual economic impact updates, and demonstrate historic preservation commitment and organizational capacity, according to the state program's roadmap.
Utah Main Street, housed within the State Historic Preservation Office, uses a Four-Point Approach covering organization, promotion, design, and economic vitality. The program originally ran from 1992 to 2007, was piloted again from 2019 to 2021, and formally relaunched in July 2022.
Dates for Bountiful's first check-in and training have not been set. Residents and business owners can contact the Bountiful Davis Arts Center or visit ushpo.utah.gov for more information.
