Downtown Killeen doubles foot traffic after joining Main Street America, dissolves advisory committee

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - The city of Killeen has seen a more than 50% growth in downtown activity after dissolving their advisory committee and joining Main Street America.

Main Street America is a national organization that helps bring life back into the heart of cities across the country.

Downtown Killeen has gone from a more than 70% vacancy to just 18%. Kate Kitzito is the director of the newly established Main Street Board and says new businesses are cutting ribbon at a rapid rate.

“We’ve seen over 15 million dollars reinvested from local businesses. A ton of mom and pop shops have opened in the district, we’ve added public art, we’ve added festivals and we’ve seen foot traffic double in downtown since starting this process,” Kitzito tells KWTX.

While the work of the board has been underway, the decision to dissolve the downtown advisory committee and fully enact the Main Street Board came down at a recent council meeting.

Mellisa Brown is an active community member and was there when the vote was cast. “This was a unanimous decision and I think a fairly easy one for the council to make. I think everyone on the council wants to see downtown thrive without having to invest all of our dollars into it,” she says.

She explained to KWTX that the board will receive money through the national program which alleviates a financial responsibility on the taxpayer.

“There are grants that we can get both nationally and through the Texas Historic Preservation Society that would help us do that downtown revitalization without all of it coming out of the taxpayer dollar,” Brown says.

The Main Street Board focuses on four key areas" economic vitality, design, promotion and organization.

“Main Street is a process for our city to get to where we want to go but more importantly its about preserving what makes our city special and supporting local businesses that give right back to our community,” Kitzito says.

Killeen is one of 80 Texas communities participating in the program and by adopting this model the city strengthens its ability to see long term growth.

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