Empty storefronts depress property values and suppress small business growth. What can cities do to fill these vacancies?
Writing in Next City, Ilana Preuss outlines a set of solutions for reviving urban commercial properties left vacant in recent years. “Our downtowns had suffered from commercial vacancies long before the pandemic, but COVID-19 expanded the problem dramatically,” Preuss writes. This matters because “Vacancies have a major negative impact on our downtowns and neighborhood centers, depressing surrounding property values, encouraging more neglect and suppressing the growth of small businesses.”
But how to fill these “debilitating vacancies?” Preuss has some ideas. “Fortunately, we know a lot about how to grow local businesses, especially small-scale manufacturers, and prepare them to make the transition from home-based or shared space enterprises to brick-and-mortar stores. The challenge is to match their needs with those of the owners of vacant storefronts.”
The article outlines the varied reasons why storefronts remain vacant, from renovation costs to mismatches between business needs and available properties. “Against this backdrop, innovative approaches are needed,” Preuss writes. “One option is to increase the adoption of vacant property ordinances, which typically impose added fees on properties left vacant long-term.” Cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C. recently imposed vacancy taxes, for example.
“Another option is to use tax increment financing or other local funding vehicles to provide matching grants to property owners for storefront buildout with signed tenants, as does Longmont, Colorado’s Downtown Development Authority.” According to Preuss, “This option can be applied in markets where the cost of construction isn’t justified by current lease rates, and it can make storefront space affordable to small businesses.”
The article lists other options, such as encouraging local ownership of commercial properties and investing in land trusts, which can work well in different markets. Moving forward from the pandemic, Preuss asserts, requires taking steps to revitalize downtowns and move forward as the pandemic eases.
FULL STORY: As We Move Through the Pandemic, Here’s How to Fill Vacant Storefronts
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association