A “for lease” sign hangs above an empty storefront on Washington Street in downtown Boston. A recession next year or a weakening labor market could give office tenants an opening to demand workers return downtown full-time, some observers say. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office has announced a new grant program that hopes to turn vacant downtown storefronts into growth opportunities for minority and women entrepreneurs.
The SPACE program, which stands for “Supporting Pandemic Affected Community Enterprises,” will offer 50 “local, small, diverse businesses” grants of up to $200,000 to subsidize rents and tenant build-outs in vacant storefronts, particularly downtown, Copley Square, and the Fenway.
The grants will be given out over a three-year period to existing businesses looking to expand and entrepreneurs looking to launch their first ventures. Applications for the first cohort are due Feb. 17, 2023 and grantees will be chosen in April. The program is being funded with $9 million in federal pandemic relief money.
Along with the money, the city Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion will match grantees with advisors through its existing technical assistance program and hold workshops and one-on-one coaching to guide them through the operational steps of opening a new storefront location, like lease negotiation, finances and marketing.
Banker & Tradesman first reported on the existence of an effort to use the flood of retail vacancies in the city’s commercial heart as an opportunity to build wealth in minority communities in September.
“The S.P.A.C.E. Grant program is a direct response to the immense need for innovative ways to fill storefront vacancies and bring vitality to our neighborhoods that we heard from business owners on the ground, whether through our weekly Main Streets walks, surveys, or our one-on-one engagement,” city Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion Segun Idowu said in a statement. “I am grateful to our team and our partners who built this program, and am happy to launch an effort that will bring about a more robust economy and greater diversity to our city.”
The new grant program is a core part of Wu’s efforts to reverse the decline of Boston’s office districts, set in motion by a shift to remote work at many white-collar downtown firms over the last two years.
“The Wu Administration’s S.P.A.C.E. Grant Program is a gamechanger for Downtown Boston and our neighborhoods. Providing direct financial and technical assistance to those looking to activate our vacant retail spaces will reduce existing barriers that limit equitable access to these storefronts. This program will open economic opportunities downtown to a wider array of entrepreneurs, make our streets livelier and safer, and support wealth-building for small business owners from a diversity of backgrounds. The Downtown Boston BID and our members are prepared to fully support this effort and to help new businesses thrive and become long-term fixtures Downtown,” said Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston BID, said in a statement.
