An effort by the Portland Business Alliance to fill vacant store fronts during the holiday shopping season is paying dividends.
Six years ago, in the depth of the Great Recession, the vacancy rate among downtown Portland’s retail core was 12 percent.
In response, the Portland Business Alliance offered local entrepreneurs free shop space. It gave them a chance to jump-start business and it gave downtown a more lively feel.
Alliance spokeswoman Lisa Frisch said the vacancy rate is now down to 6 percent, “But we will continue with this program because we feel there’s such a community benefit to it," she said.
"We get to help local businesses. We get to provide downtown shoppers with new and exciting things for their holiday shopping list and really the community asks for it," said Frisch.
Pop-up shops helped stores like Crafty Wonderland and Boys Fort get their start.
Sales for the 2015 pop-ups exceeded $100,000. That was a 73 percent increase over the previous year.