Empty storefronts are full of potential.

The No Vacancy Project is all about filling empty storefronts with vibrant businesses and their creative energy – to benefit local enterprise and bring new vitality to our city’s streets. The project provides access to resources, technical support, and community.

Are you a small business owner? Do you have a creative idea for an empty storefront? We’d love to hear from you! Our team will help you find a space, launch, and build your audience.

Are you a building owner or manager? Reach out to us! We will help you find great tenants, and see long-term returns as your space comes back to life.

Where and when is No Vacancy starting?

Old Town. This neighborhood is Portland’s cultural condenser. It’s always been this way; rich with heritage, a place for community, for making, and for expression. Today, beautiful brick buildings, wide sidewalks, and dangling lanterns frame storefronts that will become home to the city’s most inventive emerging retail.

The No Vacancy Project will begin with a series of streetscape activations during the Summer of 2025, and open new ground floor storefronts with the city’s most inventive food, retail, and culture + arts in the Fall. Stay tuned for a calendar of events and experiences for Portlanders of all ages.

What is the impact?

The No Vacancy Project supports entrepreneurs and creatives with the resources they need as they launch new brick and mortar storefronts. The project will enhance the vibrancy and vitality of Portland’s streets, creating a new energy for our next chapter. And it’s more than just popups – No Vacancy is focused on long-term and large-scale impact. After the 2025 series in Old Town, the project will springboard to other neighborhoods and other cities.

  • Matchmaking: Get connected with a vacant space that’s perfectly suited to your creative use.
    Funding: Receive support in applying for grants that fund tenant improvements (upgrades to the storefront) and other financial resources.
    Technical assistance: Develop your business plan and pro-forma, operating model and staffing, and interior improvements.
    Tenants’ Toolkit: Resources for running a great space
    Events & Promotion: Together, we will build hype for Old Town activations!
    Community: Join a community of new and established creators dedicated to making Old Town thrive

  • Matchmaking: Get connected with vetted and supported tenants to fill your space.
    Finance: Work with tenants on improvements, and take the opportunity to co-invest through a shared upside model.
    Building amenity: Ground floor activation makes the building more appealing to all tenants.
    Vibrancy: Enliven the building, draw foot traffic, and build brand. Receive professional photos of the space.

  • Discover: This is the neighborhood at the leading edge of Portland’s dynamic, creative identity – building on the rich layers of our city’s cultural heritage, and exploring its future.
    Experience: New storefront activation concepts, events, and happenings are open to all. Here, we are colliding subcultures, ages, and ideas into something uniquely Portland.