Evanston’s downtown retail vacancy rate hovers at around 6%, according to the city. The trend has prompted city officials and local business leaders to look for ways to support businesses and cut down on the number of existing empty storefronts.
Two main programs are under consideration: a possible tax on vacant storefronts and the Retail Incubator & Pop-Up Program, which aims to give local businesses a pathway to securing permanent storefronts in downtown Evanston by connecting them with short-term retail spaces and business mentorship support.
Paul Zalmezak, the city’s economic development manager, described vacant storefronts as a “drain on the economy.”
“Nobody wants to walk in a business district or in a neighborhood with brown paper on the glass,” Zalmezak said. “There’s nobody working in the space. There’s no foot traffic generated.”
According to Zalmezak, the Economic Development Committee is set to address the potential tax “this summer or early fall.”
He said that the city is still conducting background research regarding the possibility of a vacancy tax, which would aim to motivate property owners to fill vacancies by requiring them to register a retail space as vacant and associating a fee with vacant storefronts. Still, Zalmezak said that the details of such a tax are still under consideration.
He explained that there is some concern that imposing a fee on property owners who are already trying to fill their space would force property owners to fill vacancies with uncurated businesses.
“Sometimes if you implement policy, you don’t really understand the unintended consequences down the road, so we’re going to take it cautiously,” Zalmezak said.
In addition to a potential tax, the city will launch the Retail Incubator & Pop-Up Program in October.
Andy Vick, the executive director of Downtown Evanston, said his organization is looking forward to the rollout of this new program. Vick said he hopes that the program will eventually lead vacant spaces to be occupied on a long-term basis, and remains optimistic about the trajectory of business openings in downtown.
“I think there’s a lot of encouraging signs in terms of more businesses being added in downtown than we’re losing,” Vick said. “Over time, I think you’ll see a lot fewer vacancies than we even have now.”
The program, proposed by urban planner Claire Seizovic, is currently accepting early applications from student entrepreneurs and small businesses through a survey for subsidized storefront leases that will be open until May 29.
According to Seizovic, the program will likely be “a multi-business marketplace model,” meaning 10 to 12 local businesses will operate out of a single brick-and-mortar storefront.
The program will also look to offer mentorship opportunities, including workshop events and tutorials to participating businesses by taking advantage of the resources available to the city, the Chamber of Commerce and Northwestern, Seizovic said.
“I’m just hoping that we can create and design a program that actually fits the needs of the businesses and business owners I’m talking to in Evanston, and create a destination retail community experience that’s more long-term,” Seizovic said.
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