Activated Spaces, an initiative to fill downtown storefronts, is accepting applications for temporary retail, service, and office businesses to open downtown this spring as part of the eighth phase of its Pop-up Project. The project matches business owners and entrepreneurs with downtown property owners who have first-floor storefront space available for occupancy.
Interested retailers or office space seekers should fill out an application, which can be downloaded here: Pop-up-Project-RFP-Spring 2015 and email it to Jen Cadieux at [email protected]. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, March 13. Tenants will be selected the week of March 30, and retailers must be ready to open no later than the end of May.
Lease lengths will range from three to six months. The spaces will have varying lease rates, but will be leased below market value. Activated Spaces volunteers will connect retailers and office businesses with commercial property owners, help make the space move-in ready, and promote the business during such events as First Friday. Selected businesses will negotiate leasing terms directly with the selected property owner, but flexibility for the tenant is a priority.
Activated Spaces volunteers hope to build on the success of the Pop-Up Project’s seven phases. Eleven of the businesses that have opened as part of the Pop-Up Project are still open: Beaute Box, 116 W. Fifth St.; Peace on Fifth, 234 Dutoit St.; American Pi, 41 S. St. Clair St.; Vintage Barbershop, 110 W. Fifth St.; Sew Dayton, 261 Wayne Ave..; Green Baby, 2nd Street Market; Spice Paradise, 16 Brown St.; Hicks’ Barber Shop, 16 Brown St.; Catapult Creative, 133 N. Ludlow St.; Confetti, 42 W. 5th St.; and Ambition Magazine, 131 N. Ludlow St. Since the inception of the project in 2011, more than 13,000 square feet of vacant space has been filled and 29 new jobs have been created.
Commercial property owners interested in offering space to Pop-Up Shop owners should contact Jen Cadieux at 937-224-1518. Once a match is made, a small stipend is available to be distributed at the discretion of the Activated Spaces team to each of the businesses each month for the first three months to assist in off-setting startup costs.
The Pop-Up Project is driven by volunteers from the young professional organizations Generation Dayton and UpDayton with support from the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the City of Dayton, the City of Dayton Neighborhood Mini-Grant program and community volunteers. Activated Spaces is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a strategic blueprint for the future of downtown.
Those interested in volunteering with Activated Spaces should e-mail [email protected].
