Congress Street is reflected in an empty storefront window on Thursday at the corner of Congress and High streets. The storefront has been vacant for many years. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Across from the State Theatre, at the busy corner of Congress and High streets, a storefront has been vacant for many years, the windows covered with brown paper and the door dotted by graffiti. A couple of blocks away, another corner storefront has sat empty for at least two years, the graying D-shaped door handles the only sign it was once a chain coffee shop.

Those are among the roughly 10 storefronts along Congress Street in Portland’s Arts District that are empty – something city staff, property owners and community groups in the neighborhood say needs to be addressed.

The city is looking at developing policies that could incentivize property owners to rent these spaces, fill them with art displays or host pop-up shops that add to the vibrancy of the area.

“When you see the long-term vacancies, it sends a signal that the area is struggling,” said Cary Tyson, executive director of Portland Downtown.

While the national retail vacancy rate is 5% and downtown Portland’s retail vacancy rate is around 3%, according to data provided by the city, the concentration of vacant storefronts is more noticeable on Congress Street than in other parts of the city. A recent staff survey identified at least 10 empty or boarded up storefronts on the half-mile stretch between 443 and 600 Congress St.

“Having empty storefronts doesn’t send the right message that this is a vibrant arts district,” said Annie Leahy, executive director of Mechanics Hall on Congress Street.

Commercial vacancies – especially those in storefronts – contribute to reduced foot traffic, decreased property values and deteriorated properties that can have a domino effect, leading to more vacancies, said Gregory Watson, Portland’s economic and housing development director.

An empty storefront on Congress Street in the space formerly occupied by Broken Arrow. A recent city survey identified at least 10 empty or boarded up storefronts on the half-mile stretch between 443 and 600 Congress St. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Discussions about the lingering empty spaces began earlier this year with a group pulled together by Portland Downtown and Mechanics Hall that includes representatives from the Maine College of Art, the Portland Museum of Art, and the State Theatre.

City staff were part of those conversations, too, and are now, with support from city councilors on the Housing & Economic Development Committee, developing formal policy proposals.

While it’s too early to say what those policies will look like, they will include “carrots” to incentivize neighborhood revitalization and “sticks” to dissuade commercial vacancies, Watson said.

The city has looked to other communities for examples, including loan or grant programs to support improvements to building facades, requiring property owners to register commercial properties so the city can better communicate with them about long-term vacancies, and collaborating with the arts community to temporarily use empty spaces for “pop-up” businesses or art displays.

“We’re really hopeful that we’ll bring to bear the right kinds of solutions to help here. It’s such an important part of the heart of downtown,” Watson said. “The future of Congress Square is pretty bright and the Arts District as a whole will continue to be an important part of the city’s identity.”

FILLING THE DISTRICT

The Arts District is a few blocks from the waterfront and contains a mix of office space, restaurants, shops, historic buildings and apartments centered around Congress Street, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. The neighborhood stretches from City Hall to the West End and includes the Portland Museum of Art, State Theatre, Portland Stage Company, Maine Historical Society, Merrill Auditorium, Mechanics Hall and Maine College of Art.

Annie Leahy, executive director of Mechanics Hall, stands outside their building on Congress Street on Thursday. She is among the people in Portland’s Arts District who would like to see something done to fill the empty storefronts. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Leahy, from Mechanics Hall,  said the empty storefronts, especially the ones that have been vacant for years on end, “are a bit of a head-scratcher.” When a street-level retail space in the Mechanics Hall building opened up earlier this year, there was a huge amount of interest and they were able to get a new tenant in quickly, she said.

The city needs to take a long, hard look at the day-to-day experience for business owners and Arts District leaders, Leahy said. The Congress Street corridor “is being held up by some exceptional nonprofit organizations,” but needs more businesses that stay open after 5 p.m.

She would like to find out why some spaces aren’t being rented out – a sentiment shared by others. The city has sent a survey to property owners in the district asking about the challenges of owning and leasing properties in that area and solutions that might help. Watson hopes those responses will help staff develop new policies and incentives.

Bill Stauffer, who owns multiple commercial properties along Congress Street, said he’s heard from some property owners that they just don’t need to fill their spaces, while others may be very selective about who they rent to.

Regardless of why they are empty, he sees the vacancies as a sharp contrast to the Old Port.

“If you think of the Old Port and cruise ships coming in, you have this influx of people,” he said. “We seem to have lost a lot of that in the Arts District corridor.”

‘IT’S NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS’ 

Despite a smattering of empty storefronts, commercial brokers say there still seems to be strong interest in Congress Street, perhaps in part because it’s a more affordable option than the nearby Old Port.

The windows at 604 Congress St., part of the historic Schwartz Building across from the State Theatre, are papered inside and covered with graffiti. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

“I think there’s still good demand for Congress Street, particularly with new start-up businesses,” said Joe Malone, a broker who has several listings in the Arts District, including the former Dunkin’ at 554 Congress St. “It’s not as bad as it looks. There’s some holes, but there’s been good interest in all of the spaces we’re representing.”

After the Dunkin’ closed, the building owners didn’t immediately try to lease the space because they were doing renovations and upgrades, Malone said. Since it was listed in 2021, two potential tenants pulled out, but now another person is interested in the space.

Malone also has heard there’s been a lot of interest in the former Starbucks space in the historic H.H. Hay Building at 594 Congress St., but the cost of renovation for spaces like that can be high.

Cheri Bonawitz, another broker with Malone Commercial Brokers, said she has had good luck filling spots in the Arts District, including the spot where Another Round, a board game bar and café, recently opened. She said businesses are drawn to the area because other restaurants and stores are doing well and there are lots of apartments in the area.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting people in to see what can be done. A lot of people veer toward the Old Port, but this is a great area,” she said. “There’s definitely opportunity here.”

C.J. Opperthauser, executive director of Friends of Congress Square Park, also sees the opportunity and thinks it’s worth celebrating the number of new businesses that have popped up in the neighborhood in the past year. But the empty storefronts do detract from the walkability and vibrancy of the area, he said.

Opperthauser likes the idea of encouraging pop-ups and art displays as a way to activate spaces that have been empty and “fill the gaps.” Several of the empty storefronts are within sight of Congress Square Park, which is in the middle of a major redesign project.

“Having (those storefronts) active adds life and vibrancy to our space and it spreads up and down Congress Street,” he said. “We’d love to see them filled.”