Downtown Alliance Offers Retail Therapy for Small Businesses
Seeking to address Lower Manhattan’s widespread storefront vacancy problem before an expected summer tourism boom, the Downtown Alliance is accepting proposals for its new RE:Store initiative. The program aims to give small businesses, entrepreneurs, and creative retailers the opportunity to open a temporary, pop-up storefront. Winning applicants will receive three months of free rent this summer, along with a $15,000 grant and business advice from the Downtown Alliance.
Who should apply? Winners could range from an established business looking for a new outpost to artists and entrepreneurs seeking to sell their wares. The goal is to activate vacant storefronts before the influx of tourists tied to this year’s FIFA World Cup and America 250 celebrations.
The Alliance will offer several retail spaces between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet, but has not yet announced the addresses of the sites it will make available. Alliance president Jessica Lappin says, “RE:Store is a way to enliven the retail landscape in Lower Manhattan, while helping small business entrepreneurs test out a concept or find new audiences.”
To be eligible for consideration, RE:Store applicants must demonstrate an intent to generate revenue and have experience operating a retail business in New York City. Food or beverage preparation and alcohol are not eligible for the RE:Store program, nor are applicants planning to use the storefront exclusively as a workshop, office, or studio space.
The online application portal goes live today, Monday, January 12.
Applications will be accepted through February 6. Successful candidates (selected by an advisory panel of retail experts with strong ties to Lower Manhattan) will be announced by March 23. Recipients will have April and May to work on build-out and improvements for the space. After operating in their storefronts for June, July, and August, RE:Store pariticpants will be expected to vacate the premises by September 15.
“We encourage entrepreneurs to apply to this program and look forward to the fresh energy they will bring to Lower Manhattan,” Ms. Lappin adds.
RE:Store is the latest in a more than a decade of initiatives by the Alliance to boost the fortunes of Lower Manhattan small businesses. In 2020, the Alliance awarded over $600,000 in small business rental assistance grants and partnered with Streetsense to provide 35 small businesses with technical assistance to ensure compliance with Covid-19 guidelines. In 2018, the Alliance offered $10,000 digital innovation grants to storefront businesses in Lower Manhattan, to improve their online presence and digital tool kits. In the wake of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, the organization spearheaded the Lower Manhattan: Back to Business grant program, which supported more than 100 local small businesses affected by the storm with $20,000 allocations.