Downtown Portland shrinks vacancy rates and boosts investment when public and private partners find a way to overcome a major barrier to growth. A longtime store owner recounts how a public boardwalk, a state housing program and local business owners worked together to pave the way for upper floor housing rehabs to help transform the downtown neighborhood.
It’s no secret that the last several years have been tough on small businesses. Those specializing in goodies, rather than necessities -- such as the colorful and eclectic gifts, flowers and candy found at
Downtown Portland’s Distinctive Occasions -- saw serious dips in their sales.
How did
Distinctive Occasions’ owner Wanda Urie pull through the rough spots? With a new stream of income, trickling down from upstairs.
“Right about the time we started renting out the apartments, the economy tanked,” says Urie, “so our sales did slow down.
“Right about the time we started renting out the apartments, the economy tanked,” says Urie, “so our sales did slow down. Having the income from the apartments offset that.”
Having the income from the apartments offset that.”
The Pre-Apartment Slump
Had the recession hit much earlier, she might not have been so prepared. When Urie moved into her 1872 downtown building nearly 13 years ago, she loved the character of her shop’s new home, but the neighborhood had some room to grow.
“At the time Portland was experiencing somewhat of a slump,” she says. “I felt like an island the first several years I was in business. We didn’t have a town event that helped give the town an identity, so people weren’t gathering here. It was kind of forgotten, in my perspective.”
About six years ago, however, a couple of things began moving the momentum of Downtown Portland’s development forward. First, the community became a
Michigan Main Street program, which Urie says helped to promote the district. Also, Urie and some of her follow downtown property owners learned about the
Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s (MSHDA’s) rental rehab program that could help shoulder the cost of renovating their upper floors into rental units.
Except there was one problem: A major block in the center of Downtown Portland was severely limited in what they could do upstairs because the rear facades of their buildings ran parallel to the Grand River -- and had no way for upstairs residents to exit to the rear, a major issue in building codes.
A Team Effort
The City of Portland and the Portland DDA weren’t about to let that issue get in the way of their downtown’s growth. They partnered with property owners, MSHDA and the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to invest more than $1 million in a new, elevated boardwalk behind the buildings along Grand River, as well as renovations to the rear facades of the buildings.
That project completed in 2008, and the city continued to support the downtown development efforts during the rental rehabs.
“The city has been great,” Urie says. “They facilitated the construction of the apartments. MSHDA had the vision and the city was on board, hiring someone to administer the grant, and facilitating the parking. It’s been something that truly many people have had a hand in, and it has turned out great.”
The construction of Urie’s 800- and 900-square feet apartments was completed in 2008, and they've been occupied for nearly the entire span since. In fact, she reports that shoppers inquire about vacancies at least once a month. Urie only wishes she could have created upper floor apartments earlier, though without the incentives, she says, it wouldn’t have been possible.
Urie only wishes she could have created upper floor apartments earlier, though without the incentives, she says, it wouldn’t have been possible.
“Not at all,” she says. “It cost more to put in the apartment then we originally paid for the building. We didn’t have that money lying around. The grant made the complete difference.”
Prior to Urie’s rehab of her upper floors, the space had been unoccupied for years. Originally, it had served as the unofficial town hall, hosting meetings and dances. Some time in the late 1800s to early 1900s, the space became a dentist office. When the activity upstairs stopped, so did any benefit to the subsequent property owners. Now, says Urie, everybody benefits.
“Some of my tenants have been customers, but in general,” she says, “the more people who live downtown, the more people who shop downtown. The restaurants probably see them even more than I do. They contribute to the downtown economy for sure.”
The Resident Impact
Imagine that impact times ten. Urie wasn’t alone in taking advantage of MSHDA’s rental rehab program. Eleven new rental units were developed in Downtown Portland in the span of two years, bringing the total number of apartments in the district to 20.
What has that meant for downtown? When the Portland Main Street DDA program first began, it reported a first floor vacancy rate of 8.9 percent prior to the rush of new apartments. Today, that vacancy rate is down to one percent.
When the Portland Main Street DDA program first began, it reported a first floor vacancy rate of 8.9 percent prior to the rush of new apartments. Today, that vacancy rate is down to one percent.
“It’s hard to attribute it to one thing,” Urie says. “I don’t know how much has been the apartments, and how much it’s been people coming together and making things happen, but it’s all been beneficial”
Just as the rental rehabs weren’t the only ingredient to Portland’s growth, no one group of people could have pulled them off on their own. Without the rental rehab grants, the property owners might not have been able to afford the projects, but without the city and DDA’s initiative to build a boardwalk, the renovations might now have been viable at all. And of course, without the property owners’ desire to invest, the public entities would have had no reason to move forward.
All told, the consortium of property owners, local government and state entities invested $1.8 million in Downtown Portland over the past six years. With a one percent vacancy rate and an increasingly vibrant atmosphere downtown, many locals would say it was money well spent.
Upper floor housing rehabs spur neighborhood growth