Activated Spaces Seeking Temporary Retailers

ACTIVATED SPACES SEEKING TEMPORARY RETAILERS

TO OPEN IN DOWNTOWN DAYTON FOR THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON

Deadline to apply is Oct. 14 for retailers that want to participate in pilot Pop-Up Project.

For more information, contact:

Sherri Wierzba or Erin Gillespie: 937-224-1518

Dayton, Ohio (Sept. 28, 2011) ― Activated Spaces, an initiative to fill downtown storefronts, is accepting applications for a temporary retail business to open downtown in time for the holiday shopping season.

Interested retailers should fill out an application, which can be downloaded at www.activatedspaces.org. The application deadline is Friday, Oct. 14. Tenants will be selected on Oct. 31 to serve as pilot pop-up retailers, and must be ready to open in time for the kick off of the Dayton Holiday Festival on Friday, Nov. 25.

For this pilot of the Pop-Up Project, a one-month leasing option to accommodate a business for the holiday season will be available. The spaces will have varying lease rates, but will be leased below market value. Activated Spaces volunteers will assist with connecting retailers with commercial property owners, making the space move-in ready, and promoting the business during such events as First Friday and the Dayton Holiday Festival. Selected retailers will negotiate leasing terms directly with the selected property owner, but flexibility for the retail tenant is a priority. While there is a deadline for the pilot, Activated Spaces will be looking for retail tenants interested in short-term leases downtown on an ongoing basis.

Commercial property owners interested in offering space to interested retailers should contact Sherri Wierzba or Erin Gillespie at 937-224-1518. Participating property owners will be listed on the Activated Spaces website. Once a match is made, a limited amount of money is available to be distributed in $250 increments at the discretion of the Activated Spaces team and based on availability for such purposes as offsetting utility costs, making cosmetic improvements to the space or other necessities for making the space operational.

Activated Spaces, a volunteer-led initiative spearheaded by young professional organizations Generation Dayton and updayton, has three main goals:

• reactivate and beautify vacant storefronts with creative displays

• encourage entrepreneurs, artists and community groups to occupy space for short- and long- term uses

• showcase downtown properties and increase interest and investment in available space

Activated Spaces is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, a strategic blueprint for the future of downtown.

“In the short term, we want to turn ‘vacant’ to ‘vibrant’ as now-empty storefronts begin to fill with interesting things to see and do along the corridors that connect downtown’s assets,” said Shanon Potts, immediate past chair of Generation Dayton. “In the long term, we would like to see the overall vacancy rate for downtown office space be on par with its currentresidential vacancy rate, for whichdemand nearly always exceeds supply.”

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Activated Spaces Pop-Up Project, page 2

Activated Spaces was launched in May 2011, when work by local artists was first displayed in downtown storefronts. Successes to date include:

• Clash Consignment Co., 113 E. Third St., opened after the owner became interested in the space, which was filled with artwork.

• A wall mural is now being painted on the northwest corner of St. Clair and Third streets.

• The project has received positive attention from downtown businesses and residents. One downtown business owner who noticed the window displays is now connecting with participating artists to furnish his office. A resident of Performance Place read about Activated Spaces and asked to get involved, and she has sold two pieces of artwork directly from her storefront display.

“Updayton got involved with Activated Spaces because we’ve heard over and over from young people that a bustling downtown is extremely important to them,” said Scott Murphy, chair of updayton. “Wesee making downtown more beautiful and vibrantas a critical effort to attracting and retaining talented young people in the Dayton region.”

Those interested in volunteering with Activated Spaces should e-mail .

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