Downtown vacancy
Empty offices and empty storefronts. What has the city committed to doing about it, and did the work arrive?
Downtown storefronts sit empty partly because commerce shifted online during the pandemic, according to the official record. The city's report on a coordinated storefront support program, covering vacant storefronts and crime and vandalism response, was due to council no later than January 31, 2026. The record does not show it arriving. On cost, city staff told council in April 2026 that $1 million in new tenant improvement grants would reach about 22 small businesses signing new storefront leases, and by the May 2026 budget session that same $1 million was described as funding citywide implementation of the Storefront Prosperity Investment Program. Meanwhile council is still studying a long-term vacancy fee on residential and commercial property, with no dollar figure attached. A councilor questioned the fee's premise directly, asking whether anyone has talked to a building owner who has vacancies and simply doesn't want to rent them out.
The clock: 31 January 2026 — this date has passed
The city's report on a coordinated storefront support program, addressing vacant storefronts and crime/vandalism response, is due to council.
THE REPORT MUST BE SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL NO LATER THAN JANUARY 31ST, 2026.
Official record · ChristopherAM Session8 Oct 2025
What the record shows across meetings
On downtown vacancy, council has asked again for work it had already ordered in 4 separate meetings (2025-12-16 to 2026-04-08)
Each of these is a moment in the record where a member said something council had asked for was late, overdue, delayed or still not back. It counts the asking, not the delivering.
- Arts & Economy Committee16 Dec 2025 …A PROJECT THAT BEGAN JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND IS SLATED TO END WHEN THE REPORT IS DUE ON JANUARY 30TH, WITH PLANS AND ACTIONS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AT THE FULL COUNCIL. BRIEFLY, I JUST WANTED TO GO OVER THE PROJECT GOAL. THE PROJECT TEAM IS SCOPING THE PROPOSED STOREFRONT SUPPORT PROGRAM, INCLUDING DEFINING THE NEEDED RESOURCES, FUNDING OPTIONS,…
- PM Session21 Jan 2026 …PDATES ON BUDGET NOTES, IN PARTICULAR AROUND THE UPDATES COMING BACK TO COUNCIL DUE BACK ON FEBRUARY 28TH FOR LONG TERM RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL VACANCY FEES AND PACKAGE DELIVERY FEES. I APPRECIATED THE SHOUT OUTS. MICHELLE NORTH HAS DONE A LOT IN LEADING BUILDING, MANAGING 311 FOR HER WHOLE TEAM AND RANGER SCHULTZ AS WELL IN THE OTHER SECTION…
- AM Session4 Mar 2026 …T THE THE ON THE BUDGET NOTE TRACKER. THE LONG TERM VACANCY FEE NOTES WERE BOTH DUE BACK ON ON SATURDAY. I WANT TO SHOUT OUT TO JONAS BIERY FOR THE PACKAGE DELIVERY FEE INFORMATION, AND EVERYBODY ELSE WHO WORKED ON THAT, THAT WAS ON TIME. I APPRECIATE IT IMMENSELY. I THINK PBOT WAS PRETTY HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THAT ONE TOO. I JUST WANTED TO TO NOTE…
- Budget Work Session Forecast Update & Service Area Follow Up8 Apr 2026 …INTO THAT. BOTH OF THE BUDGET NOTES ON COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL VACANCY FEES WERE DELAYED. COMING OUT OF THOSE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BACK ON FEBRUARY 28TH. THE REASON PEOPLE HAVEN'T HEARD BACK IS THAT THEY'RE NOW DELAYED TO FEBRUARY 20TH, I BELIEVE MIGHT BE 30TH, BUT THAT'S CUTTING IT CLOSE FOR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, AND THAT'S WHY I PICKED FEBRUARY 28…
How this was counted
For every transcript, each occurrence of a fixed overdue phrase is taken with 220 characters either side; the passage is kept only if it also names a deliverable, and attributed to a major issue when one of that issue's matchers appears inside it; meetings are then counted once each. No model is used at any step.
Out of: 433 meetings with a transcript on record
Counted by matching fixed phrases council uses when work it ordered has not arrived — "due back", "were delayed", "still waiting" — where a deliverable such as a report, study or budget note is named in the same breath, and attributing each to this subject when one of its terms appears in that passage. It is a count of times council said the work was late, not proof the work never came: a delivery the following week would not show up here. Meetings without a transcript are not searched, and anything said outside a recorded meeting is invisible to it.
What else was on the table
- unresolved Convert vacant downtown office buildings to residential use Full-scale conversions showed a feasibility gap, so Prosper is testing smaller prototype projects to see what actually pencils out City staffWork Session - Community & Economic Development30 Jan 2025
- unresolved Long-term vacancy fee on residential and commercial property Council directed a budget note to study concept structures, implementation and revenue projections before deciding CouncilorWork Session-Budget Committee28 May 2025
- unresolved Vacancy tax as a funding mechanism There is a legal question whether such a fee would actually be an unconstitutional property tax under state uniformity rules CouncilorWork Session-Budget Committee28 May 2025
- rejected Preserve/redevelop Lloyd Center mall instead of demolishing it Neighborhood coalition wanted the mall's small-business nucleus, parking and ice rink kept, citing other cities that redeveloped malls without demolition Public testimony · Angela EllerbyPM Session25 Jun 2026
Why this exists
Public testimony summarized in the official record attributes emptied downtown storefronts partly to the pandemic-driven shift of commerce online.
SHIFT FROM IN-PERSON ECONOMIC ACTIVITY TO ONLINE RESULTING FROM PANDEMIC
Official record · ChristopherAM Session8 Oct 2025
- Prosper Portland budget presentation, April 2026 $1 million
- FY2026-27 Economic Development work session, May 2026 $1 million
How council voted
11 recorded votes on this subject — 1 drew a dissenting vote, 0 failed.
-
9–3
carried
4 Mar 2026
Accept the Supporting Portland’s Storefronts Report to establish a Storefront Support Program
-
12–0
carried
8 Oct 2025
Require City Administrator to develop a plan that establishes a storefront support program
-
12–0
carried
24 Sep 2025
*Authorize negotiation and execution of an in-district office space lease for District 1 Councilors for a term commencing approximately October 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029
-
12–0
carried
19 Mar 2025
*Authorize City Administrator to negotiate and execute a lease for District 3 Council office space for an estimated total cost of $63,000
-
3–0
carried
13 Nov 2024
Authorize Agreement for District Management Services of the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe Enhanced Services District by Clean & Safe, Inc. for an estimated amount of $58 million over five years
-
3–0
carried
1 absent
13 Nov 2024
Amend District Property Management License Code to update fees and district boundary to extend Downtown Portland Clean and Safe Enhanced Services District Property Management License Fee for an additional ten years and to align with amended City Charter approved by voters in Portland Measure 26-228 (replace Code Chapter 6.06)
Recorded roll-call votes only. Items passed without a roll call, and anything settled in committee without one, are not counted here.
What is actually in dispute
- Landlords sometimes leave units vacant rather than rent them, which undercuts the assumption that a vacancy fee alone will fill space Councilor · Councilor RyanWork Session-Budget Committee28 May 2025
- The city has prioritized saving downtown while other communities like Parkrose are told to survive with less Public testimonyBudget Committee Meeting: FY2026-27 Approved Hearing Day 118 May 2026
- Office-to-residential conversion should not be assumed to be cheaper than new construction or to always work as a fix for vacancy CouncilorWork Session - Community & Economic Development30 Jan 2025
- Demolishing the vacancy-plagued Lloyd Center mall is opposed by the surrounding neighborhood coalition, which formally appealed the demolition Public testimony · Angela EllerbyPM Session25 Jun 2026
These are positions taken in the room, not conclusions of ours. A claim appearing here is not a finding that it is true.
What the record counts
Promises whose deadline passed with no delivery found
Each was said on the record. We searched later meetings for the thing arriving and did not find it — which is not proof it never did.
-
Due 2026-01-30 Victor Sanders (Portland Solutions project manager)
Complete final storefront support program plan/report and bring plans and actions back to council
Promised at Portland City Council Arts & Economy Committee 12/16/25, 2025-12-16
-
Due 2026-01-30 Victor Sanders (Portland Solutions project manager)
Engage smaller stakeholder focus groups to refine storefront program elements
Promised at Portland City Council Arts & Economy Committee 12/16/25, 2025-12-16
-
Due 2026-02-24 Arts & Economy Committee
Hold a formal vote to accept the storefront support program presentation as a report
Promised at Portland City Council Arts & Economy Committee 02/10/26, 2026-02-10
-
Due 2026-07-01 PMO (Public Environments Management Office)
Go live on storefront support program action items and focus areas
Promised at Portland City Council Arts & Economy Committee 02/10/26, 2026-02-10
Sums named on the record
- $58 million
- $7,371,394
- $400,000
- $63,000
- $17,283
Quoted verbatim from item titles and promises. Not a total of what the city spent.
Votes are every recorded roll call on file. Promises are read from 433 of 433 meeting transcripts. Meetings counted are those linked to this subject's issue threads. Sums are quoted verbatim from item titles and promises, and are not a total of what the city spent.