The City of Madison has a yearlong lease on two storefronts in the heart of downtown, and might want your business to take up occupancy.
Office of Business Resources Manager Saran Ouk said the two vacant storefronts at 440 and 444 State Street, owned by JD McCormick Properties, will each house two or three pop-up shops owned by people from traditionally marginalized communities. The lease rate will be calculated on a sliding scale based on income.
Applications are open now at this link and are due August 12. Selected vendors will be announced August 26 and shops will open September 5.
“We always want to create opportunities for people who normally don’t have these types of opportunities, especially for State Street, making the State Street more diverse,” Ouk said. “We know that even though it’s temporary, we can still showcase small businesses wherever they decide to go. It they do want to stay on State Street, great. They could hopefully open up a business here or anywhere else in Madison. Our goal is to help establish these businesses, get them up and running, create awareness for their businesses and then just help them launch anywhere in the city.”
Businesses do not necessarily need to commit to the full year; Ouk said businesses could occupy the state for as little as three months.
The Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, Latino Chamber of Commerce and Madison Black Chamber of Commerce are all partnering with the City to reach out to members and recruit applicants.
“We could not do it without all of those partners,” said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.
Rhodes-Conway said the pop-up shop initiative is one of several programs aimed at supporting small business equity and recovery, including grants and commercial ownership assistance.
