Downtown Retail Advocate Keeping City's Core Vibrant

By Kimberly Schneider

With the Mall expansion project on its way, three organizations came together to create the "Downtown Retail Advocate" position. Sam, the Portland Development Commission (PDC) and the Portland Business Alliance (the Alliance) understood the strong correlation between retail and overall downtown health when creating this single go-to source for retailers.

Retail directly impacts the downtown's street level and is the bell weather for overall downtown success. Furthermore, a healthy downtown drives the rest of the regional economy as downtown businesses employee nearly 85,000 people.

The Downtown Portland Retail Strategy Update, a plan developed by public and private sector partners, also called for a focus on retail recruitment and retention. Sam, the PDC and the Alliance saw this position - now Allyson Reed's -- as a way to help move the strategy forward and strengthen downtown as a retail destination.

According to Reed, "Downtown Portland is at the cusp of a great renaissance. We have new retailers such as Brooks Brothers opening, local retailers such as Michael Allen expanding their space, and long-time retailers such as Kathleen's of Dublin and Carl Greve relocating and staying downtown. The new Macy's store and the upcoming The Nines hotel will also be a fabulous anchor for downtown."

Much of this activity stems from the investment the local and state government have made in transportation, street improvements and assistance to retailers, and also by people's desire to live, work and play downtown. The Mall Expansion project, connecting downtown to outlying areas, will only increase downtown's accessibility and demonstrate to prospective retailers that access to downtown is convenient and easy.

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