Euclid officials outline $300,000 'Storefront Spark' pilot to activate long‑term vacant retail

Euclid planning staff on Thursday outlined a proposed Euclid Storefront Spark pilot that would use $300,000 previously allocated from American Rescue Plan Act funds to help bring small businesses, artists and nonprofits into long‑term vacant street‑level storefronts.

Director Patrick Groganmeyer, director of the Planning and Development Department, presented the program to the Business Development and City Planning and Housing Committee during its June 5 meeting and said the pilot will aim to “provide catalytic support to filling some of our commercial vacant storefronts around the city.”

The proposal targets ground‑floor spaces with public street access on primary commercial corridors (including Euclid Avenue, Lakeshore, Shore, Babbitt, and portions of the 185th, 200th and 220th corridors), and would prioritize properties that have been vacant for at least one year and businesses in qualified census tracts or those that can demonstrate a COVID‑19 pandemic impact, Groganmeyer said. “We’re providing that spark to kick something off and get it going,” he told the committee.

Why it matters: city staff said a 2023 windshield survey of street‑visible commercial spaces found 467 total storefronts, with 105 believed vacant — about 22 percent — and that long‑term vacancy reduces surrounding property values and can increase maintenance and…