Boston Council Probes Long-Term Commercial Vacancies, Eyes Registry and Vacancy Tax

BOSTON — November 15, 2024 — Boston City Council committee hears case for commercial vacancy tax and registry as space grant funds run dry. The Committee on Small Business and Professional Licensure, chaired by Councilor Brian Worrell and joined by Councilors Edward M. Flynn, Erin J. Murphy, Benjamin J. Weber, and Julia M. Mejia, held a hearing Friday on Docket No. 1397, an order examining long-term vacant storefronts across the city. Chief Segun Edo of the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion announced that 90 businesses have shared $10 million in space grants and created 600 jobs, but confirmed the ARPA-funded program has exhausted its dollars with no confirmed replacement. Justin Dolezal of San Francisco's Small Business Forward described that city's escalating storefront vacancy tax — starting at $250 per square foot annually after the first year vacant, then doubling — which he said helped cut Haight-Ashbury vacancies from more than 22 percent to roughly 9 percent. Jamaica Plain Centre-South Main Streets Director Ginger Brown told the council that two of her district's three long-term vacancies are held by absentee landlords who did not respond to repeated space grant outreach, saying financial incentives alone are insufficient and endorsing a punitive ordinance. Mejia, a co-sponsor, noted a 2021 draft ordinance already exists as a starting point.