Downtown Services

• Portland Downtown Services Inc.
• Clean & Safe Services
• Cleaning Request
• Portland Adopt-A-Belly program
• Community Court
• Griffiti Removal
• BID map
• Street Musican Partnership
• Downtown Services Directory
• Sidewalk Ambassadors
• Ambassador Bios
• Downtown Retail and Marketing
• Downtown Retail Strategy
• Join the Downtown Retail Council
• Shop Portland
• Dining Guide
• Holiday Lighting Program
• Real Change
• Downtown Market Research
• Pedestrian Counts
• Search Downtown Commercial Listings
• Post a Downtown Commercial Listing
• Central City Committees

Downtown Retail Strategy

The Portland Business Alliance and the Portland Development Commission have worked in tandem to update the Downtown Retail Strategy (adopted in 2002) and develop an action item list to reinvigorate the downtown Portland Retail Core, a compact shopping sub district within the Central City. The Update is a short term strategy that is achievable in the next five years to:

1. Leverage the public and private investment underway in downtown Portland;
2. Mitigate present liabilities that affect downtown retail vitality;
3. Coordinate ongoing public and private participation to maximize efforts

Downtown Retail Advocate

The role of Downtown Retail Advocate to the City of Portland was identified within the January 2007 Downtown Portland Retail Strategy Update to assist with the implementation of key retail strategies. The Downtown Retail Advocate works in collaboration with the City of Portland, Portland Business Alliance and Portland Development Commission. The primary responsibilities of the Downtown Retail Advocate focus upon:

1. targeted retail recruitment;
2. retention of retailers at risk of displacement due to redevelopment;
3. exploration of development of new financial incentives for property owners; and
4. coordinate communication strategy about Downtown Portland with other stakeholder organizations.

Cori Jacobs

Cori Jacobs is the Downtown Retail Advocate for Portland. The Downtown Retail Advocate position is funded through a partnership among the City of Portland, the Portland Development Commission and the Portland Business Alliance. The Downtown Retail Advocate position came out of the 2007 Downtown Retail Strategy Update. The position aims to recruit targeted retailers and restaurants, provide business outreach regarding financial incentives and leasing opportunities and support the retention of current downtown retailers.

With 15 years of experience in the retail and real estate industries, Ms. Jacobs is well prepared to help guide prospective retailers through the location scouting and leasing process. Ms. Jacobs was the Vice President of Real Estate Strategy for The Gap Corp., which included eight brands (Gap, GapKids, babyGap, GapBody, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Outlet and Forth & Towne) with about 2,900 locations in the United States and Canada. She was responsible for working with each brand to develop store growth strategies and market plans, as well as providing oversight and guidance for the end-to-end real estate pipeline process.

At Gap Corp., Ms. Jacobs also implemented a global portfolio process review, which facilitated business negotiations with key developers. Cori spent time working for the Gap and Banana Republic brands overseeing various aspects of their retail real estate processes, as well as in the Real Estate Law Department negotiating leases. Before working for Gap, Ms. Jacobs worked for Limited Brands in Columbus, Ohio specializing in retail leasing issues.