Vacant Storefronts Program

Medford Vacant Storefront Program

Program Details

The City of Medford’s Office of Planning, Development and Sustainability has established a Vacant Storefront Grant Program. This program provides grants of up to $10,000 to qualifying businesses that intend to occupy a currently vacant retail storefront in Medford. Grants through this program will be matched by a refundable tax credit of up to $10,000 through the Massachusetts Economic Advisory Coordinating Council (EACC) state-wide Massachusetts Vacant Storefront Program (MVSP).

The program aims to support two businesses in Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.) Applications for this round will be accepted on a rolling basis.

This program is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). All grants under this program are subject to the availability of CDBG funding from HUD and to the continued eligibility of the City to receive such funds.

Funding Assistance

The funding assistance will be provided in the form of a grant of up to $10,000 and shall be paid to the grantee as a reimbursement for expenses incurred by the grantee after entering into a grant agreement with the City. Successful grantees will also receive a refundable tax credit of up to $10,000 through the MVSP.

Eligible Applicants

An applicant must relocate or expand their business to a currently eligible vacant storefront address in one of Medford’s Vacant Store Front Districts. The storefront must be located on the ground level; second floor or higher office spaces are not eligible.

Eligible businesses must be either a Microenterprise or a Small Business, defined as:

Microenterprises are businesses with 5 or fewer full-time employees, including any owners. To be eligible for the program, microenterprise owners must be Medford residents and the applicant’s household must qualify as a low- or moderate-income (LMI) household earning 80% or less of the Area Median Income. Please see this table for current income limits.
Small Businesses are businesses with more than 5 employees and less than 500 employees, including any business owners. To be eligible, the small business applicant must commit to hiring a LMI Medford resident to fill at least one full time equivalent permanent job. Small businesses owners do not have to be Medford residents and do not have household income restrictions.

For full details on the grant requirements please visit our Grant Guidelines.