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The City of Evanston is proud to introduce Space to Place, a new retail incubator and pop-up program opening this October in Downtown Evanston. Applications are officially open for small businesses in retail goods and packaged food & beverage.
Space to Place is a shared marketplace retail incubator built directly on input from over 100 local business owners who shaped the program this spring. Here's what you can expect:
- Dedicated ~100 SF retail footprint within a shared 3,000 SF marketplace
- Shared POS system, City marketing support, and an expert roster covering licensing, brand, finance, and lease negotiation
- Cost: 10% of gross monthly sales plus a $175/month participation fee, with financial assistance available for income-qualifying participants through the City's CDBG program
- Priority access for woman-, minority-, LGBTQ+-, and veteran-owned businesses
- Marketplace hours of at least four days per week, with specific hours announced closer to launch
- Downtown Evanston location, to be announced soon
The application is free, takes about 15–20 minutes, and is open now through August 5 at 11:59 p.m. It's available in English and Spanish.
APPLY [English] | APLICAR [Spanish]
Space to Place Team: spacetoplace.evanston@gmail.com
Claire Seizovic, Retail Activation Strategist | Katie Boden, City of Evanston Economic Development Coordinator
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