Nearly half of Portland’s vacant downtown buildings haven’t registered with city

 A vacant storefront in downtown Portland at 540 Congress St., where a Reny's store recently closed. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) PORTLAND — Nearly half of the vacant downtown buildings subject to an ordinance that went into effect last month have not yet registered with the city and will be notified that they are in violation. According to [the city’s online tracker](https://portlandme.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/7b00f74e80b541a18567b99408dd4f8a), 19 of 39 vacant retail properties, many along busy Congress Street between Monument Square and Congress Square Park, failed to meet the May 1 registration deadline and will be levied a fine of $500. Another five spaces already chose to pay the fine and 15 have chosen to have artwork installed on their storefront windows in lieu of a fee, per the ordinance that was passed by the City Council in September. Two properties that were vacant when the ordinance went into effect last month have been filled, according to Nancy Martin, business programs manager of Portland’s Department of Housing and Economic Development. One, 620 Congress St. (formerly Model T Coffee) will become a secondhand clothing store called Thrift Me. The other, Maeson Maine at 200 Middle St., obtained a temporary use permit for 180 days to operate as a pop-up design studio. Property managers haven’t said much publicly about the ordinance. Three were contacted this week by the Portland Press Herald, but only one responded. He specified that only some of his properties were subject to the ordinance because of the “retail space” stipulation and that some of the properties most recently listed as managed by his group were no longer under its ownership. Portland’s vacancy ordinance is part of [a larger effort to revitalize the downtown](https://www.portlandmaine.gov/1692/Revitalizing-Downtown) area and arts district, referred to as the [“pedestrian activities district](https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/8cc564cd-1d7e-4474-98ec-5254162b4e48?cache=1800).” The city also has [established a constables program](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/13/they-arent-cops-so-who-are-these-people-in-uniforms-downtown-portland/) and [added “downtown ambassadors”](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/07/31/new-downtown-portland-ambassador-program-aims-to-address-growing-safety-cleanliness-concerns/) whose job is to help connect people who might be unhoused or dealing with mental illness or substance use disorder to necessary resources. Advertisement [](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/03/portland-city-council-approves-levying-fines-on-owners-of-vacant-commercial-properties/) Related [Portland City Council approves levying fines on owners of vacant commercial properties](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/03/portland-city-council-approves-levying-fines-on-owners-of-vacant-commercial-properties/) Since the pandemic, some Portland property owners have struggled to find tenants for their ground-floor spaces, a problem city leaders felt needed to be addressed. The council felt that the vacancy ordinance was the solution, although not everyone was on board. [Three councilors voted against it](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/09/03/portland-city-council-approves-levying-fines-on-owners-of-vacant-commercial-properties/) and it was criticized by the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, which called the ordinance a “gut punch” for property owners up against many factors outside their control. For those who opt to pay, the initial fine is $500. If a storefront remains vacant for more than a year, that jumps to $1,000. After two years, that increases to $2,000 and after five years, to $5,000. Any vacancy that reaches 10 years must pay a fine of $7,500, which increases another $1,000 every year beyond that. For those who have accepted the artwork, their storefronts now display vinyl reprints of local artists’ work. So far, [84 pieces](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1l0Npvl8rbejps0jGqtNApLNUcKZMxKslTBrfo_Simfs/edit?slide=id.g3ca9fccccc0_0_116#slide=id.g3ca9fccccc0_0_116) have been chosen by a jury and installations have begun around the area. The vinyl reprints vary in size. Some take up the whole window, while others are the same size as the “for lease” signs they hang next to. Since the work is displayed as a vinyl reprint, the artists still own their original pieces and receive a $300 stipend. “The fact that I got, I’ve had two pieces of art displayed and they paid me, and I still own the original piece. Bonus to me,” said Kaleigh Anderson, one of the featured artists. “Like, they paid me basically what I was charging for the piece.” Artist names and contact information are listed along with the prints. Advertisement Building owners have no financial responsibility for the installations; it is completely managed by the city, which has used $6,000 of an allotted $25,000 budget, says Martin. The owner of 477 Congress St., known as the Time and Temperature building, is among those who opted to pay the fee instead of installing art. Many Portlanders see the top of the building, with its large electronic display, every day. But the bottom of the building is just another empty window. That building [is undergoing a massive renovation](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/06/17/mainehousing-announces-13-m-for-new-projects-including-at-time-and-temperature-building/) that will include new hotel rooms in the Congress Street facing portion and 41 units of senior housing in the building’s annex. While the artwork supports locals and offers pedestrians walking by something to look at, the issue of vacancies in the downtown remains problematic, according to some critics and councilors. Kavya Seshachar, another featured artist, believes the art could help increase pedestrian traffic. She mentioned friends or out-of-towners who have come to the area specifically to see her art displayed, and imagined other artists had similar experiences. Others have had a more mixed reaction. Some see the ordinance as ignoring what they believe to be the area’s true problems. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [city of portland](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/city-of-portland/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/charley-diadamo) [Charley DiAdamoStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/charley-diadamo) Charley DiAdamo, from North Andover, Massachusetts, is a rising senior at Colby College. She writes a food and humor column for The Colby Echo and is a freelance contributor to The Maine Monitor. She is. [More by Charley DiAdamo](https://www.pressherald.com/author/charley-diadamo)