Project purpose
This study will develop recommendations for the establishment of a City of Portland Legacy Business Program that would support and preserve longstanding, independently owned businesses. These "legacy businesses" — such as retail storefronts, production facilities, and gathering places — have long been overlooked for official recognition despite their significance to community identity.
This project will consider the experiences of existing legacy business programs in other cities, and gather input from local businesses, community-based organizations, and City advisory bodies to develop recommendations for service offerings and policy changes that would better support legacy businesses.
Future implementation of a Legacy Business Program would broaden and diversify the City’s existing efforts to recognize and support places of social and cultural importance.
Project background
Small businesses frequently encounter challenges related to staffing, revenue, and operations. For long-established, independently owned businesses, these obstacles are often more nuanced and complex. Examples include:
- Aging owners who lack clear succession plans
- Limited capacity to invest in emerging technologies and tools
- Challenges in navigating complex and time-consuming regulatory requirements
- Aging infrastructure, shifting customer demographics, and rising costs for niche products
- Insufficient promotional support to expand customer reach amid neighborhood changes
While many tools and programs exist to support small businesses in general, a dedicated Legacy Business Program could provide specialized assistance for long-standing, community-serving businesses. By complementing existing programs, a dedicated Legacy Business Program could offer tailored services such as official recognition, technical guidance, financial incentives, and regulatory support to address the unique challenges these businesses face.
What are legacy businesses?
For many Portlanders, the term “legacy business” may call to mind beloved local shops and cherished neighborhood staples. The term might also bring about wistful recollections of favorite businesses lost in recent years. Public-facing establishments such as neighborhood cafes, restaurants, beauty shops, florists, clothiers, booksellers, specialty markets, and independent theaters could all fit the bill.
While there’s no single definition of a legacy business, there’s general consensus among practitioners that legacy businesses are longstanding, independent, locally owned, public-facing, and deeply rooted in the communities they serve. Central to this understanding is the notion that legacy businesses are essential to community identity and continuity.
This project aims to define what “legacy business” means for Portland, and to develop recommendations targeted to fill gaps in support for these unique and vital community assets.
Example legacy business programs
Portland’s project follows similar efforts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Antonio and other jurisdictions around the country that have established programs intended to protect living intergenerational historic resources from displacement or closure. As of January 2025, approximately 30 American cities have adopted some version of a legacy business program.
Program offerings in these other cities range from official recognition and promotional support to technical assistance, financial incentives, and anti-displacement regulation. For example, the City of Denver’s program offers both individual consultation and regular technical assistance workshops for participating businesses. San Francisco’s program offers financial incentives and limited commercial tenant protections for legacy businesses.
Project deliverables
This project will produce a study detailing the rationale and need for a City of Portland
Legacy Business Program, outline program models adopted by jurisdictions around the country, provide case studies illustrating challenges particular to legacy businesses, and offer recommendations for implementation of a City of Portland Legacy Business Program. The study and recommendations will be published in early 2026.
Project timeline and opportunities for engagement
Opportunities for community participation and feedback to inform and shape recommendations for a future Legacy Business Program will be provided in 2025. Representatives of longstanding local businesses are especially encouraged to contact the project manager to provide insights and recommendations to inform the development of the project.
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The study is expected to conclude in early 2026 with publication of recommendations and presentations to interested community groups and relevant City boards and commissions.
The Legacy Business Preservation Study is funded in part through a Grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.