Bringing Businesses Back
Bringing stores, food, services and jobs back to the Upper McKenzie, so residents don’t have to drive to Springfield for the basics and visitors have reasons to stop.
The project in one minute
Active. Business guides are live, and new ventures such as Lucky Boy Mining Camp are planning to open, targeting late spring 2027.
The Upper McKenzie River, centered on Blue River, in Lane County, Oregon.
Residents who need local services, workers who need local jobs, and entrepreneurs ready to open or reopen.
Recruiter and connector: we make the case for opening here, point owners to loans, grants and incentives, and introduce them to landowners and partners.
$20,000 to $50,000 a year for a part-time business recruitment lead.
Business owners, the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce, lenders and economic development agencies.
No businesses, no town
The Holiday Farm Fire destroyed most of Blue River in September 2020, and with it the stores, restaurants and services that made the Upper McKenzie work. Six years later, homes are coming back faster than businesses. Opening a business here is a hard bet: high costs, a short tourist season, and wastewater limits on downtown lots. Without businesses, people leave, visitors drive past, and the tax base that supports schools and fire service shrinks.
We know the ground and the people
- We’re local. We know the lots, the owners and the questions every new business asks.
- We know the tools. Our guides explain rural loans, enterprise zones and grant programs in plain language.
- We market the river. Through VisitMcKenzieRiver.com, we already help travelers find local businesses.
- We stay neutral. MCP doesn’t compete with businesses or sell services. We help any business that wants to open here.
The plan grows with funding
Each phase stands on its own. Volunteers keep phase 0 going; funding is what lets us actively recruit.
Guides and introductions
Live now: guides on rural business loans, enterprise zones and the local economy, a business directory on VisitMcKenzieRiver.com, and introductions for anyone exploring a business here.
A business recruitment lead
- A prospect packet: lots, costs, incentives and visitor numbers
- An inventory of available downtown sites and buildings
- One-on-one help for owners applying for loans and grants
- Pop-up markets that test demand before someone signs a lease
Helping businesses stay
- Small start-up grants with partner lenders
- Shared marketing for new and returning businesses
- Training on seasonal business planning
- Help with shared facilities such as a commercial kitchen
Why this matters beyond one storefront
Jobs close to home
Every local job is a family that can stay on the river.
Services upriver
Food, fuel and supplies nearby save residents hours of driving every month.
Visitors who stop
Open doors turn drive-through traffic into spending that stays here.
A model for rural towns
Small towns everywhere are trying to rebuild their main streets. What works here can travel.
Ways to help this project
MCP is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3). Gifts to this project pay for the work described above, and we report what changed.
Give any amount
Pays for the prospect packet, printed materials, pop-up market costs and outreach.
Sponsor a pop-up market
Local businesses and lenders can sponsor a market day, with credit on our site and in River Updates.
Fund the recruitment lead
Foundations, utilities and economic development agencies can fund the part-time lead who brings new businesses here.
Results we’ll report
Residents want to see open doors, not reports. So we’ll count what happens and report it here and in River Updates.
- Businesses opened or reopened in the Upper McKenzie
- Local jobs created
- Owners helped with loans, grants or incentives
- Pop-up market vendors who went on to open
- Available sites listed and filled
So far: business guides on loans and enterprise zones are live, and Lucky Boy Mining Camp is planning to open in Blue River in late spring 2027.
Before you give
Yes. McKenzie Community Partnership (McKenzie Community Development Corporation) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax ID 93-1186618. Gifts are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Yes. Note “Bringing Businesses Back” with your gift and we’ll put it toward this project.
State and county agencies offer loans and incentives, but they don’t recruit businesses to one small town. Someone local has to make the case and help owners through the steps.
Volunteers keep the guides current and make introductions. Funding lets us recruit actively and help owners one-on-one.
MCP doesn’t own or invest in businesses. Lucky Boy Mining Camp is privately owned and funded by Earth Quest Partners, a company owned by MCP’s volunteer executive director; it receives no MCP funds, and he steps back from MCP decisions that affect it.
Yes: sponsor a pop-up market, mentor a new owner, or tell us about a space that could host a business. Contact us.