Fill The City · Speaking

Montana Rose at USC: How Placemaking Supports Leasing

Spring 2026 talk for USC real estate students

The short answer

Montana Rose, founder of Fill The City, spoke to USC real estate students in spring 2026 about how experiential marketing and placemaking lift a neighborhood and support leasing. Thanks to Vanessa Delgado of Azure Development for the opportunity. Temporary activations, public art and pop-ups bring attention and foot traffic to blocks that need it, and busier blocks are easier to lease.

Why real estate teams care about experiential marketing

Montana's talk covered how experiential marketing and placemaking elevate a neighborhood, and how that can support leasing. Montana is a Los Angeles experiential marketing and placemaking professional who has built a creative career inside a conservative industry.

Watch the talk

Watch the talk on Instagram

The reel on Instagram. Follow @wefillthecity for more.

Proof from the field: Holiday on Hudson for Hines

Fill The City planned and executed Holiday on Hudson for Hines in Hudson Square, New York, in winter 2024. The goal was to position the neighborhood as a cultural hub and build tenant interest. The work included five activation concepts, a Parisian Bazaar and Winter Wonderland that turned a vacant space into a holiday cinema and après-ski lounge with global food vendors and a Club Med partnership, and a branded truck tour across Manhattan.

Results reported in the case study:

6x increase in inbound leasing inquiries after the campaign
68+ press features, including Time Out New York
250K+ social reach
500+ emails and QR scans captured for ongoing property marketing
120+ creators and local brands involved

The inquiry increase followed the campaign, and the case study does not claim the campaign alone caused it.

A real-world model: Vacant to Vibrant

San Francisco's Vacant to Vibrant program, launched in 2023 and run with the nonprofit SF New Deal, fills empty downtown storefronts with pop-ups and small businesses. The city reports that more than half of eligible pop-ups have signed long-term leases.

Los Angeles launched its own version on October 2, 2026 in the Historic Core of Downtown LA. It is administered by the Central City Association's nonprofit, Downtown Works, with $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds, and it covers start-up and leasing costs for small businesses. See the mayor's announcement and the program page.

This is the idea behind Montana's talk: activate the space first, and demand for leasing follows.

Career advice: handling imposter syndrome

A favorite student question is how Montana dealt with imposter syndrome when she started. Her answer:

Move your body. Quiet the insecure thoughts, put on a high-energy song and go full send. She even made a public art installation around one.
Get a mentor.

Montana says people enjoy working with her because she is authentic, inspires, makes money, and proves high-quality work can be fun.

Have a vacant space to activate?

Tell us about the property, the neighborhood and what you want to change.