Shakopee is offering up more than 5,000 square feet of downtown retail space for new shops during the holiday season. Tenants will get Mondays and Tuesdays off, plus rent assistance from the city.

The catch? These shops won't be around forever. They're part of a new holiday pop-up shop program, intended to rejuvenate downtown Shakopee for the two months at the tail end of the year.

It's the latest in a series of efforts to reinvent the quiet downtown, where some storefronts have been vacant for years.

"As I was coming into the holiday season this year, it all of a sudden dawned on me how many vacancies that I had down here," said Samantha DiMaggio, Shakopee's economic development coordinator. "And I thought, 'I need to do something to really create some excitement down here.' "

Pop-ups — temporary stores that typically emerge out of a particular season or trend — have made appearances (briefly, of course) in cities from New York to Colorado Springs. Duluth will have holiday pop-ups for the third time this year, and is offering seven downtown locations for shop owners to take over for the season.

In Shakopee, shops can open at any time, though no later than Nov. 13. Shop owners will get short-term lease assistance in the amount of $500 per month from the city through Dec. 30. To attract the maximum number of customers, they'll be required to keep their doors open during certain hours Wednesday-Sunday.

DiMaggio said there's some shopping traffic downtown currently, but she's hoping the pop-ups will draw even more people who will then get acquainted with Shakopee's more permanent commercial offerings.

"I'm hoping to get people down here maybe who haven't been here ever, or in a really long time," she said.

Shop owners are welcome to work out a longer-term lease agreement after Dec. 30, DiMaggio said. The hope is that the pop-up program will inspire some to make a permanent home downtown.

Pop-up shop applications are due to the city on Oct. 28.