Improvement funds available for local
small businesses
By Susan
Fong
Derek Walvoord, grant coordinator from SomerCor 504, a federally certified small business lender, announced at the West Central Association Nov. 2 luncheon the opening of applications for Small Business Improvement Funding (SBIF) Grants in the Near West Side/ West Loop and Jefferson/Roosevelt Tax Increment Financing (TIF) areas.
The SBIF grants are part of a program that reimburses building owners or lessees for TIF-eligible investments. To be eligible, an applicant must be a business property owner or a renter who has obtained the building owner’s consent to make improvements to a commercial or industrial business. SBIF districts are considered the same as TIF districts.
According to application guidelines, funded projects must preserve building stock, improve neighborhood appearance or economic value, and enable businesses to stay in the neighborhood and remain competitive.
For the Near West/West Loop area, $500,000 is available; $150,000 is available for Jefferson/Roosevelt. The limit per applicant is $50,000. The application deadline is ostensibly Monday, Dec. 4, but businesses still may apply after that time.
“Deadline does not mean we are closing the application process,” emphasized Walvoord, “but it does mean we begin to process those completed applications already in our office. If there is any remaining money, we will process applications for it accordingly.
For example, in the case of a Pilsen TIF opened for applications a while ago, $500,000 still is available, Walvoord explained. Only one business has applied, so money for small business improvements still is available.
An applicant
also can reapply one year after the original grant application, if funds are
still available.
Grants are given on a first-come, first-served basis. If there are more
applicants than money once processing begins, SomerCor 504 would use a
lottery to select recipients, although “we have not had to use a lottery up
to this point,” Walvoord noted.
SomerCor 504, in conjunction with the federal Small Business Administration, administers the SBIF grant process. It then submits the completed applications to the City Department of Planning and Development to ascertain if applicants meet all eligibility requirements.
The agency expects to launch 20 more SBIF grant districts within the next two to three months. “We’d like to get the word out that the SBIF money is to be used,” said Anne Coakley, assistant to the commissioner, Chicago Department of Planning and Development. “The money may not seem vast, but it is these small improvements that make the biggest difference.”
For
information about eligibility, guidelines, and SBIF districts, contact
Walvoord at SomerCor 504 for the Small Business Improvement Funding (SBIF)
information package at (312) 360-3319 or
dwalvoord@somercor.com
or go to www.somercor.com.
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