By : Christian Sheckler
Source : http://www.news-sentinel.com
category :small business grant
About 17 Fort Wayne small businesses could get help sprucing up their properties this year by taking advantage of a city program that has helped bring millions of dollars in investments to key commercial districts.
For the fourth year, Mayor Tom Henry’s administration will offer money to help small-business owners spruce up their shops, restaurants and other commercial properties around town through a matching-grant program.
Through 2011, the city has distributed $600,000 to $700,000 in grants, with many businesses going well beyond the required dollar-for-dollar match, said Aliza Tourkow, a grant specialist with the city’s community development division.
“They’ve said, ‘We’re going to take your money and just balloon it,’” said Tourkow, who estimated the program has produced a 5-to-1 return on investment, generating more than $1 million of investment each of its first three years.
“We’ve got a big push in the local flavor of Fort Wayne and maintaining a thriving small-business community,” she said.
Through the program’s Dec. 16 deadline, 17 businesses submitted applications for the program, Tourkow said. Of those, the city will select recipients based on a number of criteria.
The number of applicants for 2012 dropped from 35 for 2011 and 26 for 2010, in part because the city had less time to advertise this year once City Council approved an extension of the program, Tourkow said.
Karen and Lee Albright, owners of Albright’s Meats & Deli, 4924 S. Calhoun St., received a $20,000 façade grant this year to repaint their shop, repave its parking lot and add new signage.
In all, the project totaled a $40,000 investment and made it easier for the couple to keep their deli in the heart of Fort Wayne while other businesses move to the suburbs, Karen Albright said.
“It would have been easy to move out further, but we live in the city, and we want to stay in the city,” she said. “Overall, the people with the city were very responsive and got things moving when we needed them to.”
Greg Leatherman, the city’s director of redevelopment, said the program shows the administration’s commitment to small businesses, even though some people complain that government favors only big corporations with tax breaks and other incentives.
“You hear a lot and read a lot about the economic development efforts of the city only looking at large companies,” he said. “I would say that small businesses are really responding with this program.”
Source :http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120107/NEWS/120109717
Source : http://www.news-sentinel.com
category :small business grant
About 17 Fort Wayne small businesses could get help sprucing up their properties this year by taking advantage of a city program that has helped bring millions of dollars in investments to key commercial districts.
For the fourth year, Mayor Tom Henry’s administration will offer money to help small-business owners spruce up their shops, restaurants and other commercial properties around town through a matching-grant program.
Through 2011, the city has distributed $600,000 to $700,000 in grants, with many businesses going well beyond the required dollar-for-dollar match, said Aliza Tourkow, a grant specialist with the city’s community development division.
“They’ve said, ‘We’re going to take your money and just balloon it,’” said Tourkow, who estimated the program has produced a 5-to-1 return on investment, generating more than $1 million of investment each of its first three years.
“We’ve got a big push in the local flavor of Fort Wayne and maintaining a thriving small-business community,” she said.
Through the program’s Dec. 16 deadline, 17 businesses submitted applications for the program, Tourkow said. Of those, the city will select recipients based on a number of criteria.
The number of applicants for 2012 dropped from 35 for 2011 and 26 for 2010, in part because the city had less time to advertise this year once City Council approved an extension of the program, Tourkow said.
Karen and Lee Albright, owners of Albright’s Meats & Deli, 4924 S. Calhoun St., received a $20,000 façade grant this year to repaint their shop, repave its parking lot and add new signage.
In all, the project totaled a $40,000 investment and made it easier for the couple to keep their deli in the heart of Fort Wayne while other businesses move to the suburbs, Karen Albright said.
“It would have been easy to move out further, but we live in the city, and we want to stay in the city,” she said. “Overall, the people with the city were very responsive and got things moving when we needed them to.”
Greg Leatherman, the city’s director of redevelopment, said the program shows the administration’s commitment to small businesses, even though some people complain that government favors only big corporations with tax breaks and other incentives.
“You hear a lot and read a lot about the economic development efforts of the city only looking at large companies,” he said. “I would say that small businesses are really responding with this program.”
Source :http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120107/NEWS/120109717
