Broken windows at your small business? Need help to expand? Tacoma has money available
The city of Tacoma’s Community and Economic Development Department has launched a new round of small-business grants, focused on restoration and property improvements.
Applications will be accepted up to 11:59 p.m. Feb. 2, with approved recipients to be notified by Feb. 21. Qualifying businesses include those based in Tacoma with no more than 30 full-time equivalent workers (including owner) and no more than two locations.
The grants address property damage after Jan. 1, 2022, including broken windows, broken doors, broken locks or etching on windows.
Graffiti removal/paint and loss of stolen goods do not qualify.
The grants draw from a total of $500,000 funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, received by the city in November in a competitive process through the state Department of Commerce.
The funding focuses on two issues: property damage and improvements sought to help a business evolve and/or grow. The grants are limited to one per business owner.
For property damage, applicants can seek up to $3,000 for one occurrence of storefront damage. For improvements, applicants can seek up to $20,000 to complete or comply with permitting to open or keep open a physical location or to increase market share, according to the city’s grant description online.
According to the city, “For non-home-based businesses, examples of line items qualifying for coverage include grease interceptors, safety upgrades, ADA access, curbside seating, takeout windows, etc.”
Recipients of funds for property damage repair will be selected via lottery; recipients and amounts of funding for market enhancement will be evaluated and selected.
Carol Wolfe, economic development supervisor for the city, told The News Tribune in a phone interview Thursday that the latest program draws from information gathered from previous grant rounds to help businesses facing new market realities.
“We learn from the applications what the unmet demand is because for these last three years, you’ve been surveying and doing applications and listening to businesses,” she said.
Out of that, a handful of businesses was identified “that we’re hoping we can help capture market share,” she said.
“In some cases, people are reducing or expanding their restaurant size. So maybe they need additional restaurant equipment, or even in some cases, expanding their offerings.”
That could mean adding a drive-thru window or getting a grease interceptor as part of permitting.
In a previous round of grant funding for window replacement that the city oversaw last year, “we were able to serve roughly 160 businesses out of a little over 200 applicants,” Wolfe noted.
In a June presentation, Shari Hart, economic development specialist for the city, told council members that while the broken window program was helping, more was needed, ultimately leading to this current round of grants.
Wolfe on Thursday added, “We know we can’t do a whole lot with this. But we want to be able to help some of those businesses that without this money, they wouldn’t be able to capture that additional market.”
For more information
▪ The city is offering free, one-hour long applicant workshops virtually via Zoom at 10 a.m., Jan. 20, and 3:30 p.m. Jan. 21. Each workshop includes opportunity for Q&A. Those interested can register by sending email to RestorationGrant@cityoftacoma.org to receive the Zoom link.
▪ More grant details and an online grant application form, available in multiple languages, are on the Make It Tacoma website: makeittacoma.com.
▪ Questions or requests to receive information in alternate formats can be submitted via email to RestorationGrant@cityoftacoma.org or by calling 253-591-5208 at least one week before the application deadline.
