Incentives Aim to Spruce up Businesses
Expanded San Diego program could spur private investment,
create jobs
Source: By David Garrick, San Diego Union Tribune | Oct. 28, 2015
Flush finances at City Hall have created an opportunity to make more small businesses eligible for the Storefront Improvement Program and to give those businesses more money toward the renovations and upgrades they complete.
City officials
said they expect the expanded program, which was unanimously approved last week
by the City Council’s economic development committee, to sharply increase
demand for the grants after years of tepid interest.
Potential
benefits of the expansion include more attractive business districts, increased
sales tax revenue, more jobs and greater private investment in upgrading
storefronts because the program requires merchants and property owners to also
contribute.
"Small
businesses are the backbone of our city and our economy," said
Councilwoman Myrtle Cole, chair of the economic development committee.
"They help to revitalize neighborhoods and also to help establish a sense
of pride in the community."
The expansion,
which the full council must approve next month, also includes more financial
assistance for merchants and property owners with city permit fees associated
with the upgrades.
Cole said she
hopes that will encourage more participation by small businesses in low-income
areas, many of which operate within her Southeastern San Diego district.
Since the program
was created in 1986, the neighborhoods with the most activity have been North
Park, Hillcrest, Downtown, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, City Heights and areas
near San Diego State.
Eligible projects
will continue to include awnings, lighting, signs, decorative facade materials,
windows, doors, landscaping, planters, street trees, exterior artwork and
adding outdoor seating.
The San Diego
Regional Chamber of Commerce hailed the expansion last week, calling it a
significant boost to local small businesses
"We
appreciate your looking at solutions for them, being a willing ear to their
issues and looking for ways to make doing business here easier," said
Stefanie Benvenuto, a policy analyst for the chamber.
The most
significant change would be allowing businesses with up to 25 employees to
participate, up from the current maximum of 12.
During the last
three fiscal years, 14 proposals were rejected because the business had too
many employees, said Liz Studebaker, the city’s neighborhood investment
manager. The city believes many other projects weren’t even proposed because of
the requirement, Studebaker said.
The money
available would also increase.
Incentives would
increase from reimbursement of one-third of eligible expenses to half and the
maximum grant would climb from $5,000 to $8,000 for merchants and from $10,000 to
$16,000 for the owners of commercial properties.
For restorations
of historic properties, the contribution would go from half to two-thirds and
the maximum would increase from $7,500 to $12,000.
Permit assistance
would remain at $5,000 maximum, but the city’s contribution would increase from
one-third to half.
City officials
said they hope the greater incentive will help more projects reach completion.
Of 97 projects approved since July 2012, only 34 have been completed, they
said.
The city sets
aside $220,000 each year for the program, but about $100,000 in grants have
been awarded annually in recent years, including only $56,000 in fiscal year
2013.
Erik Caldwell, director of the city’s Economic Development
Department, said he expects the changes to spur significantly greater interest
in the program. He predicted that his department will ask the council for more
money for the program sometime soon.
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