Map showing zone where businesses are eligible for grants
If you are a small business — or know of one — that is wanting to make capital improvements to your building but don’t have the funds, grant money is now available if you are located along the Georgia Avenue/7th Street/North Capitol Street corridor. According to emails distributed recently on listservs, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development has just released information on the Great Streets Funding for façade improvements and Tax Increment Funding for the Lower Georgia Ave. business corridor and other areas of the District. The deadline is Friday, February 15, 2013 at 4 p.m. Details on the grant, the eligible area, and who to contact for additional information is available here.
The purpose of the “7th Street/North Capitol Street NW Small Business Capital Improvement Grant” is to support existing small businesses, attract new small businesses, increase the District’s tax base and create new jobs for District residents. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development has allocated $400,000 for this round of funding and will be awarding grants up to a maximum of $85,000 each.
Eligible Applicants must own a retail or service business within the boundaries or with direct frontage on the boundaries (see map) and must otherwise satisfy the eligibility requirements set forth in this Request For Applications. The Applicant may be the owner of the property or the lessee. Eligible retail development projects shall not include liquor stores, nightclubs, bars, banks, or hotels.
This sounds like a great opportunity for small local businesses and I certainly hope some of those in Park View take advantage of it.
"The territory comprising Park View extends from Gresham Street north to Rock Creek Church Road, and from Georgia Avenue to the Soldiers' Home grounds, including the triangle bounded by Park Road, Georgia Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue" (from Directory and History of Park View, 1921.)
