Light rail construction impact to business
Since the opposition has made a lot of fuss about the actual construction period of light rail affecting business owners — pay no mind to the long-term benefits to the community — we decided to hit up our City Transit Advocates compatriot at Light Rail AZ to see how Phoenix's outreach program for affected businesses worked for them. Construction on the 20-mile starter line is complete; the line is in testing now and will open in December.
So, straight from the source is a post about their first expansion (already!) and some of the tools Phoenix used to mitigate construction impacts.
Regarding the specifics of financing options for these businesses:
The city of Phoenix offers several different types of loans to corridor business owners.
Expansion Assistance and Development is a collateral reserve deposit that can help Phoenix business owners meet a lender’s collateral requirements. Collateral enhancements up to $150,000 are available at no cost to METRO corridor businesses or to their lenders. These enhancements can be used with any commercial loan, including Small Business Administration loans and lines of credit.
The New Markets Loan provides below-market rates on loans to stimulate economic growth in low-income areas, which includes most of the METRO corridor. Qualifying investments may include office, industrial, retail or mixed-use projects with funding approval for construction, acquisition or rehabilitation. Project minimums are $1 million and loan repayment terms range from one to seven years.
Community-based micro loans are available through the Self-Employment Loan Fund and Prestamos, a lending subsidiary of Chicanos Por La Causa. The Self-Employment Loan Fund helps small businesses access capital in amounts ranging from $200 to $35,000. Prestamos offers loans ranging from $2,000 to $250,000. You can also get free business advice when you apply for these loans.
So there's an easy way to get through this and hard way. What's it gonna be, Main Street?
3 Comments so far
Leave a reply
The big question - is KCMO actually planning for these types of loans and assistance? Does the light rail budget include this expense? Is the city planning for MicroTIF or some other program for businesses along the rail.
It’s certainly a great idea, but is it anything more than an idea here?
Thanks for the mention!
I lived it Kansas City and moved to Phoenix, AZ about 9 years ago. I am glad to see they are getting a light rail system! Our opens in just a 2 months, and we are looking for forward to it! There will be a few bumps along the way, but all it all it is the right choice. You never know when gas will be on the uptrend again perhaps even $5+ this time with Congress passing $30 Billion tax increase on gasoline this year.
It would be great to have all the answers right now, but that isn’t the reality with a major infrastructure project like light rail. We have the key information we need to make a good decision on November 4th. The other details, such as compensation for construction disruption or loans, can be worked out in time.