On Sunday, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced two programs that will invest $13 million in small businesses along commercial corridors across the city.
“Commercial corridors are at the heart of maintaining healthy and vibrant neighborhoods,” Nutter says. “Investing in local businesses now underscores our commitment to ensuring that neighborhoods emerge from this recession stronger than ever.”
The $13 million is allocated across two programs. The Targeted Blocks Facade Grant Program will provide five $200,000 grants to commercial corridors throughout the city to help businesses make improvements to their buildings and improve the aesthetics of each area.
The other program, the Commercial Revitalization Deduction Program, allows the city to allocate Federal tax credits to developers building or renovating projects in blighted areas. The city awarded $12 million in credits to six projects ranging from a job placement center and charter school to apartments and office space. The city claims the projects will collectively leverage approximately $56 million in private construction and create 622 full time jobs.
The two programs are part of a larger initiative designed to aid commercial corridors. Other recent initiatives include: $8 million in Gap Financing Loans to help jumpstart stalled commercial and mixed-use development along commercial corridors, $1.6 million in Targeted Redevelopment Project grants to commercial and mixed-use building projects along commercial corridors, and $500,000 in Merchants Fund Corridor Partnership grants to The Merchants Fund to support new and expanding retail along commercial corridors.
Source: City of Philadelphia
Writer: John Davidson
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