Target Area Business Assistance Program

This program is designed to provide incentives to encourage businesses to locate within distressed areas of the city and to create job opportunities. The resulting revitalization will in turn increase the tax base within these areas of the city.

APPROVED TARGET AREAS

Liberty Street Corridor (Southern Segment) between 8th Street and 12th Street.
Liberty Street Corridor (So. Central Segment) between 12th Street and 21st Street.
Waughtown Street and Sprague Street between Old Lexington Road and Thomasville Road.
100-200 Blocks of Kapp Street between Patterson Avenue and Mineral Avenue.
The east side of Spruce Street on the west, the west side of Linden Street on the east, the south side of Fifth Street on the north and the north side of Fourth Street between Spring and Cherry Streets, and the north side of Third Street between Cherry and Linden Streets on the south. (CBD) Central Business District 1.
The west side of Cherry Street on the west, the south side of Eighth Street on the north, the east side of Main Street on the east. and the north side of Fifth Street on the south. (CBD) Central Business District 2.

CRITERIA FOR PROJECT TO QUALIFY

A project must meet these minimum qualifications:

The company must demonstrate that city funds are necessary for the company to move into or expand within the target area.
The company must create or retain at least four (4) permanent jobs.
The company must invest at least two dollars of private funds for every one dollar of city funds requested.

USE OF FUNDS

Funds may be used for:

Site or facility improvements
Structural improvements
Facade or signage improvements that meet design guidelines for area (if any)
Purchase of capital equipment

DETERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE

All assistance must be approved by the City Council following a public hearing. The determination of whether the assistance is a loan or grant will be made by the city on a case-by-case analysis.

Assistance from this program may be either a loan or a grant but the maximum assistance for any project is $50,000 total.

If a loan is to be used, the city's Small Business Loan Committee will review requests and make a recommendation to the City Council for consideration.

Assistance Based on Job Creation

$2,000 for each permanent job created or retained paying over $8.00/hour.

$1,500 for each permanent job created or retained paying less than $8.00/ hour, but greater than $1.00/hour above the minimum wage.

An additional $500 credit for each job filled by a resident of the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA).

Jobs must be created within 24 months of award and remain in place a minimum of 72 months.

Assistance Based on Tax Base Investment

An amount equal to the new annual city property tax revenue generated by the company's new investment, multiplied by 12.

FACTORS TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND WHETHER
ASSISTANCE WILL BE A LOAN OR A GRANT

A review of alternate locations available to the potential company, including a cost comparison of the alternate sites to the target area site (land, occupancy cost, labor, utilities, etc.). This comparison is intended to document whether the target area site is more or less costly than alternative site and quantify whether public assistance is needed to make target area site competitive.

Comparison of other factors of alternate sites with target area site. Such things as availability of labor, public transportation, road access, accessibility to market, crime rates, environmental issues and general appearance of area. This comparison is intended to document the desirability of the target area site versus the alternative sites and quantify if public assistance is needed in order to compensate for a less desirable location.

Analysis of company's financial position to qualify what gap (if any) that needs to be filled by public financial assistance in order to achieve the relocation or expansion in the target area. Such things as: debt to equity ratio and what will be the expected return on investment will be reviewed by staff in formulating a recommendation to the City Council.

OTHER CRITERIA

Recipient must enter into binding agreement with city to ensure that required tax base and jobs are created. If the tax base increase and jobs created are not realized, the company must repay a pro rata portion of the grant to the city.

Non-conforming uses in a target area are not eligible to participate in program.