SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio has opened applications for the Small Business Construction Support grant program to relieve local businesses affected by construction-related revenue loss tied to specific city projects.
“To keep up with growth, the City values and supports infrastructural upgrades and improvement projects. We prioritize resources and opportunities like this to help alleviate the impacts of construction to our small businesses,” said City Manager Erik Walsh.
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Businesses that qualify could receive up to $35,000 in grant money to offset demonstrated losses in 2023 compared to the year before.
The program, announced in May 2024 in partnership with LiftFund, is tied to eight construction zones where work was started between June 2020 and February 2023. Applications will be scored based on need and will not be first-come, first-served.
The following are the eight construction zones:
- Broadway Street Corridor (E. Houston to E. Hildebrand)
- Bulverde Road Phase 1 (Butterleigh Drive to North of Quiet Meadow Street)
- Zona Cultural Streets
- Santa Rosa- Cesar E. Chavez to Martin
- San Saba- Nueva to Martin
- Commerce- Frio to Santa Rosa
- Gevers Drainage (Cosgrove to Minnetonka)
- South Presa (SE Military to Southcross Blvd)
- South Alamo Street (Market Street to Cesar E. Chavez)
- The Alamo (Area Streets)
- Bynum Avenue Phase 2 (W. Mayfield Blvd to W. Gerald Ave)
Businesses that get funds approved through the program can apply them to the following expenses:
- Working capital, machinery and equipment.
- Payroll/health care benefits.
- Contract labor.
- Supplier payments.
- Rent/lease/mortgage payments tied to business property.
- Utility payments tied to business property.
- Costs incurred due to critical business operations.
Funds cannot be used to distribute to owners/investors or acquire new assets.
These are the qualifications applicants need to meet to be eligible:
- Have a minimum of $10,000 in gross sales in 2022.
- Have owned the business and have a formation date on or before 1/1/22.
- Demonstrate net profit/loss in 2022 that is at least $5,000 greater than net/profit loss in 2023.
- Be a retail or service business that requires customer foot traffic for operations.
- Meet the SBA Size standard for small business.
- Demonstrate net profit/loss in 2021 that is at least $10,000 greater than net/profit loss in 2022. Net profit/loss is based on Line 29 of Schedule C, Line 30 of 1120, Line 21 of 1120S or Line 22 of 1065.
- Be currently in operation and not have filed for bankruptcy at any point in the application process.
- Be located within an eligible construction zone and remain for one year from the date of the grant award.
- Not be in the following categories: nonprofits, gambling/gaming businesses; franchisors; sexually oriented businesses; payday & auto loan providers; liquor stores; and businesses in which a city employee or officer has a financial interest, as defined in Sec. 2-53 of the City’s Ethics Code.
- Be the majority owner of the business or equal share owner with a partner.
- Grant awards are limited to one per business at each physical address within the City of San Antonio. Grant applicants with multiple businesses in eligible construction zones are eligible to receive more than one grant award if the applicant can financially differentiate between the businesses (e.g., provide separate financial statements for each business) and each business meets all of the eligibility criteria.
Business owners have until July 15 to apply for the grant program. More information is available here, including a link to register for the information session on June 21. If you have any questions, call LiftFund at 800-923-9551.