Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 6, 2016

Longmont EDP, city announce new small-business grant

The Longmont Economic Development Partnership and the city of Longmont have created a new small-business grant program in order to broaden the base of businesses that are eligible for city grant funding.

The new Advance Longmont Small Business Grant will replace the current Start Up and Business Improvement Grants that were previously only available to retail businesses. The new Advance Longmont Small Business Grant can be awarded based on either retail sales tax generation or new job creation in the community. Grant funds are available to businesses for making permanent upgrades and improvements to their properties, or for eligible startup costs such as utility connections, licensing fees or marketing costs.

The grant will provide up to 25 percent of eligible property improvement costs up to $7,000, or up to $2,000 for eligible startup costs. A business must be a brick and mortar business located within a targeted investment area in the city to qualify for a property improvement grant and can be located anywhere in the city to qualify for a grant to help fund startup costs.

“We wanted to open up the city’s grant funding programs to be more inclusive of all types of existing and new small businesses that are increasing the tax base, adding well-paying jobs to the Longmont economy and making capital investments in Longmont commercial properties,” said Jessica Erickson, president of the Longmont EDP. “Part of the city’s Advance Longmont economic development strategy is to support small local businesses and those within our targeted primary industries, as well as scalable startup businesses.

One way we can do that is by opening these grant funding opportunities up to all of these businesses.” The city of Longmont began offering grants to retail businesses in 2006 as part of an effort to support the retail base of the economy and to diversify the local economy.

More information and the Advance Longmont Small Business Grant applications can be found on the Longmont Economic Development Partnership website at www.longmont.org.