Small businesses who applied last fiscal year for help with rent or exterior renovation were spread throughout Covington. This map was part of a presentation to the City Commission this past spring.
City offering help renovating exteriors, paying startups’ rent
COVINGTON, Ky. - Friday is the deadline for small businesses in Covington to apply for the latest round of City funding offered through two popular incentives programs.
Covington hopes to award about $35,000 during this round under a competitive application process, which offers up to $500 a month for first-year rent or a forgivable loan of up to $6,000 to match investment dollar-for-dollar in façade improvements to a commercial building.
This is the first of four rounds of funding for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Last year, the City invested $172,000 in 30 small businesses.
“This is tangible financial help in areas where every small business could use a boost,” said Ross Patten, Covington’s Economic Development Project Manager. “I strongly encourage people to apply.”
Patten said the Small Business Program is so successful that news about it has spread beyond Covington’s borders. “I regularly get phone calls and emails from other cities looking to duplicate all or part of our program, and in fact recently I got one from all the way down in Murray in far Western Kentucky.”
Time is tight, so Covington businesses who are interested in applying should contact Patten at (859) 292-2144 or
rpatten@covingtonky.gov in order to submit their applications by the end of the day Friday, July 26.
For more detailed information about the programs, visit the City’s website
HERE.
A year ago, the City doubled the amount of money allocated to the Small Business Program and expanded the geographic eligibility area to include businesses located throughout the entire City. Recently, it made several additional small changes designed to increase the program’s impact on job creation and investment in Covington, as well as streamline the process for recipients. See the July 10 release
HERE.
However, Economic Development Director Tom West said the City is waiving - for this first round of funding - the requirement that facade loan applicants meet with Covington Preservation and Planning Specialist Christopher Myers ahead of their applications. "They will still need to meet with Christopher, but we realize the period between adopting the new rules and the first-round deadline was very tight," West said.
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