Small businesses in Fresno can get money to fix their storefronts. See who’s eligible
Small businesses in Fresno’s downtown, Chinatown and other areas will be able to apply for up to $50,000 to freshen up their storefronts in a program designed for merchants disproportionately affected by the COVID pandemic.
The money is from a $1.5 million allocation of money awarded to the city of Fresno from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. The Fresno City Council on Thursday selected the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation to administer the distribution of the money, outsourcing the nuts and bolts of getting the funds to qualifying businesses.
Fresno received a total of almost $171 million in ARPA funds in 2021.
The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation was chosen from among seven different community-based organizations that submitted proposals to the city last fall to participate in the program. The organization was deemed by a screening committee to be best prepared and able to effectively manage the program.
Grants to businesses for facade improvements will be up to $25,000 for single-storefront properties, and up to $50,000 for properties with multiple storefronts.
Although the money will be available for businesses in any part of the city, “special emphasis will be focused on outreach and funding in the downtown, Chinatown and the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas within the city,” wrote Kelly Trevino, an economic development analyst for the city, in a staff report to the City Council.
The transit-oriented corridors include Blackstone Avenue running north-south through the city, and the east-west Kings Canyon Road corridor through southeast Fresno.
Two of the organizations that applied to the city for a share of the funds but were not chosen by the city voiced their support for the Hispanic Foundation’s plans.
“We are here because we care and we have had an excellent relationship with small businesses and we are already working with the Hispanic Foundation,” said Jose Leon Barraza, chief financial officer of the Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association.
Barraza expressed hope that his organization could serve as a subcontractor to the foundation to serve businesses in southeast Fresno in the facade program. “Southeast Fresno normally does not get resources from City Hall,” he said. “We need more resources and we welcome the opportunity to be part of the solution. We’re ready to help.”
Similarly, the Downtown Fresno Foundation hopes to subcontract with the Hispanic Foundation as well. “We have been working closely with the Hispanic Foundation already on technical assistance for our minority business owners offering Spanish-speaking merchant meetings,” said Jordan Sanchez, interim CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership.
“We are very enthusiastic about the plan the Hispanic Foundation has put forward. … We are looking forward to the impact it can have in downtown (and) with our partners in Chinatown.”
The City Council approved its contract with the Hispanic Foundation on a unanimous 7-0 vote, but only after Council Vice President Annalisa Perea proposed an amendment that the Tower District in west-central Fresno be specifically included in the list of areas prioritized for outreach for the facade program.
Council President Tyler Maxwell added that his support was conditional upon including the area near Fresno Yosemite International Airport, bounded generally by McKinley, Clinton, Winery and Clovis avenues in east-central Fresno, in the contract.
“We have a lot of minority owned businesses (and) women-led businesses in that area that need a lot of help,” Maxwell said.
