HARLINGEN — The City of Harlingen has announced a new small-business matching grant program called Revitalize Harlingen designed to stimulate overhauls of business storefronts, encourage job retention and stimulate economic activity.
The collaboration between the administration of Mayor Norma Sepulveda and the Harlingen Economic Development Corp. has launched the 50-50 small-business matching grant program.
“I’m proud to collaborate with the Harlingen Economic Development Corp. to launch this initiative that will revitalize small businesses in the City of Harlingen,” Sepulveda said. “I look forward to seeing this program succeed and expanding it to other areas of Harlingen. Residents, visitors, and business owners alike will be pleased to see signage, landscaping, and other exterior improvements offered through this new initiative.”
The new grant funds will first target the following areas of the city West Jackson to West Harrison Ave, West Van Buren to West Jackson, West Harrison to M Street, West Tyler to M Street, and F Street to West Jackson.
To see if a business qualifies, go online to https://harlingenedc.com/revitalize-harlingen.
“The main goal of Revitalize Harlingen is to rejuvenate targeted areas in the city that need revitalizing,” said Beverly Loftus, interim CEO of the Harlingen EDC. “The benefits from the grant funds will encourage reinvestment by small businesses to attract more customers and increase revenues.”
“While some businesses may not fall within the improvement zone, the Harlingen EDC may consider additional areas as more funds become available,” Loftus added
The matching grant funds are designed to incentivize property owners to undertake exterior site improvements. Property owners or tenants can apply for reimbursement of up to 50 percent of their total exterior project costs with a maximum cap of $10,000.
A pre-approval application must be submitted and eligibility is contingent upon approval.
“As a real estate professional, I understand the value of property and improvements made to the exterior of a business, restoring and enhancing adds value to a business,” said Eric Ziehe, president of the HEDC board. “I’ve seen this program work in our downtown area and we need to reach out to the qualifying businesses, who could use this matching grant.”
The new program being administered by HEDC comes about three years after the agency announced a pool of $1 million for HELP for Small Business during the height of the pandemic.
Zero-interest loans totaling $489,000 went out to more than 50 businesses in the city. The HEDC board later approved a measure to absorb the half-million in expenditure, in effect freeing qualifying businesses from having to repay the loans.
