The volume of applications to the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation for a piece of $2 million in Business Improvement and Growth (BIG 2.0) grant funding donated by the Musk Foundation blew away expectations.
That’s according to BCIC Executive Director Josh Mejia, who said nine applicants with plans to open businesses in historic downtown were chosen out of the flood of responses and will be recommended to the BCIC board next week for approval. The businesses and the amounts each will receive will be announced next week assuming they’re approved, he said.
“We’re hoping that once they do get approved that they become excellent examples to others who are looking to consider projects or apply for the grant program itself,” Mejia said. “We’ll be using them as models or examples for others to use.”
Some applicants that were narrowly rejected had good ideas but needed technical guidance, which BCIC is willing to provide, he said. Mejia said BCIC will meet with every applicant to get a thorough understanding of their proposals, and that the nine being recommended to the board were at the point of being ready for serious evaluation.
They were selected based on their anticipated economic and revitalization impact and also because they’re ready to start, he said.
“That’s very important,” Mejia said. “We don’t want to fund a project that is still 12 months away from actually beginning demolition or what have you. That’s where we’re willing to help. That’s where the customer service becomes really important. That’s why we want everybody to talk to us, because we can be that liaison for them to help them out.
“We really want to provide that excellent customers service to really help people not only be able to have a successful application but also become sort of a liaison for them so that they can get through the permitting process a little bit smoother, the historical preservation process smoother, so that way there’s a quick turnaround for them to begin construction.”
The $2 million is part of $10 million the Musk Foundation — founded by Elon Musk in 2002 — pledged earlier this summer to facilitate downtown revitalization. Mejia said the funding is an effective catalyst behind revitalization efforts. Assuming all nine of the projects BCIC is recommending proceed, “downtown is going to be completely different within the next 24 months,” he said.
Mejia said the hope is the current round of funding will produce rapid results, with accountability and transparency, so that the foundation will continue donating funding to the BIG grant program.
“We are going to continue to work closely together to make sure this whole endeavor becomes a huge success for everybody involved,” he said.
Mejia said the projects to be revealed next week will stir even more excitement about what’s going on downtown. Anyone interested in applying for future grants shouldn’t hesitate to contact BCIC if they have any questions or confusion about the program and what the money can be used for, he said.
“This is a very competitive program due to the fact that we have very limited funding as of now,” Mejia said. “That’s a guarantee that not everybody is going to have their project considered and not everybody’s going to have an application funded. I just highly encourage anybody who is considering … a project … to reach out to us so we can do this very thorough conversation and meeting, so we can understand the project and make sure that we set the proper expectations.”
For more information, contact: brownsvilleedc.org
