Businesses in the East Valley are included in an economic stimulus program that the city recently made available. The $4.26 million Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) program allows small businesses to apply for loans of up to $249,000 per property owner and $75,000 per tenant. The CRA developed the program, which was backed by L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian in the council. The money can be used for property modifications or repairs, landscaping or hiring of employees. “This has been a priority for Councilmember Krekorian since he took office and one of the primary goals for an area that has traditionally been ignored by City Hall. The program is aimed at small businesses who’ve struggled during one of the worst economic periods in U.S. history,” said Jeremy Oberstein, Communication Director for Krekorian. The CRA divides certain parts of the city into zones and this program targets three areas – the North Hollywood, Laurel Canyon and Pacoima/Panorama redevelopment project areas. The 743-acre North Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area is located one mile north of the intersection of the Hollywood and Ventura freeways and immediately north of the Cahuenga Pass. The project area is bounded generally by Hatteras Street on the north, Cahuenga Boulevard on the east, Camarillo Street on the south, and Tujunga Avenue on the west. The 248-acre Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor Redevelopment Project Area follows Laurel Canyon Boulevard from Burbank Boulevard to Vanowen Street; Victory Boulevard from Saint Clair Avenue to Colfax Avenue; and Burbank Boulevard from Whitsett Avenue to Lankershim Boulevard. “The first priority for doling out loans will be given to the core sector businesses in the region that specialize in manufacturing, industrial, retail, social assistance, entertainment/arts and medical,” Oberstein said. “The participants must be existing commercial businesses with at least three years of positive operations and they will be evaluated based on a series of criterion that ensures they can achieve job creation goals, are credit worthy, etc.” Since this program is also an incentive for creating jobs, each business is required to create or retain one job per $35,000 given out for loans of $100,000 or more. For loans of less than $100,000, businesses are encouraged to create one job per $35,000 and required jobs must be maintained for at least two years. A business may receive up to $249,000 for a 10-year loan. Tenants may apply for loans of up to $75,000 for a term of 3-10 years. “While tenants and owners will benefit from loans that can help their business, this is also a job creation/retention program to help workers get back on their feet,” Oberstein said. In his recently released budget, Gov. Brown has proposed eliminating Community Redevelopment Agencies, but officials said existing funds would not be affected.
