Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s offer of up to $150,000 in grants to prepare and outfit vacant ground-floor retail spaces for new businesses has drawn dozens of applicants.
Eighteen days after the Dec. 2 announcement of the program, 25 property owners had filed applications with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, with 38 more beginning the process, according to Julio Concepcion, the chamber’s executive director.
The city is funding the program with $6 million of its $112 million American Rescue Plan Act allocation.
Hit dramatically by COVID : Connecticut retailers discuss pandemic struggles with Blumenthal
FacebookTwitterEmail
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, held an online forum with the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association on Friday, Feb. 27, 2021 to hear the concerns of retailers around the state.File photo
As President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus-relief package advances through Congress, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal heard Friday from Connecticut retailers who spoke of the struggles their businesses are still facing nearly a year since the pandemic hit in the state.
Additional federal assistance is needed more than ever, business owners said during the online forum co-hosted by the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association. Nearly 22,700 small businesses around the state have been approved for nearly $2 billion in forgivable loans through the latest round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, but many merchants are still suffering.
Hit dramatically by COVID : Connecticut retailers discuss pandemic struggles with Blumenthal ctpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ctpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A proposal to issue fines against vacant storefronts in Hartford roiled the business community downtown, prompting the city councilman behind the idea to take it off the table.