EDA AWARDS GRANTS IN OCEAN CITY
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Assistance throughout Impacted Counties Continues
Trenton, NJ – To showcase the rebuilding of small businesses impacted by Superstorm Sandy, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) today announced the recent award of Stronger NJ Business Grants to several Ocean City businesses, including Kelly’s Creations Salon and Spa, Ad Wraps Inc., TJ’s Ice Cream Plus, and Comfort Mechanical Corp. To date, 36 grants have been approved in Ocean City, totaling over $1.6 million. Statewide, more than 630 businesses have been approved for grants and loans totaling over $68.7 million.
“While I have heard from many business owners that the summer is going well, our business advisors continue to work closely with all eligible businesses to ensure grant applicants get the help they need,” said EDA CEO Michele Brown.
To ease the burden on applicants still in need of assistance, the EDA hosted a Documentation Day yesterday at Staples in Brick, during which applicants could have any additional documentation needed for their applications copied, free of charge, courtesy of Staples.
“The time and cost associated with submitting required documentation has been challenging for many applicants. Documentation Day was created to make the process of submitting required documentation easier,” Brown said.
At today’s Board meeting, the EDA also announced loans to several businesses to support their recovery.
Three loans totaling $5.5 million were approved for two related Bayonne-based entities. DC Plastic Products Corp., a manufacturer and provider of plastic trash bags, was approved for a $1.2 million working capital loan and a $3.8 million construction loan. A $500,000 EDA direct loan was approved for Superior Manufacturing Property Management, LLC, the real estate holding company for DC Plastic. The woman-owned business suffered severe damage to its building and machinery during the storm, limiting its manufacturing capacity.
Loans for Providence Seashore House, LLC, the real estate holding company for an affiliated company, Providence Pediatric Medical Daycare, were approved in the amounts of $271,480 for working capital and $444,736 for construction. Providence Pediatric Medical Daycare was previously approved for a $1.7 million Stronger NJ Business Loan for working capital. The woman-owned company is headquartered in West Berlin, and experienced wind and water damage at its Atlantic City-based pediatric medical daycare facility.
Additional Stronger NJ Business Loans totaling over $2.6 million were approved for working capital for businesses in several impacted communities, including 29 Beach Rd. LLC in Monmouth Beach, FJS Foods in Manasquan, Lakewood Candies in Lakewood, Long Key Marina in Ocean Township, Opirhory Real Estate Inc. in Garfield City, Reilly Bonner Funeral Home in Belmar, and Stesor Enterprises, Inc. in Bridgewater Township.
Since early May, EDA has hosted thirteen workshops in some of the hardest hit communities, including one today in Ocean City. Applicants are contacted via telephone prior to the workshops to schedule appointments and are informed of any documentation or information needed to complete their application. Through these workshops, one-on-one assistance has been provided to nearly 100 businesses.
The Stronger NJ programs are funded through New Jersey’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) allocation from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Similar to other Sandy relief programs, there are strict federal eligibility requirements to which the EDA and applicants must comply.
For more information on the Stronger NJ Business programs, visit http://application.njeda.com/strongernjbusiness or call EDA’s Sandy hotline at 1-855-SANDY-BZ (1-855-726-3929).
