For immediate release
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (January 21, 2015) – The Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (RBCRA) is launching a multi-million dollar loan program aimed at retaining current businesses and attracting new businesses to its primary business districts. On January 14, the RBCRA Board of Commissioners approved the creation of a Small Business Loan Fund that could make available as much as $5 million dollars in funds over the next five years.
“These loans will help local entrepreneurs and investors find the capital they need to start a business, which will in turn create badly needed jobs for our residents and help grow the tax base,” said Tony Brown, Executive Director of the Riviera Beach CRA.
The loans are targeted to establish businesses and tenants at Ocean Mall, the Broadway and Blue Heron Corridors, and the Riviera Beach Marina, which is currently seeking tenants for the Marina Event Center, a Restaurant Row, and a Public Market, each of which is part of the marina’s $375 million redevelopment, currently in under construction.
The loan program will be administered by Neighborhood Lending Partners (NLP), a 21-year old lending consortium comprised of more than 30 banks. The RBCRA’s funding commitment will make NLP eligible for matching funds from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI). Through a similar program, the CRA currently has $400,000 available to assist businesses in the Riviera Beach Heights/Old Dixie Highway corridor.
For additional information about qualifications and access to the Small Business Loan Fund, please contact CRA Executive Director Tony Brown at 561-844-3408, or Neighborhood Lending Partners of West Florida President Debra Reyes at 813-879-4525.
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Contact: Tony Theissen
O’Donnell Agency
(561) 832-3231