Organizations representing business communities across Seattle including Capitol Hill and the Central District will share a more than $7 million injection of “direct investment” to help neighborhood economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office has announced details of the neighborhood-focused grants that are part of the $128.4M Seattle Rescue Plan for COVID-19 recovery approved by the Seattle City Council in May.
Under the program, more than two dozen neighborhood business district organizations will receive up to $225,000 in funding “to help stabilize small businesses and address community needs.” Organizations receiving the funding include the Broadway Business Improvement Area that administrates funding for clean-up and safety in the Broadway corridor, the GSBA, “Washington’s LGBTQ chamber of commerce,” and the Central Area Collaborative launched in 2015 to support businesses in the Central District.
“These investments, which are in addition to direct assistance provided to small businesses through the Small Business Stabilization Fund, will support neighborhoods reopen, build e-commerce capacity, activate public spaces, address graffiti and vandalism, and promote community safety and community building events throughout their neighborhoods,” the announcement reads.
A new business group, meanwhile, is forming to represent the 15th Ave E area. CHS reported here on plans to create a new 15th Ave E BIA.
A second wave of Seattle Rescue Plan COVID-19 relief funding, meanwhile, will include millions for rental assistance, senior support, and a $10.9 million grant for the Madison bus rapid transit project.
A full roster of organizations included in the Seattle Rescue Plan neighborhood economic recovery grants is below.
The Seattle Rescue Plan, launched in May, authorized $22 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to aid Seattle’s local community recovery from the pandemic and the COVID-related economic impacts. The City prioritized funds from today’s announcement for business district organizations, community partners, and equity districts to help address the economic needs of the neighborhoods they serve. The following neighborhood business district organizations will receive a direct allocation:
- Alliance for Pioneer Square
- Ballard Alliance
- Beacon Business Alliance
- Belltown United
- Build Lake City Together
- Capitol Hill-Broadway BIA
- Capitol Hill Business Alliance/GSBA
- Central Area Collaborative
- Crown Hill Village Association
- First Hill Improvement Association
- For North Seattle
- Fremont Chamber
- Georgetown Merchants Association
- Green Lake Chamber
- Magnolia Chamber
- Mount Baker Hub Alliance
- Othello/MLK Business Association
- Phinney Neighborhood Association
- Rainier Beach Action Coalition/Economic Development Roundtable
- Rainier Avenue Business Coalition (Hillman City and Columbia City)
- Chinatown-ID: SCIDPDA/CIDBIA/Friends of Little Saigon
- SODO BIA
- South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce
- South Park Business District
- University District Partnership
- Uptown Alliance
- West Seattle Junction Association
- West Seattle Chamber
The city says there will also be a $1.2 million program “to support community, cultural or arts organizations, cultural districts, and small businesses such as community event producers, artists, consultants or a collection of individuals supporting neighborhood strategies with broadly shared benefits. ”
Eligible applicants can submit project proposals to the Neighborhood Economic Recovery RFP for awards up to $100,000. Grants will fund recovery strategies and activities such as:
- Public and commercial space activations, including outdoor seating, retail/vendor markets, public art displays, music events, community events and commercial space pop-ups.
- Digital equity projects, such as neighborhood digital marketplaces for local small businesses.
- Communications infrastructure development to create websites, social media platforms, and contact databases to circulate community news and resources. These must share information local businesses and events to spur economic and social activity within a neighborhood.
- Physical improvements in neighborhoods, such as lighting, sidewalk cleaning, murals, or façade to improve the quality of a neighborhoods physical space for the benefit of businesses, residents and visitors.
- Community safety projects, including business block watches and community organizing.
- Outreach to support businesses and connect them additional resources such as technical assistance and building partnerships between community organizations, service providers and residents.
- Other economic recovery projects that are specific to a particular neighborhood’s needs.
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