Some coronavirus relief funding earmarked for north St. Louis is finally starting to flow years after St. Louis leaders promised to dedicate a large share of it to that part of the city.
On Friday, 77 businesses signed paperwork to receive $15,000 stabilization grants that can cover payroll, mortgage, rent, utility and other costs that comply with rules from the U.S. Treasury.
“It’s actually going out the door now,” said St. Louis Development Corporation Chairman, President and CEO Neal Richardson. “Today they sign a grant agreement. Next week the money is in their account.”
These funds were initially allocated in 2021, but the original legislation had challenges to it and needed to be revised, he said. That meant SLDC had to restart the application and diligence process for the grants, Richardson explained.
“Now as we make the grants, we did all the work on the front end,” he said. “Now we can more easily accelerate the pace of those funds in a way that’s going to be compliant with federal regulations.”
The stabilization grants are part of a $30 million package SLDC authorized earlier this week that cover some larger projects for north St. Louis businesses, Richardson said.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones visited with some of the business owners receiving the $15,000 awards and thanked them for their patience.
“This is a lot of money that we had to get out to the community,” she said. “You all know that when you’re spending federal dollars, it’s important to make sure we (dotted) every ‘I’ (and) crossed every ‘T’ so we don’t have to send any of this money back.”
Jones said this funding is a shot in the arm for north St. Louis businesses.
“We made an intentional decision when we received ARPA funding to make sure that we spent a bulk of it in north St. Louis,” she said. “We are making investment in the businesses that have planted roots in our community to make sure that they are able to continue to thrive.”
Pamela Brady, who owns Favah 101 Salon on Delmar Boulevard, said it was a long process to get the grant, but that she’s excited to finally be a recipient.
“This is going to really help my business,” she said. “We had to shut down for like three months during COVID and still we’re working on the process of rebuilding.”
Verlean Nicks, who owns Step by Step Preschool, also on Delmar, also noted how the pandemic is still affecting businesses years later.
“It was so severe,” she said. “The ramifications are going to linger.”
The $15,000 grant will go toward additional items for the children at her preschool, as well as support for her teaching staff, Nicks said.
“To be able to give them a little incentive to keep on keeping on and stay on,” she said. “This will help.”
Brady expects the grant to help her cover payroll, rent and new salon equipment that she said needs replacing.
“It’s going to basically put a new coat of paint on everything you know,” Brady said. “Make everything fresh and hopefully bring in new business.”
Mayor Jones emphasized the stabilization grants aren’t the only opportunity for north St. Louisans seeking help or assistance, including the city’s ScaleUpSTL and MobilizeSTL programs.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
The city has until the end of this year to allocate the rest of the COVID relief dollars and until the end of 2026 to spend them.
