LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Economic development efforts in Lakewood during the coronavirus pandemic are focused on keeping small businesses open and commercial property occupied.

In addition to any federal and state programs being offered to owners, Lakewood recently introduced its Small Business Rent Relief fund, which provides up to a $3,000 grant for rent payment reimbursement to businesses adversely affected by the pandemic.

“This is something I’m really excited to get out there,” said Mayor Meghan George, who noted that during the 1980s, her father was a small business owner in the city.

“We’ve been working on it for a few weeks now. We finally put the finishing touches on the program, which is being funded through the city’s economic development fund and also through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund," George said.

Modeled off of a similar Seattle program that uses CDBG funding, businesses operating out of a commercial or retail Lakewood storefront with fewer than 50 employees are eligible to apply online. Home-based businesses do not qualify.

The idea for the Small Business Rent Relief fund came out of George advising her staff to think about the city being in a recovery mode.

“We really need to make sure that the businesses that are open today are going to be open after this pandemic is over,” George said. “It’s going to impact a substantial amount of our small businesses, which we’re known for, as well as our restaurant community. So this is one way that the city could help ensure that they will stay open for business following the pandemic.”

Lakewood City Planner Katelyn Milius said the city doesn’t have an estimate of local businesses that could potentially qualify.

“The limiting factor is going to be the requirement to have a storefront,” Milius said. “Based on data provided by the chamber, we have estimated more than 1,000 storefronts in the city.

“This is just one program with a limited amount of funding trying to ease the burden of the most vulnerable businesses," Milius said.

The current plan is for the Small Business Rent Relief fund to assist with April rent payments. From there, the city plans to re-evaluate the program.

The mayor said there is more than $200,000 in the economic development fund, which depending on participation could mean an additional month of assistance.

“We’re excited about this; it’s finally some good news,” George said. “We’re hoping to implement more relief programs as we get through this crisis.”

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