ARPA - Small Business Recovery

The City will continue to provide financial assistance to small businesses in our community through grants that can be used for operational expenses and facade improvements. Small Business Recovery projects include:

Small Business Support Grants: Grants in the amount of $149,400 were issued to small businesses in FY22 to assist with meeting rent and/or payroll obligations, business expansion, business improvements, technical assistance, and the development of products and services. For FY23, a total of $150,600 will be available in grants for small businesses.

Façade Improvement Grants: Eight-thousand dollars ($8,000) in ARPA funds for Façade Improvements will be used to expand the outdoor seating and aesthetics of a local commercial center located at 8000 Flower Avenue. A grant agreement for this project was completed in July 2022, and the project is expected to be completed by October 2022.

Small Business Incubator: The Takoma-Langley Crossroads Business Incubator funding will support the creation of affordable, physical retail space in the Takoma-Langley Crossroads area. With high commercial rents throughout the Crossroads area, local entrepreneurs are increasingly finding it difficult to graduate from temporary locations such as the Crossroads Farmers Market or shared kitchen and home production into brick-and-mortar storefronts. Incubator Funding will be utilized to subsidize rent and tenant improvement costs for these growing businesses and incentivize the construction and activation of new pop-up or temporary spaces for emerging businesses to test out brick-and-mortar feasibility in the Crossroads commercial area. A market study will be conducted between August 2022 and January 2023, with an Incubator launch anticipated in the Spring of 2023. The FY23 ARPA budget includes $500,000 for the development of the Small Business Incubator.

Neighborhood Commerical Center Improvements: ARPA funds for this project, $100,000, allows the Housing & Community Development Department to meet two important economic development goals: 1) assisting the growth of local small businesses by supporting traditional start-up costs and 2) increasing investment in commercial properties through funding for exterior, physical property improvements. The need for this type of City investment is particularly acute in the City’s lower visibility commercial corridors. Funds will also be targeted to commercial corridors and/or minority-owned businesses that do not receive high amounts of private investment.

• The TKPK Business Investment Grant (BIG) is available for businesses looking to locate, grow, or expand in the City of Takoma Park. Funds are intended to support capital expenditures and hard costs related to new business fit-out or existing tenant improvements.

Quick Links

• American Rescue Plan Act
• ARPA – Affordable Housing
• ARPA – Small Business Recovery
• ARPA – Social Services Partnerships
• ARPA – Family Resiliency Programs
• ARPA – Community Anchors
• ARPA – City Operations

Small Business Recovery Projects in FY23 by Department

The following projects are set to be activated in FY23.