The City Council voted this week to approve a new program aimed at helping Tucson businesses affected by construction.
The program is called “Ready, Steady, Open” and will allocate $345,000 from the American Rescue Plan to small businesses impacted by construction.
City construction projects can be bad for business. Multiple businesses along Grant Road, for instance, closed after over two years of ongoing construction which made it difficult to access their buildings.
Starting Oct. 1, businesses affected by city construction projects will be able to apply for three types of grants, depending on their location. The application period will run for one month, with grant disbursements set to begin in December.
The first, called a “readiness” grant, provides up to $500 for businesses to prepare for upcoming disruption due to construction.
The “stabilization” grant provides up to $10,000 for businesses to stabilize and continue operating during construction.
The “recovery” grant provides up to $5,000 for businesses to recover afterwards.
Not all affected businesses are able to apply to each grant — each is open to applications from certain sites only. Eligible sites include South 12th Road, Grant Road, Valencia Road, 5th Street, 22nd Street, Park Avenue, Houghton Road and Silverbell.
Eligibility is also limited to businesses with fewer than 25 employees who have been established in an affected area for at least six months. Liquor stores, smoke shops and adult establishments are excluded from the program.
The pilot program has been approved to operate for one year, with the possibility of extension depending on its success.
