ART loan program a work in progress
Local businesses still waiting for some relief
More than four months after construction started on the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project, the city has shared little information about the loan program intended to help local businesses hurt by the work.
City of Albuquerque Economic Development Director Gary Oppedahl told the Journal last month that the program would be unveiled “in total detail” the last week of February and money would be available March 1, but the city has yet to publicly announce the specifics.
In an email Thursday Oppedahl said lawyers for the involved entities continue working on final documents.
“We have an agreement in principle, but are waiting on final resolution which we expect within days,” Oppedahl wrote.
Oppedahl said in February that forging the agreements necessary to build and execute the loan fund is a complex process, but that businesses had already begun applications and some had been tapped to pilot the program.
The city last summer touted its plans to raise about $2 million from private individuals, financial institutions and others for a new loan fund. The fund would “support small local businesses along Central, specifically those in areas affected by development projects such as Albuquerque Rapid Transit,” according to a city news release from July 27, 2016. The city said then the plan was to launch services by early fall.
ART is a bus-rapid transit system that will involve a series of bus-only lanes and stations down the middle of Central Avenue.
The loan program has sparked great interest within the business community, as it was to include even “forgivable” loans that qualifying businesses that met certain obligations would not have to repay. The city also said the fund could provide low- and zero-interests loans for facade improvements and other upgrades.
A city spokeswoman last month would not provide details on the exact size of the fund, saying only that it was between $100,000 and $500,000. Oppedahl said Thursday that the city has “pledges from partners which exceed $500,000.”