The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will open the Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF) in September for applications in six Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts.

Applications will be accepted for businesses located within the boundaries of the following TIF districts from 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30


The SBIF program uses revenue from TIF districts to help owners of commercial and industrial properties to repair or remodel their facilities for their own business or on behalf of tenants.

Program participants can receive grants for 25 to 75 percent of project costs, with a maximum grant of $100,000 for commercial properties and $150,000 for industrial properties. The grants are administered by SomerCor on the City's behalf and do not have to be repaid.

Please note that residential projects are not eligible for the SBIF program, and residential developers should not apply.

DPD and SomerCor will host a webinar on Zoom next month to review program requirements and the application process:

  • 1 to 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 2 | Register

Advance registration is recommended, however, the meetings can also be live streamed the day of the meeting on DPD's YouTube page. A recent webinar with similar program information is also available for review on YouTube.

For additional information, including program rules and the application, visit www.somercor.com/sbif. Questions can be directed to Silvia Orozco at sorozco@somercor.com.