February 9, 2010
St. Mary’s Neighborhood Revitalization Project, along with the City of San Antonio Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), will hold it’s first ever Small Business Summit for the businesses within St. Mary’s revitalization district. Small business owners have been invited to the free summit on Wednesday, Feb. 10 to learn how to access resources for improving their facilities and business operations.
Businesses that attend the summit will learn how they can apply for federal stimulus money to help their businesses. The City of San Antonio has received $50,000 stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). St. Mary’s University Neighborhood Revitalization Project is managing the disbursement of these funds. Grants of up to $12,500 are available to at least four different businesses within the revitalization district. The HUD grants can only be used for general facility improvements, which can include among other things signage, sidewalk repairs, parking lot pavement and some interior renovations.
Businesses attending the Business Summit will also have the opportunity to interact with PTAC, experts that can help you sell your business to government buyers, ACCIÓN Texas, Westside Development Corporation and VIA Metropolitan Transit. The Director of St. Mary’s Volunteer Tax Assistance (VITA) Program will also provide information on how the business owners can utilize VITA tax preparation services for their small businesses.
In September 2008, St. Mary’s was awarded a nearly $600,000 HUD grant, through the Hispanic Serving Institutions Assisting Communities program. Along with Additional leveraged funds from private and public sector partners, St. Mary’s University was able to launch the Neighborhood Revitalization Project in October 2008. The University’s revitalization effort is part of St. Mary’s five-year strategic plan, Vision 2012, which was laid out by President Charles L. Cotrell, Ph.D. in 2007. It calls for the University to collaborate with its neighbors to revitalize the areas surrounding the campus and to be more actively involved in community outreach, development and improvement. The neighborhoods identified in the target area are University Park and parts of the Jefferson/Woodlawn Lake, Prospect Hill, Loma Vista, Memorial Heights, Loma Park and Third World neighborhoods.