City to loan $85,000 to small businesses for flood recovery
Columbia officials now plan to loan nine small businesses more than $85,000 to help with recovery from the historic storm last fall.
The no-interest loans offered through Columbia’s Office of Business Opportunities can be used to pay for lost equipment and inventory, cleanup and repair efforts and more after the Oct. 4 rains and flooding.
Three small businesses were approved for the maximum $10,000 loans last week after the city’s latest round of applications. Those were OnPoint Media at 1325 Park St., Sweet Temptations Bakery at 2231 Main St. and Operation Veteran Support at 2205 High St.
Another business, Demadje Painting & Design at 6911 Olive St., was approved for a $5,000 loan.
“I think it still is a big benefit,” said Paul Featheringill, the city’s business loan officer. “There still is a lot of businesses that are recovering from a lot of issues. ... I think it’ll be very helpful for them.”
The city in February approved five small businesses for the loans, which must be repaid in two years, before reopening the loan program in March.
Avery G. Wilks: 803-771-8362, @averygwilks
This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 3:27 PM.