PURPOSE
The initial funding shall be $2.5 Million in 2017 general obligation bond funds from Proposition I. Additional funds, including general funds, may be added at the sole discretion of the City Council. Council finds that the Fund satisfies the purpose of Proposition I, which authorized bonds for “the purpose of providing funds for promoting economic development throughout the city” and “through the city’s programs for economic development and housing including [… ] making grants of bond proceeds and otherwise providing assistance for private commercial, industrial, retail, residential and mixed-use development, neighborhood revitalization projects, and mixed-income development.”
BUSINESS GROWTH
Eligible Participants:
To receive Grant Funds, a recipient must be: (1) a business officially registered with the Texas Secretary of State and operate as a legal for-profit business (“Eligible Business”); (2) classified as a small business under the size standards of the U.S. Small Business Administration; (3) physically located and operate in southern Dallas (as depicted in the program map attached as Exhibit A); and (4) demonstrate a need for assistance.
Grant Funds shall not be awarded to a business that requires a sexually oriented business license under Chapter 41A of the Dallas City Code, or a liquor store, a pawn shop, a body piercing studio, or a tattoo studio as those terms are defined by the Dallas Development Code.
Grant Funds shall not be awarded to a business that has outstanding city liens or tax liens, that is party to a lawsuit against the City, that has filed for bankruptcy in the previous 5 years, that is currently in default under any other agreement with the City, or that has, in the previous 5 years, been party to a contract with the City that was terminated due to default. All expenditures for services will be subject to state and local procurement laws.
Eligible Expenses:
An Eligible Business that receives Grant Funds must use it to for eligible capital expenditures (as defined for tax purposes) that: (1) stimulate business and commercial activity; (2) attracts/retains employees in southern Dallas; and/or (3) increases taxable personal or real property in southern Dallas (“Eligible Capital Expenditures”). Eligible capital expenditures include the costs of acquiring or producing any permanent structural alteration or other assets added to tangible real or personal property that improves it substantially, thereby increasing its overall property value to suit new needs and extending its useful life. A proposed expenditure must also be for a permitted use as it pertains to the property under the Dallas Development Code.
Examples of eligible capital expenditures include:
- permanent structural alteration to a building
- exterior and interior construction to a building
Post-Award Requirements:
Grant Funds recipients must document code compliance and maintenance of improvements for a period of five years following receipt of the grant.
