SLDC resumes funding for ARPA grants awarded to north St. Louis businesses

The St. Louis Development Corporation board of directors voted Thursday to approve the disbursement of $1.09 million in operational expansion grants to 25 businesses in north St. Louis.

It comes after the grant program came under intense scrutiny for dedicating funding to businesses that may not be located in north city or were in buildings that were boarded up.

“Now we are moving forward with dispersing the first set of grants, moving them from conditional awards to approve funded award amounts,” said SLDC CEO and board Chairman Neal Richardson. “We feel confident that these businesses not only have an existence in north St. Louis City, but also are in good standing with the city to date.”

The awards range from $25,000 to $100,000 and depend on how many full-time employees a business applicant has. The money will pay for operational costs, and awardees have to report to SLDC how they will use the funding.

SLDC’s vice president of programmatic compliance, Lorna Alexander, said the organization continues to check that awardees deserve funding.

“Because the program was so long in the making and the businesses had been waiting for so long, we posted the conditional awards with the understanding that you will not be awarded the funds until we can finish the vetting of your business that is viable,” she said.

Part of those checks include ensuring that an awarded business is up to date on with its business license and tax payments, Alexander said.