METCO Board Approves Nine Loans Totaling About $1.5 Million

Seven businesses have been approved for nine loans totaling about $1.5 million by the Department of Economic Development’s Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO), including the city’s first ever Business Accelerator loan approved to a new business locating in the Russell neighborhood. The loans will leverage a total investment of $8.71 million and will assist the companies to open, to expand services or to revitalize properties.

METCO loans have been awarded to the following businesses:

• $883,000 EPA Brownfields loan was approved for 601 East, LLC for its property at 601 East Jefferson Street in the NuLu neighborhood. The loan will go toward remediating environmental issues at the property formerly known as the Louisville Chemical building, which was a manufacturer of pesticides. This 16,000 square-foot historic building, built in 1890, is located in a designated local “eco-district.” The overall project seeks to revitalize the building into a mixed-use, historic adaptive re-use site.
• $121,800 façade loan has been approved for Utcherbay Owntay, LLC for its property at 1301 Story Avenue. The loan will allow owner—Andy Blieden—to rehabilitate the exterior of the building and provide handicap accessibility to the building, which currently is home to the newly-opened Butchertown Pizza Hall.
• Two loans were approved for Butcherblock Properties, LLC for its property located at 1025 East Main Street in the Butchertown neighborhood. The loans will allow owner—Andy Blieden—to rehab the building’s façade and to make accessibility improvements. Loans include a $65,200 facade loan and a $14,500 accessibility loan.
• Two loans were approved for Six Pack Volleyball for its property at 4026 S. 3rd Street in south Louisville. The building is home to the old Bernie’s, a popular venue for outdoor volleyball for 20 years that closed last year. Kari Guy and Rachel Dryer purchased the building in July 2017 and the loans will assist Guy and Dryer with their plan to rehab the facility with outdoor and indoor courts for year-round play. The existing building will have two tenants, one with a bar/restaurant and another with an office space and child care center, both to serve volleyball players. Loans include a $100,000 facade loan and $50,000 gap loan.
• $200,000 gap financing loan was approved for Sneak Properties, a property holding company for Isopure Corp., designer and manufacturer of water purification systems that are used in kidney dialysis centers and hospitals worldwide. This loan will assist Isopure Corp. complete the buildout of their facility at 11851 Plantside Drive.
• $50,000 façade loan was approved for Parkside Bikes LLC for its property at 822 E Market Street in the NuLu neighborhood. This façade loan will allow owners Ben Botkins and Jeffrey Myers to rehab the façade of this building that they purchased in December 2016.
• The city’s first-ever Business Accelerator Loan has been approved for Legacy Construction USA LLC, a new company seeking to start its operations in the roof repair industry. The company is located at 2306 West Market Street in the Russell neighborhood. The $50,000 loan will fund initial start-up operations, which consist of purchasing roofing materials, operational and administrative costs, general working capital and hiring sales staff to create a local and national pipeline of customers.

The Business Accelerator Loan is a new loan program available for entrepreneurs or small business owners who want to open or grow a businesses located in one of the nine neighborhoods of west Louisville  (Algonquin, California, Chickasaw, Park DuValle, Park Hill, Parkland, Portland, Russell, Shawnee).

The Business Accelerator Loan is a new loan program available for small business owners with businesses located in the nine neighborhoods of west Louisville  (Algonquin, California, Chickasaw, Park DuValle, Park Hill, Parkland, Portland, Russell, Shawnee).

Click here to learn more about the Business Accelerator Loan program.

The Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO) governs metro government’s small business loans, which include facade, accessibility and gap financing loans. Because metro government is not the primary lender, the loan program allows many public-private partnerships between government and private business ventures that further the vitality and quality of life in the Louisville community.

The METCO board meets the fourth Thursday of each month. Meetings are at 9:00 a.m., at the offices of Louisville Forward, located at 444 S. 5th Street, 6th floor. Remaining meetings for 2017 are scheduled for September 28, October 26 and December 14.

Click here to learn more about the METCO loan program.