Nine Businesses Receive Loans From City

Since March 2018, nine businesses have been approved for loans totaling nearly $1 million by the Louisville Metro Departments of Economic Development and Resilience and Community Services. The loans will leverage a total investment of more than $9 million and will assist the businesses to open, expand services or rehabilitate properties.

METCO business loans, administered through Department of Economic Development, have been awarded to the following businesses:

• $600,000 Go Green loan has been approved for Steve Smith on behalf of Two Stone Inc., the holding company for Stoneware & Co., for properties located at 711 and 731 Brent Street in the Paristown neighborhood. The loan will allow Smith to go green by replacing the current HVAC units and windows with new energy efficient systems and windows. This project is part of the $28 million Paristown development that will feature a total renovation and expansion of iconic Louisville Stoneware & Co., which traces its roots back to 1815. The project also will be home to a new $12 million satellite location of The Kentucky Center for the Arts, which will be the anchor for the neighborhood development.

• $108,270 façade loan has been approved for MMCS Properties, LLC for the property located at 1003 Logan Street. The loan will allow the owners Mike and Medora Safai to install windows, cedar siding and specialty barn doors to the exterior of the existing warehouse in the Shelby Park neighborhood. Once complete, the warehouse will be transformed into a public market featuring locally-grown vegetables, fruits and dairy, a micro-brewery, and event space.

• $184,000 gap loan and $16,000 accessibility loan were approved for LOP Properties, the property holding company for the facilities leased and inhabited by the Ladies of Promise, for its buildings at 2131 – 2133 W. Market Street in the Russell neighborhood. The gap loan will allow business partners Kristie Eliason and Aileen Wales to renovate the building, and will supply working capital as the Ladies of Promise convert their organization to a Behavioral Health Service Organization (BHSO). The accessibility loan will allow them to bring the building into ADA compliance. Currently, the Ladies of Promise has capacity for fifty women in a safe, clean and sober environment including sleeping, food, clothes storage and shower capacity. Once the renovations and conversion to a BHSO are complete, the facility will add a variety of medical services and will serve food, which they currently do not do.

• $30,000 business loan has been approved for BBHPS, LLC dba Flavour, a restaurant which will operate at 1767 Bardstown Road in the heart of the Highlands neighborhood. The loan will allow the partner group (Doug Bibby, Eliott Horne, Clarence Benboe and William Pennington) to finance upfront costs of new signage, purchase additional equipment and electronics and supply working capital for the first three months. The restaurant opened in May and features ethnic cuisines and cocktails in an upscale setting.

• In addition, the METCO Board approved amending the Business Accelerator Loan which is available for small business owners in the nine neighborhoods of west Louisville (Algonquin, California, Chickasaw, Park DuValle, Park Hill, Parkland, Portland, Russell, Shawnee). Changes include:
  • Extending the repayment period to seven years instead of five years
  • Lowering the interest rate to 8% from 12%
  • Adding six hours of requisite training to be completed through courses offered through Louisville Free Public Library’s Lynda.com

Microbusiness Development Program loans, administered through the Office of Resilience and Community Services, have been awarded to the following businesses:

• $5,000 loan to Baskets & More, located in downtown at 609 W. Main Street, to assist owner Kimberly Starks with rent, insurance and supplies.

• $7,500 loan to Manslick Learning Academy, LLC to assist owner Aquanette Knox with equipment, supplies, rent and insurance. Knox is a certified Child Development Associate who located her business at 4441 Manslick Road.

• $15,000 loan to People Power Personal Training, LLC to assist owner Angela Carter-Lanon with rent, insurance and supplies. Located at 909 Barret Avenue, People Power Personal Training offers individual and group wellness and health training. Carter-Lanon is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach who has a Master’s of Science Degree in Exercise Physiology and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, both from the University of Louisville.

• $15,000 loan to The Kentucky TACO Company to assist owners Carl Steve Higdon and Charles Leon Neal with rent, business insurance and inventory supplies. This expansion will include delivery and store front service. They will be located at 502 Warnock Street.

• $15,000 loan to Tristaca Loves Cooking, LLC to assist owner Tristaca Brown with new equipment, insurance and food supplies. The loan will assist Brown in catering as well as working to expand the food truck business.