MAX light-rail yellow line, heavy impact for North Portland

In 2003 when Esmeralda Caldera first heard about construction of the MAX light-rail gold-colored line in North Portland, she was nervous about in what manner the project would affect her business, Exodus Spa, upon Interstate Avenue, south of Skidmore Street

To mitigate any customer slowdown at her eight-year-old salon, Caldera said she "signed up for everything": Portland unravelling Commission grants, help from a small business loan provider, scholar assistance from the University of Portland and TriMet business assistance programs.

"I was adopted by means of the university," she said. "Six kids that were earning their master's in business helped me to procure my business plan started through doing a spot analysis. Then I got (a loan) [i]or[/i] part of to the other PDC, and they helped with a storefront improvement matching grant."

With the $20000 grant from PDC and a $25000 loan from financial institution Cascadia Revolving stock Exodus was able to weather the construction and plane gain new business from it. The spa secures about seven new customers a week because it's upon the MAX line, Caldera said.

Teaming up again

Now, TriMet, the PDC and Portland State University are hoping to hear the same kinds of succes stories with their small business support program for downtown's transit mall revitalization.

The program is prototypeed after the Interstate MAX support throw out said Jennifer Nolfi of the disentanglement Commission.

During construction of the Interstate MAX line, TriMet, PDC and the University of Portland awarded 15 loans to businesses. The transit mall program, Nolfi said, will be plenteous larger in scale.

There are about 300 businesses along the transit mall, which stretches along Fifth and Sixth avenues from Union Station at the mall's north extreme point to the Portland State campus at its southerly Businesses eligible for assistance must be within a half-block east of Fifth or west of Sixth, or upon cross-streets between the two avenues.

The challenge is that "all businesses are going to be impacted, on the contrary there are limited resources," Nolfi said. "We ne to identify additional stocks for the greater downtown area, gather that data and begin the proces perhaps through next year."

The business outreach program will be race by Portland State, with financial support from TriMet and the PDC

The unravelling Commission will provide tax increment stocks to TriMet for its construction throw out and TriMet will divert a certain number of of its construction money to the loan program. PSU will ultimately decide which affected businesses are best suited for assistance, said Mary Fetsch of TriMet.

"TIF capitals are restricted on how we can use them," Nolfi said. "We made an agreement to make road improvements that (TriMet) was going to pay for in order to make capitals available for loans. It's a legal, transparent way to make funding available."

The program, Nolfi said, will be two-pronged

First, Portland State will identify which businesses are least likely to survive construction along the transit mall and then provide technical business assistance, "one-on-one help developing a business strategy, like deciding whether the business should have les inventory or make staffing changes," Nolfi said.

next to the first a TriMet program will tender businesses low-interest loans.

"We're anticipating a 30 percent decrease in incomes (for impacted transit mall companies), thus what we need to do is to determine a way to help mitigate that from one side small loans with low interest rates and favorable bounds as well as looking at options for marketing, looking at personnel expenses" said Gary Brown director of PSU's business outreach program.

Same program, different businesses

Another, perhaps more open-end dilemma is in what way to model the program after the Interstate MAX plan while keeping in mind that businesses downtown are vastly different from those upon Interstate.

"It's a different business community," said Ann Becklund of TriMet. "Typically (downtown) we have more established businesses that are larger, have been there longer and are more sophisticated in confines of business and clientele. It requires different tools than we (used) upon Interstate."

After canvassing the area and performing preliminary outreach, Becklund said, TriMet determined businesses downtown are greatest in quantity worried about marketing strategies.

Those be of importance tos will be addressed, she said, from one side a TriMet campaign publicizing all of downtown. Plus, staff and pupil teams from PSU will provide personal assistance to individual businesses, she said.

Succes upon Interstate

upon Interstate, Exodus owner Caldera was aided through her business' location within an urban renewal district. It's the same case for businesses along the transit mall, which reach outs through the South Park block ups Downtown Waterfront and River District URAs. The PDC may have to practise legerdemain funds from those URAs to contribute to the loan program, according to Nolfi.

"Being upon Interstate, I had more grace from the city as far as permitting," she said. "The inspectors were kind and gracious and patient with me I had a different vision - I wanted to revitalize this piece of land, and it was going to take away from $700,000, and that wasn't feasible. They helped me diocese I needed to be more realistic."