The U.S. Small Business Administration announced the opening of two new disaster-assistance centers in central and northern Rhode Island beginning Tuesday (Feb. 7) in addition to a center it opened Jan. 27 in Providence. The SBA disaster-assistance team is in Rhode Island to help business owners, homeowners, renters and nonprofits affected by the floods that occurred last October.
SBA members are available to answer questions and assist in the completion of application forms at the SBA Rhode Island district office at 380 Westminster St., Providence; Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, 3280 Post Road, Warwick; and the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, 6 Blackstone Valley Place, Suite 301, Lincoln.
In Providence, the center is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until further notice. The other two centers are open Thursday, Feb. 9, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Feb. 14 and 16 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The centers’ schedule will remain in effect until further notice.
The SBA recently declared Providence and Kent counties and the contiguous counties of Bristol and Washington as disaster areas. Low-interest loans are available to cover physical damage and/or economic injury not covered by insurance as a result of the floods. Interest rates are 4 percent for businesses and nonprofits with terms up to 30 years.
Loans to businesses of all sizes and nonprofits are available up to $1.5 million to repair damage to real estate, machinery, equipment and inventory.
The deadline for physical damage applications is March 27; the deadline for economic injury applications is Oct. 26.
For more information, call 401-528-4561.
