Pasco EDC urges small businesses to apply for $50M in bridge loans

Pasco County’s Economic Development Council is advising small business owners to seek help from a $50 million state loan program as they begin to rebuild or address damage from Hurricane Milton.

While it’s Pasco’ EDC that made the announcement, the funding and survey are available to companies in affected counties across the state. That includes Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota.

The money is coming from the Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program which is being administered through the Florida Department of Commerce.

The short-term, zero-interest loans are for small businesses that experienced economic injury or physical damage due to Milton, FloridaCommerce, as the department is known, says.

Applicants have until Dec. 4 to apply or until the money is exhausted.

Small businesses can apply for loans of up to $50,000 but those in agriculture and aquaculture can apply for up to $100,000 and those with citrus and cattle operations can ask for up to $150,000.

“Loans approved through the Emergency Bridge Loan Program are intended to ‘bridge the gap’ between the time a disaster impacts a business and when a business has secured longer-term recovery funding, such as federally or commercially available loans, insurance claims, or other resources,” FloridaCommerce says.

Pasco’s EDC is also urging businesses to participate in a local and state surveys to report damage from the storm. These surveys “will allow the local, state, and federal organizations to expedite recovery efforts by gathering data and assessing the needs of affected businesses.”

To apply for a bridge loan, visit floridacommerce.my.site.com/RebuildFloridaBusinessLoanFund/s/