The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded a $100,000 grant to the city of Trenton to create a revolving loan fund to encourage local businesses to invest in their property, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced Tuesday.
The grant will be used for the Trenton Development Program. Money will be used to offer low-interest loans for qualified applicants in order to encourage local businesses to invest in their property.
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“This federal investment in Trenton will not only support community services, but will also lead to more jobs and economic growth,” Brown said. “Good things are happening in Butler County, and this program is evidence of that.”
Trenton Economic Development Director Jim Foster said the city’s community improvement corporation will offer the low-interest loans for redevelopment and development.
“We’re in the process of finishing up our guidelines for (the program), and those guidelines will be the kinds of things the loans can be used for, what we expect from the recipient of the loan, all of those kinds of things,” he said.
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Foster said he’s also working to develop the application guidelines, which will ask potential applicants what the money would be used for, their employment level projections, and the potential community benefit.
There are about 100 businesses in Trenton, and Foster said he isn’t sure how many will take advantage of the low-interest loans when they become available.
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