Business Start-Up Program - CLOSED TO NEW APPLICANTS
In 2021, the Town of Winchester received federal grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act, $100,000 of which the Board of Selectmen has allocated to creating this Business Start-Up Program.
The Business Start-Up Program dispensed forgivable loans totaling anywhere between $500 - $10,000 to applicants that met required criteria for the purposes of helping a new business to open within Winchester/Winsted. Loan forgiveness is attainable for any loan recipient that meets a set of minimum criteria.
Facade Improvement Program - CLOSED TO NEW APPLICANTS
In 2020, the Town of Winchester received a grant from Charlotte Hungerford Hospital/Hartford Healthcare's “Building Healthier Communities” program. As a part of that grant, the Town received a sum of money totalling $150,000 specifically to be used “to help improve the commercial building stock that will help attract more business growth” in town, which has led to the creation of the Facade Improvement Program.
The Facade Improvement Program dispensed forgivable loans totaling anywhere between $500 - $20,000 to applicants that meet all the required criteria for the purposes of (1) improving a significantly visible part of the interior or exterior of a commercial or industrial building for the betterment of the business located within and the community; (2) making improvements that will help to expand or enhance the service offerings that said business provides; and/or (3) making a vacant building more suitable for commercial or industrial use. Loan forgiveness is attainable for any loan recipient that meets a set of minimum criteria.
Click here to watch the Zoom information session held at 4:00 PM on January 14th about these programs (note: if the video won't play in the Google Folder, it may need to be downloaded to your desktop).
