PPP L ANS INHEIGHTS, RIVER OAKS &MONTROSE STAYINGAFLOAT DURING COVID 19:
Total saved jobs 77,541 Businesses helped 6,766 Nonpro ts helped 169
The Payroll Protection Program, implemented in April and extended through Aug. 8, has prevented thousands of layo s and business closures in the area.
SOURCE: SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
LOANS BY ZIP CODE
LOANS BY SIZE
JOBS RETAINED BY INDUSTRY
Total loans
Number of jobs saved
Professional, scienti c, and technical services
$5M-10M
Notable Recipients: Laurenzo's
14,717
10 loans
77008
Management Company, LLC
Accommodation and food services
1,347 13,660
$2M-5M
12,972
610
48 loans
45
Health care/social assistance
7,994
Notable Recipients: The Post Oak Hotel United Way of Greater Houston The Art Institute of Houston LLC St. Luke's United Methodist Church of Houston
$1M-2M
Other services (except public administration)
69 loans
7,115
10
77007
Real estate and rental and leasing
$350,000-1M
1,377
15,086
5,017
371 loans
Construction
77019 710
$150,000-350,000
4,751
648 loans
77006 873
Retail trade Personnel services
Finance/insurance
5,985
77027
3,374
2,747
Under $150,000
4,083
1,278 17,710
8,993
5,789 loans
Manufacturing
Wholesale trade Information services
2,643
2,112
1,839
59
N
77046 233
77098
1,117 12,414
the bank received thousands of loan applications between April through Aug. 8, when applications closed. Frost secured loans for more than 400 organizations in the Heights, Montrose and River Oaks area, according to SBA data. A critical facet of the PPP loan pro- gram is that they are eligible to be com- pletely forgiven, meaning businesses are not on the hook to pay themback if the money is spent on mortgage, utili- ties, rent and at least 60% to pay sta . Jucker said two smaller locations of Three Brothers received loans of around $30,000, while the larger loca- tion inBraeswood got a littlemore than $250,000. She said businesses were initially given eight weeks to spend the money, but that was extended to 24 weeks at the end of July. “That’s going to make it easier [to have the loans forgiven] because now we can just do payroll over that time,” Jucker said. Frost recently launched a team tasked with helping business owners navigate the application process to have their loans forgiven, Leone said. “So many people are ready to get that forgiveness taken care of,” Leone said. “I think there is going to a large wave of people who, once it’s o cially turned on, are going to be anxious to get in there.” Thewaitinggame Jarrett is among the business owners
waiting for action on the next federal stimulus package from the U.S. Con- gress. She said she has been advocating her local representatives to approve an additional round of PPP in addition to ensuring those who got loans are not required to pay taxes on them. “I think over time the fabric of our communities is going to start to change and you’ll see more and more of these small businesses close,” she said. “This pandemic is a ecting everyone. Some of us are just taking on water faster than others.” Ann Robinson, executive director of the Montrose Center, a nonpro t o er- ing resources to the LGBT commu- nity, said the PPP loan they received covered at least 40% of the salary and bene ts of 30 employees from April through July. In a potential second round of funding, she said she would like to see a more thoughtful approach for how money is distributed to pre- vent abuse by larger businesses. “Smaller business and organizations should be prioritized, and they need to be able to use PPP funds for small busi- ness owners’ income as well as their employees,” she said. The SBA’s Economic Injury Disas- ter Loan program continues to accept applications for low-interest loans, which must be paid back in full.
with another injection. “Ours ran out about four weeks ago because we did what we were sup- posed to do with it—we brought people back to work,” said Alli Jarrett, owner of Harold’s in the Heights, in Aug. 12 phone interview. “We de nitely need another round of PPP.” Navigating the crisis Loans given to local businesses saved jobs across a wide swath of industries, including over 14,700 professional and technical workers such as lawyers and accountants, and almost 13,000 restaurant and hotel workers, according to SBA data. Jarrett said her sta fell from around 36 to seven before bringing it back up to 24 with help from the loans. “Just now we’re sending sta home because it’s so quiet today,” she said. “That’s not just one person being a ected by that. It a ects the whole family.” Jucker said the loan helped bridge the gap until revenue picked up, but she said many business owners need more help. “Many people I know, their busi- nesses are not making it,” Jucker said. The vastmajorityof loans inHeights, River Oaks and Montrose area—over 83%—were for under $150,000, but almost 130 rms received $1 million or more. Jessica Leone, assistant vice presi- dent with Texas-based Frost Bank said
3,693
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in revenue,” Jucker said. “I was wor- ried I would have to spend my Hurri- cane cushion, and then here we’d be in Hurricane season and I wouldn’t have that cushion. One thing we pride our- selves on is we pay our team during disasters.” Three Brothers was one of thou- sands of businesses in the Heights- RiverOaks-Montrose area approved for the Paycheck Protection Program, an element of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress in late March. For Jucker, the loan was a lifesaver. “It would have been really hard for us,” she said. “It was really important that we paid our team, and this is what enabled us to do that. It also gave us that breathing room to try to open up new revenue streams and get stable again.” Over 6,900 loans were given to businesses and organizations across the Heights-River Oaks-Montrose area. Data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration from April through August shows that loans helped save close to 78,000 jobs over that time. Although the loans allowed business owners to make crucial rent payments and keep workers, others said they are now hoping for Congress to come up
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2020
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