Please see the complete guidelines and eligibility requirements at: stpaul.gov/COVID19-Grants. All application questions must be answered, unless otherwise stated, and all required documentation must be attached before your application is considered complete. Completed applications must be submitted through ZoomGrants.com by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

To be eligible for the Live Music Venue/Movie Theater grant, businesses must:

• Be a for-profit business, with a venue located within Saint Paul city limits with a maximum fire capacity of 3,000, and open to the General Public.
• Be currently operating or able to open for operation if circumstances allowed (i.e. still control the physical space).
• Have opened prior to December 1, 2019.
• Possess a license with the City of Saint Paul for one of the following: Entertainment (A) or (B) licenses, Theater and Movie Theater licenses, and Liquor On-Sale - Theater licenses. For a business with an Entertainment (A) or (B) License (live music venue) the following additional criteria will apply:
  
  • Pre-COVID, live music was presented by performers an average of three times per week. Frequency of events will be measured based on 2019 calendar of events or comparable pre-COVID consecutive period if not open for all of 2019.
  • The venue has and can show evidence that they have permanent live music infrastructure in place that includes a raised stage and a sound system for performances.
• Experienced business interruption due to COVID-19 related business closures or were affected by decreased customer demand as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, resulting in a loss of revenue for the business.
• Detail how the business operations have been impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• Detail how the business would plan to use a $25,000 grant to cover eligible costs.
• Indicate if the business received a $7,500 grant from the Saint Paul Bridge Fund for Small Businesses and detail any amounts of CARES Act funding that has previously been received by the business, including Ramsey County’s Small Business Relief Fund. The business will also be required to attest that they HAVE NOT utilized any of the above funding to cover the same expenditures identified for the use of this venue support grant.

To be eligible for the Food Hall grant, the Food Hall must:

• Meet the definition of a "Food Hall", a commercial space open to the general public, further defined as follows for the purposes of this program: 
  
  • Have a street-level presence where the space can be directly accessed from the street (i.e. skyway food courts would not be eligible).
  • Have a tenant mix that includes restaurants and other food-oriented retail businesses under one roof, with the primary access to the businesses from interior common (shared) space.
  • Have a minimum of four food-oriented businesses, with at least one serving prepared food able and/or likely to be consumed on premises (such as a restaurant or coffee shop), and at least one serving food meant to be prepared elsewhere (such as a butcher shop or specialty grocer).
  • Have at least 60% of their tenants be food-oriented businesses.
• Have opened prior to December 1, 2019.
• Be currently operating or able to open for operation if circumstances allowed (i.e. still control the physical space).
• Experienced business interruption due to COVID-19 related business closures or were affected by decreased customer demand as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. 
• Be able to demonstrate lost rental income during the period March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020.
• Detail how it would use a grant to cover eligible qualifying costs.
• Indicate if the business received a $7,500 grant from the Saint Paul Bridge Fund for Small Businesses and detail any amounts of CARES Act funding that has previously been received by the business, including Ramsey County’s Small Business Relief Fund. The business will also be required to attest that they HAVE NOT utilized any of the above amounts to cover the same expenditures identified for the use of this food hall support grant.

Eligible Uses of Grant Funds

The following expenses incurred between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020 are eligible:

• rent or mortgage payments
• limited utilities (gas, electricity, telephone, business internet/cable, recycling, and security systems) already paid
• payroll
• earned sick and safe time relief to employees
• other eligible operating expenses

The following entities are not eligible for this grant program:

• Businesses located outside of Saint Paul city limits
• Properties that received a grant from DEED’s Cultural Mall Operator Grants Program.

Additional Restrictions:

• In no case will grant award exceed the amount of eligible expenses or demonstrated loss of rental income.
• Grant funds may not be used for expenses that have been or will be reimbursed under any federal program, such as the reimbursement by the federal government pursuant to the CARES Act of contributions by States to State unemployment funds.
• If an organization has already received federal CARES Act funding (Ramsey County Small Business Relief, Saint Paul Bridge Fund, SBA Payroll Protection Plan, SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Small Business Relief Grant Program, this C-Star round), they cannot use funds to cover the same eligible expenses. For example, if an SBA PPP loan covered payroll in March and April, the organization’s eligible payroll expenses would be May through September.
• Grant funds may not be used to cover damages and/or expenses covered by insurance.
• Grant funds may not be used to meet tax obligations.
• Grant funds may not be used for unpaid utility fees.
• Grant funds may not be used for capital improvement projects.