Mayor Sarno states, “I am proud that my administration continues to commit our local allocation of federal ARPA funding to new and small businesses, and nonprofits that have been adversely impacted from the COVID-19 pandemic. This 13th round of ARPA awards will not only provide much-needed relief and assistance but will also help these establishments survive and thrive which will in-turn help enhance and boost our local economy and provide much-needed services to our community. Small businesses are the economic backbone of our neighborhoods and my administration remains committed to supporting their efforts and their full economic recovery.”
Those new and small businesses, and nonprofits awarded are:
Business Name | Amount Awarded | Designation |
Allston Supply | $75,000 | Small Business Located within Qualified Census Track (QCT) Memorial Square |
Baked Beauty Bar | $35,000 | Small Business Minority and Woman Owned |
CMJ Paving & Landscaping | $75,000 | Small Business Minority Owned |
Dino’s Auto Repair | $15,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Ethics LLC | $25,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Grez Automotive | $10,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
LaFritura Restaurant | $50,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Maggie’s Pizzeria | $15,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Nolan Wells, Inc. | $20,000 | Small Business Sixteen Acres |
P2B Springfield, LLC | $40,000 | Small Business Woman Owned Located within QCT |
SnapChef | $100,000 | Small Business Located within QCT |
Youth on the Move | $110,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Arrow Medical Transportation | $85,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Hanna’s Diner & Deli Shoppe | $30,000 | Small Business Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Martie’s Floating Event Planning, LLC | $20,000 | Small Business Minority Owned Forest Park |
Weemans Custom Vinyl | $20,800 | Small Business Located within QCT |
Note: New business funding was capped at $40,000 and businesses receiving the maximum award had to have be open.
Business Name | Amount Awarded | Designation |
A.P.E. Wellness, LLC | $25,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Afghan Hala Market of Western Mass | $15,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Blyther’s Transportation and Delivery Service, LLC | $30,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Bori Chino | $20,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Break Time Springfield | $15,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Bridge2Homecare, LLC | $40,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
BuildEmUp Fitness | $40,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Cana Café Bar and Restaurant | $20,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Car Connect Auto Sales | $20,000 | New Business Minority Owned Pine Point |
CCR Freight Logistics, LLC | $40,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Coalition of Experienced Black Educators | $40,000 | New Business Minority Owned Sixteen Acres |
D’s Dishes | $20,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Liberty Heights |
Ebesnezer Daycare | $20,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
First Generation Wealth Builders Association | $40,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Fly-Ty, LLC | $15,000 | New Business Minority Owned East Forest Park |
Frederick William Music | $20,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Higher Expectations | $30,000 | New Business Minority Owned East Springfield |
Kwik Fix Automotive | $20,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
L & M Hospitality Group d/b/a All American Sports Bar Grill and Patio | $40,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
L’Amour Restaurant | $35,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Latino Marketing Agency | $40,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Forest Park |
Marlee’s Bar and Grill | $20,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Napoli Pizzeria and Restaurant | $20,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Pine Point |
Natural Living Landscapes | $17,656 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Osteria by Berman’s Food | $20,000 | New Business Located within QCT |
PH 650, LLC | $30,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Redd’s Flowers and More d/b/a Knots, LLC | $20,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Renown Comfort Homecare | $15,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Forest Park |
Replenish Biofuels | $20,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Rose Entertainment | $15,000 | New Business Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Springfield 413 Elite | $40,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
The Artist Café | $40,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
The Movement Lab | $40,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Sixteen Acres |
The Urban Food Brood | $25,000 | New Business Located within QCT |
Uni Vib3s Wellness Space | $15,000 | New Business Minority and Woman Owned Located within QCT |
Zo Lit Lifestyle | $20,000 | New Business Minority Owned Located within QCT |
Nonprofit Name | Amount Awarded | Designation |
Macedonia Church | $225,000 | Nonprofit Religious / Social Service organization – Funding for Senior Health and Wellness Program and food security programing Sixteen Acres |
The New Life Center for Recovery | $100,000 | Nonprofit Funding to support substance abuse and mental health programming Located within QCT Indian Orchard |
Regreen Springfield | $50,000 | Nonprofit Funding to support sustainability and environmental protection programming Located within QCT McKnight |
Progressive Community Baptist Church | $99,000 | Nonprofit Religious and Social Service organization – Funding for programming and events Located within QCT McKnight |
Third Baptist Church | $18,041 | Nonprofit Social service organization – Funding to support Food Bank and Youth Development Program Located within QCT Old Hill |
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In addition, Mayor Sarno is creating the Springfield Higher Education ARPA Fund for Springfield students. A total of $750,000 of ARPA funding will be designated to achieve the long-term economic, educational and cultural benefits associated with higher education, for Springfield residents, through the implementation of enhanced student engagement and retention by the three Springfield based higher education institutions, American International College, Springfield College and Western New England University, or in direct partnership with the Cooperating Colleges of Greater Springfield. Such student engagement will be prioritized for students in the fields of criminal justice, nursing/healthcare and education and those fields of study deemed essential in times of natural disasters. The funding will also be used in developing programs that engage students at the graduate degree level in addressing the ongoing challenges regarding community mental health and healthcare. This fund will be administered by the Development Services Division, which will also be applying for additional state and federal funding to support this pilot initiative.
Mayor Sarno states, “Working in collaboration with our local Springfield colleges and universities, Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan and his department will administer this new Springfield Higher Education ARPA Fund initiative for our Springfield students that may find it financially challenging to pursue or continue with their higher education, especially in the fields of criminal justice, nursing, mental health, healthcare, and education. This first of its kind initiative will provide our Springfield students a financial program to help them achieve their education goals which in turn will help add to our workforce and boost our local economy.”
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Mayor Sarno also provided an update on Direct Assistance for Springfield households. With Public Partnership, LLC (PPL) acting as the third party reviewing the eligibility and awarding process of pending ARPA Direct Household Assistance. To date, over 5,000 applications have now been reviewed and approved with a total of over $7 million being directly awarded to Springfield residents/households. Pending applications continue to be reviewed for eligibility.
“I am proud to say that PPL, which is acting as our third party to review all pending direct assistance for households, is thoroughly reviewing all of the over 19,000 applications that have been submitted to guard against potential fraud. Our review process has flagged 1,158 duplicate requests. They continue to help expedite the reviewing process and in just a short amount of time since they were tapped to help review this process back in May, they have already approved over 2,000 applications which translates to over $2.8 million awarded to our residents and households,” said Mayor Sarno. “Again, I want to thank everyone for their continued patience and understanding as we continue to review all pending applications carefully to guard against any potential fraud and non-eligible applications that would take funding away from our Springfield residents, businesses and nonprofits.”
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To date, the city has committed $115.8 million of the original $123.8 million of local ARPA funding through a comprehensive and all-encompassing process that started with Mayor Sarno and city officials meeting with over 40 neighborhood councils and other organizations as part of a citywide listening tour session to hear directly from our residents, business community and nonprofits on how best to utilized Springfield’s allocation of ARPA funding to enhance projects, programs and initiatives across the city for the betterment of our residents and businesses, especially those adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These seven categories included: Nonprofit Assistance, New Business Assistance, Small Business Assistance, Senior Citizen Assistance, Neighborhood/Household Assistance, Capital Projects/Public Space Improvements, and Job Creation/Economic Development.
Mayor Sarno added, “As we are approaching the month of August, it is important to note that the city of Springfield remains on target to meet all of the federal requirements to have all ARPA funding committed by 2024 and allocated by 2026. I am proud of my administration’s efforts in getting this funding out into our community through a wide variety of all-encompassing and comprehensive programs and initiatives. As we come to the end of our ARPA funding, we will now look to advance our city projects which will be for the benefit of all in our city.”
