Government Approves Disaster Loans For Hennepin County

The May 22 tornado damaged many homes and business in the metro area, including in Golden Valley.

Now people and businesses that were affected can apply for low-interest loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

On July 1, Gov. Mark Dayton requested the assistance. Karen G. Mills, SBA administrator, announced today that the loans will be available.

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

“Businesses and nonprofit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets,” said Nancy Liberski, SBA’s Minnesota district director.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) also are available, even if the business wasn't damaged.

A disaster outreach center will open at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Lucy Laney School, 3333 Penn Avenue N., Minneapolis. It will close July 19. The hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., except for July 16, when the center will be open from 9 a.m. to noon.

If you cannot go to the outreach center, you can:

• Call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities), from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday
• Send an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be returned to the Center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
• Or apply on SBA’s Website

The filing deadline for personal property applications is Sept. 6, and the deadline for economy injury applications is April 9, 2012.