Tuscaloosa city officials will soon be taking applications for loans of up to $20,000 aimed at helping businesses rebuild in the city's tornado recovery zone.
The Tuscaloosa News reports (http://bit.ly/15TZchw) the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs recently gave the city approval to use $500,000 for the loans. Businesses meeting certain terms will have their loans revert to grants, meaning the money won't have to be repaid.
Deidre Stalnaker, Tuscaloosa's communications director, says city officials have seen high interest in loan programs and are trying to make more money available. The city will start taking loan applications Thursday.
The program is funded by $55 million in federal dollars awarded to Alabama in January 2012 to help with recovery from the devastating tornadoes that struck the state in 2011.
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Information from: The Tuscaloosa News, http://www.tuscaloosanews.com
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.