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wbjournal.com | September 5, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 29 A MAJOR ANNIVERSARY... A NEW BUILDING... A MAJOR COMPANY MILESTONE Can we create a CUSTOM magazine for you? Call WBJ Custom Corporate Project Director Christine Juetten at 508-755-8004 ext. 270. Worcester Business Journal WBJ Custom Publishing Division Building on the past; creating the future An advertising supplement to the Worcester Business Journal Harding Green N E W I N V E S T M E N T I N W O R C E S T E R ' S C A N A L D I S T R I C T fying the application as much as we can, figuring out what is the minimum that is required," she said. MSBA has itself been able to offer low-interest microloans of up to $5,000 to five of its members through a grant it received through its fiscal sponsor, the Main South Community Development Corp. "e Main South Business Associa- tion has made huge strides in raising the profile of the neighborhood," said Casey Starr, director of community initiatives at the Main South CDC. In addition to helping the business association get access to funds through fiscal sponsorship, the CDC offers office space where the MSBA can hold meet- ings, and allow members to hold meet- ings with vendors or officials in an office setting rather than in a barber shop, store, or at the counter of a restaurant. e space enables the business association to hold training sessions for members, in record keeping for taxes, QuickBooks soware, marketing tech- niques, payroll documents, corporation procedures, and technology, such as point-of-sale systems. Raising Main South's profile Another problem is that few of the businesses own the buildings where they are located, meaning that they either rely on the landlord to make improvements to a property or must invest their own money into a property for which they are paying rent and don't benefit from equity. e business association is connect- ing members with the Main South CDC, for the CDC's office condo project at 807-815 Main St. e project will offer seven units that will be rent-to-own, allowing local busi- nesses to own the storefront that their businesses occupy. e business association members can pool their resources to help with marketing and making people aware of the businesses in the neighborhood. Velez said MSBA is planning an ad buy at the Polar Park baseball stadium in Worcester. is is something the in- dividual businesses might not be able to afford on their own, but as a group they can try to get baseball fans to come to the neighborhood, which begins only a block from the stadium. People need to be more aware of what Main South has to offer, said Alex Guardiola, vice president of government affairs and public policy at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. He believes that once people who aren't familiar with Main South go to the neighborhood to try the many restaurants and check out the shops, they will be sold. "e Main South corridor has some of the best food in the city," said Guardi- ola to WBJ in a phone interview. MSBA holds events in the spirit of community to benefit the people of the Main South neighborhood. On Aug. 15th, MSBA held its Back to School Fiesta, offering music and art for kids, a domino competition, free food and haircuts, and a backpack giveaway. MSBA gave out 150 backpacks, but Velez said 500 could have been given out if more resources were available. e organization will hold a anks- giving event, giving food to people in need, and a toy drive in the winter. It raised $1,000 this year for the Jacob Hiatt Magnet School on Main Street in the neighborhood. Velez admires the unity of the Shrewsbury Street Merchants Associa- tion and hopes the success of the Main South Business Association will inspire businesses in other neighborhoods to band together in the same way. "ere are about 900 businesses in Main South," she said. "I would like the business association to have 700 members." W D I V E R S I T Y & I N C L U S I O N F O C U S t h e c o l l e g e o f t h e h o ly c r o s s c o n g r at u l at e s Nicholas Lazzaro '23 a n d a l l o f t o n i g h t ' s w b j 4 0 u n d e r 4 0 h o n o r e e s . Alex Guardiola, vice president of Worces- ter Regional Cham- ber of Commerce Main South SBA loans The U.S. Small Business Administration issued loans to businesses in the Main South neighborhood at a fraction of what the whole City of Worcester received. Source U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) Loans FY 2020-22 3 47 504 Loans FY 2020-22 1 17 PPP > $150K 26 551 Type of Main All of loan South Worcester