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Outcome : Entrepreneurs have multiple pathways for accessing capital for business development.

Strategy ED&CR 1.1: Develop alternative sources of funding for small business financing.

Action Item ED&CR 1.1.1: Develop and implement a microenterprise program that offers training and financing to small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs in Frenchtown.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team,FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 1.1.2: Offer grants, loans and loan guarantees for new and existing small businesses and nonprofit corporations. Offer interest-free loans for neighborhood businesses and nonprofits to reduce debt.

Potential Partners:Frenchtown Community Action Team, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 1.1.3: Develop and implement a locally owned cooperative investment fund.

Potential Partners:Frenchtown Community Action Team, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 1.1.4: Develop partnerships with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s) to facilitate the expansion of business development in the Frenchtown; explore the creation of new CDFI’s to serve Frenchtown.

Potential Partners: CDFIs, Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, FAMU Small Business Development Center

Action Item ED&CR 1.1.5:Establish an Opportunity Zone Fund.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, FAMU Small Business Development Center, City of Tallahassee (CRA)

 

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Outcome: Business development resources, including training, technical assistance, licenses and permits, are easily accessible to Frenchtown residents and business owners.

Strategy ED&CR 2.1: Increase access to entrepreneurship training and small business financing. Support business incubation and development.

Action Item ED&CR 2.1.1: Host workshops in the neighborhood to educate/inform residents about current and available small business development resources, grant writing and financial education.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, Tallahassee Lenders Consortium

Action Item ED&CR 2.1.2: Promote existing business development/assistance resources like the CRA Business Facility grant program and the FAMU Small Business Development Center to neighborhood businesses through targeted outreach and social media posts.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA), FAMU Small Business Development Center

Action Item ED&CR 2.1.3: Partner with Lively Technical College to host neighborhood showcases on training opportunities available at the College.

Potential Partners: Lively Technical College, Leon County School District, Frenchtown Community Action Team

Action Item ED&CR 2.1.4: Host events in the neighborhood to connect neighborhood entrepreneurs with each other, and to provide coaching and other resources.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 2.1.5: Build capacity to offer more resources and services at the Frenchtown Heritage Hub. Promote existing services through social media and news articles.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Neighborhood Improvement Association, City of Tallahassee (CRA), Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, and Frenchtown Community Action Team

Action Item ED&CR 2.1.6: Develop a physical space within the neighborhood to house and offer business incubation and development services.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Strategy ED&CR 2.2: Reduce barriers to developing businesses within Frenchtown and support small enterprises. 

Action Item ED&CR 2.2.1: Develop and implement a program/service that assists aspiring Frenchtown entrepreneurs with identifying and acquiring the permits and licenses they need to operate their business. Ideally, the program/service will help these entrepreneurs acquire the licenses and permits they need at minimum cost and administrative effort.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Frenchtown Neighborhood Improvement Association, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, City of Tallahassee (Growth Management; CRA)

Action Item ED&CR 2.2.2: Work with the City to establish suitable places within the neighborhood for temporary and permanent street enterprises, such as roadside stands and food trucks. Host monthly street vendor events.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, The Standard, City of Tallahassee (Growth Management) Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Frenchtown Neighborhood Improvement Association

Action Item ED&CR 2.2.3: Advocate to state regulatory bodies such as the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation to enhance economic opportunity for local entrepreneurs by relaxing and/or simplifying state business requirements for small, short term enterprises. Invite these agencies to come and provide educational workshops in neighborhood.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation

 

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Desired Outcome : Future development always incorporates benefits to the Frenchtown community.

Strategy ED&CR 3.1: Provide opportunities for neighborhood-scale commercial development to take place in the neighborhood so that residents have more places to work, shop and recreate in their own neighborhood.

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.1: Advocate with the City and County to create incentive programs to attract            businesses to Frenchtown that will support the neighborhood and provide employment with family-sustaining wages.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.2: Ensure that the traffic study outlined in Action Item LU&T 4.1.1 include considerations of the traffic infrastructure changes needed to support neighborhood-scale commercial development in the vicinity of the intersection of Macomb, Old Bainbridge and Brevard streets.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA; Growth Management; Underground Utilities and Public Infrastructure), Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.3:Form a taskforce/working group to provide community input on the traffic study contemplated in LU&T 4.1.1 and to evaluate options for any improvements proposed for the intersection of Macomb, Old Bainbridge and Brevard Streets.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA; Growth Management; Underground Utilities and Public Infrastructure), Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.4: Request the CRA to acquire and rehabilitate vacant/abandoned commercial sites in the neighborhood for redevelopment opportunities, including the old Leon Theater on Tennessee Street.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA; Growth Management; Real Estate), Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.5: Repurpose the old SAIL High School site that is owned by the Leon County School District as a “Community Learning Center” to serve as an anchor for training, tutoring and other educational services for youth and adults. Explore ways to repurpose Lee Park. Request that the CRA include Lee Park and the old SAIL building in the Greater Frenchtown/Southside CRA district.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA; Real Estate; Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Affairs), Leon County School District, Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.6: Support the opening and operation of childcare centers in the neighborhood.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA), Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend

Action Item ED&CR 3.1.7: Advocate for the siting of additional neighborhood-scale groceries within the neighborhood.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA), Tallahassee Food Network, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED& CR 3.1.8: Organize a Frenchtown Business Association.

Potential Partners: Local businesses, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, Frenchtown Community Action Team

Strategy ED&CR 3.2: Develop mechanisms to ensure that new developments benefit the neighborhood.

Action Item ED&CR 3.2.1: Use Community Benefit Agreements to require developers of new development to ensure that there is a benefit to the community. Require contractors to hire local workers (youth and adult) for projects in the neighborhood as part of these agreements. The Frenchtown CAT would develop a policy and template for CBA’s and how they would be implemented and would serve as the overseeing organization.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA, Growth Management) Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department

Action Item ED&CR 3.2.2: Convert the first floor of the Renaissance Center into retail space as originally planned. This is consistent with recommendations of the Frenchtown Area Development Authority study (1985) and the CRA Redevelopment Plan.

Potential Partners: City of Tallahassee (CRA; Real Estate), Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, Frenchtown Community Action Team

Action Item ED& CR 3.2.3: Advocate for publicly funded construction projects over $500,000 to include 30% participation for African American business.

Potential Partners: City of Tallahassee (CRA; Growth Management) Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Frenchtown Community Action Team

Action Item ED&CR 3.2.4: Develop a partnership with FAMU Credit Union and request the opening of a branch in Frenchtown to expand its membership criteria to include residents, business owners and property owners in the GFS CRA District. Submit an agenda item to the CRA requesting that it establish a depository account of GFS District CRA funds in the FAMU Credit Union. 

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, City of Tallahassee (CRA), FAMU Credit Union

Action Item ED&CR 3.2.5: Evaluate establishing a Frenchtown Neighborhood Improvement Authority with the same authorities/benefits of the Downtown Improvement Authority.

Potential Partners: City of Tallahassee (CRA), Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, Frenchtown Community Action Team

 

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Outcome: There are unique pathways for Frenchtown residents to develop, own and operate businesses within their neighborhood.

Action Item ED&CR 4.1.1: Develop and implement a program that offers business development grants and loans to Frenchtown residents who have existing businesses or nonprofits in the community or want to start new a business or nonprofit within the neighborhood. Nonprofits must have a mission that benefits the neighborhood to receive assistance from this program.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team,
City of Tallahassee (CRA), FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Action Item ED&CR 4.1.2: Provide grants for interior and exterior building improvements to business and nonprofit establishments within the neighborhood that are owned/operated by Frenchtown residents. Nonprofits must have a mission that benefits the neighborhood to receive a grant.

Potential Partners:City of Tallahassee (CRA), FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, Frenchtown Community Action Team

Action Item ED&CR 4.1.3: Create a Young Entrepreneurs Club for neighborhood youth.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee Urban League, FAMU Small Business Development Center, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality,

 

 

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Outcome: Residents are connected to programs and services that help them develop financial assets such as positive credit, savings, vehicle and homeownership.

Strategy ED&CR 5.1: Develop programming to assist residents in building financial assets.

Action Item ED&CR 5.1.1: Develop and launch a “Frenchtown Builds Credit” initiative to provide neighborhood-based credit building and financial coaching services to residents.

Potential Partners:Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee Lenders Consortium, United Way of the Big Bend, Tallahassee Urban League, City of Tallahassee (Housing & Community Resilience; Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs)

Action Item ED&CR 5.1.2: Develop and implement a structured, matched savings program for residents to save for the purchase of a vehicle or home or education or small business expenses. Include ongoing financial education as a requirement to access matching funds.  

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee Lenders Consortium, United Way of the Big Bend, Tallahassee Urban League, City of Tallahassee (Housing & Community Resilience; Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs)

Action Item ED&CR 5.1.3: Locate a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site within the neighborhood. Secure funds to offer incentives for residents to save part of their tax refund.

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, United Way of the Big Bend, Tallahassee Urban League, City of Tallahassee (Housing & Community Resilience; Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs), Tallahassee Lenders Consortium

Action Item ED&CR 5.1.4: Advocate for the development of a matched children’s savings account program in local schools paired with age-appropriate financial education. (Ex: San Francisco’s Kindergarten to College program)

Potential Partners: Frenchtown Community Action Team, Tallahassee Lenders Consortium, United Way of the Big Bend, Tallahassee Urban League, Leon County Schools, City of Tallahassee (Housing & Community Resilience; Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs)