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Bloomington expands small‑business services and launches "small business center without walls"
Summary
City staff described new programs and partnerships—technical assistance, grant programs, a site and façade program, and a partnership with the Minnesota Small Business Development Center—aimed at supporting and retaining Bloomington small businesses.
City staff told the Bloomington City Council on Jan. 27 about expanded small‑business programming that pairs direct financial assistance with technical advising, partnership networks and outreach intended to boost business starts and retention across the city.
Port Authority staff (Holly Macek and Barb Wolf) described a portfolio of new and continuing programs: a city navigation/business‑navigator role to help new and relocating businesses, a site and façade improvement grant program (2024: $223,000 awarded, leveraging about $5.4 million in private investment), a small‑business sewer access charge (SAC) deferral/loan program, a business retention relocation grant, cohort training (CEO Start) and a new partnership with the Minnesota Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to deliver "a small business center without walls"—local workshops, one‑on‑one advising and outreach in community locations.
Why it matters: Staff framed the work as both a direct economic development tool and an equity strategy to lower barriers for entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities. The city will track participation, demographics of participants, grant and lending totals and other metrics; staff acknowledged that some measures (for example, an exact count of small businesses) are difficult to track at the granular level.
Staff said 2025 priorities include implementing the SBDC partnership and a customer relationship management (CRM) system to track business interactions, improving permitting navigation, and exploring additional funding for small‑business assistance.
Ending: Councilmembers praised the rapid expansion of programming since 2020 and asked staff to continue impact reporting and to return with measurable outcome data. The city manager and port authority staff said they will continue to refine metrics and coordinate with county, state and federal partners.
