New Castle County outlines lending, grant and small‑business strategies to boost local contractors
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Summary
At a March 4 meeting, New Castle County’s economic development director and the county’s small‑business coordinator reviewed the Grow NCC lending program, an ARPA‑funded quarter revitalization grant program, and efforts to increase certified small business enterprise participation on the Newark Free Library project.
NEWARK, Del. — New Castle County’s Economic Development Subcommittee on March 4 heard an overview from Economic Development Director Jeff Berman and Small Business Enterprise Coordinator Helen Foster of three ongoing programs aimed at expanding lending and increasing county contracting by certified small business enterprises.
Berman opened with a summary of the Office of Economic Development’s current initiatives, including the Grow NCC Fund, a partnership with Discover Bank and Grow America that provides longer‑term, below‑market loans intended to support expansion, hiring and operational improvements for small businesses. "We have plenty of lending capacity," Berman said, and noted the fund closed two small business loans in New Castle County last year and four loans statewide. "Please consider my office a resource," he added.
Why it matters: the programs are intended to direct financing and targeted grants into designated commercial corridors and to increase the share of county contracts performed by certified small business enterprises (SBEs), which officials said could create more local jobs and contract opportunities.
Berman and Foster described three primary efforts:
- Grow NCC Fund: Berman said the county will actively market the program in 2025; he said the fund offers below‑market loans and that two loans closed in the county in 2024 (four statewide). No loan amounts or borrower names were provided in the meeting.
- ARPA‑funded quarter revitalization program: Berman said the county has partnered with True Access Capital to provide $5,000 to $10,000 grants to small businesses to improve storefronts along designated commercial corridors on North Market Street and Routes 9 and 13. He reported 43 grants awarded in 2024 with 24 projects completed; True Access Capital is overseeing 19 active projects and the program has a pipeline the county expects will reach $440,000 in total distributions. Berman said the program is on track to conclude in the summer of 2025.
- Small Business Enterprise (SBE) program and Newark Free Library project: Foster said she has increased the number of certified SBEs registered in the county vendor portal by 228 percent since January 2024; she said the portal now includes about 650 firms and that she maintains a direct communications channel to certified SBEs in the region. Regarding the Newark Free Library construction project, Foster said the county set a 32 percent SBE participation goal for the overall project. The project broke 22 trades into four bid packs; Foster said bid pack 2 opened that day, 16 trades were below the formal threshold for full bidding and 9 trades had been put out for quotes with 58 certified SBEs responding. Foster characterized that as about 43 percent of all parties invited to quote being certified SBEs. She said the SBE office (transcript: "SBA office") has been involved in pre‑construction meetings with Public Works and Wilson Construction since November 2024 and that she will continue to monitor subcontractor verification and compliance during construction.
Council members asked for and received additional detail in the meeting. Councilmember Sheldon asked for a list of awarded contractors; Foster said she would provide it and noted that only limited awards have been made to date as bid packs are still being processed. Councilmember Hollins praised Foster’s outreach, and Councilman John Cartier also commended her work and said candidates he referred reported “outstanding interactions.”
The subcommittee approved the minutes of its Dec. 3, 2024 meeting by voice vote at the start of the March 4 session; no roll‑call vote or individual tallies were recorded in the transcript.
No members of the public rose to comment, and the meeting was adjourned shortly after the presentations.
What was not decided: the presentation conveyed program status and outreach plans; no new contracts, loan approvals, or ordinance changes were voted on during the meeting. Specific loan amounts and borrower names for the Grow NCC Fund were not provided in the public presentation.
