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City officials see results from program funded in part by IRRRB
Anywhere from six-to-10 new jobs have been added in Ely as a result of a forgivable loan program that has been in place for three years.
Economic developer John Fedo briefed council members Tuesday about the results of Ely’s Commercial Corridor Program, in place since 2022.
Businesses can obtain up to $50,000, including $25,000 in the form of a forgivable loan, under the program .
“We’ve been working with various commercial business owners during the last two years,” Fedo told the council during the monthly economic development authority meeting at City Hall. “It first came about on the heels of Covid.”
Fedo said the program was designed on a “onethird, one-third, one-third” approach, with businesses able to apply for and receive as much as $50,000, half coming from the city’s EDA and half from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board.
Matching funds of $25,000, either in the form of a bank loan or private equity would be needed to access the maximum amount.
In turn, the business must create at least one new fulltime position with an hourly wage of at least $15.
According to documents distributed at the meeting, five local businesses have tapped into the program, including:
• Northern Toboggan;
• Dirty Dog Manufacturing; • Razor Edge Systems;
• Spirit of the Wilderness;
• Ely Hardware, Inc. All have created at least one job, with Razor Edge adding two-to-six.
The program essentially allows business owners to receive what would amount to a $25,000 grant as long as they create a new, fulltime position that meets the hourly wage requirement.
“I think it’s been a very productive program,” said Fedo. “And the IRR has used it as an example for other communities to follow and we continue to ask that the program be continued.
Another $64,000 in forgivable loan money remains in the program, which with the EDA loan and private funding matches allow for up to $192,000 remaining to be leveraged.
“We continue to advertise these funds are out there and available,” said Fedo.
The program is similar in scope to what the city did in late-2020, when it teamed with the IRRRB to provide $11,000 to businesses who qualified to subsidize the creation of a $15 per hour job.
