South Bay business recovery center to close temporarily

Danielle Dawson
·2 min read

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The federal recovery center in National City for businesses impacted by the flooding earlier this year will close temporarily starting on Monday.

In a release on Thursday, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which operates the recovery center at Southwestern College, said the closure is due to the school’s spring break. It will resume providing services at the site on April 2.

The National City Business Recovery Center opened nearly a month ago to aid businesses that sustained damage or experienced other losses of assets as a result of the devastating flooding on Jan. 22.

It came about a week after the Biden Administration approved a major disaster declaration for San Diego County and others in California, opening up funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Two other recovery centers were also opened by SBA officials since then: one at the Mountain View Community Center and another at the Spring Valley Library. Both will remain open while the Southwestern College site goes on hiatus.

FEMA disaster assistance for San Diego renters and homeowners: How to apply

The recovery center at the Mountain View Community Center, which is located at 641 S Boundary St., is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Spring Valley Disaster Recovery Center, located at 836 Kempton St., is also open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

At all of the disaster recovery centers, businesses of all sizes and non-profits are able to apply for loans up to $2 million to repair and replace damaged real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and more. Additional funds may also be dispersed for costs associated with improvements to “protect, prevent or minimize” any future disaster damage, SBA officials said.

Businesses can apply online through SBA’s website. Prospective applicants can also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Outside business support, the federal government also has low-interest disaster loans of up to $500,000 available for homeowners to repair their properties. Loans up to $100,000 are also available to repair or replace personal property, such as vehicles.

According to SBA, the deadline to apply for property damage loans is April 19, while the deadline to apply for economic injury loans is Nov. 19.

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