REGISTER for the Preliminary Overview of the Restaurant Revitalization Grant Fund – Wednesday April 21st @ 8:30 AM | Commercial Real Estate and The Potential Marijuana Impact

Join us for a Preliminary Overview of the Restaurant Revitalization Grant Fund

The US SBA is targeting April to launch a phased rollout of the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). The American Rescue Plan Act, P.L. 117-2, created the RRF to provide restaurants with grants – not loans – potentially equal to pandemic-related revenue losses, up to $10 million per entity, or $5 million per physical location for a certain periods during the pandemic. Restaurants and bars have been among the hardest hit businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and this program is targeted specifically for them.

While the information is still early and subject to change this webinar will be looking at how and what we will likely need to prepare to apply, what sort of information will be required and how the RFF may interact with PPP (First or Second Draw) and EIDL or other programs our bars and restaurants may have utilized.

Join us via Zoom or Playback on Facebook/Website

According to the National Association of Realtors the demand for industrial space and land will remain strong compared to other types of properties. The trends of working from home, the want and need to get outdoors and have a place to breathe, and the continuing expansion of E-Commerce will continue to be the primary drivers of the commercial real estate market. Multi-family dwellings are still in demand even with investors worried about the ability of renters to pay rent. Hospitality and lodging will continue to suffer until the Vaccine starts to make a difference, travel increases, and in-person business begins to resume.

The legalization of Marijuana will be an interesting development for The commercial Real Estate industry. Another recent survey by the National Association of Realtors indicates that “states where medical and recreational marijuana have been legalized for more than three years have seen more increases in demand for commercial properties.” As the NAR report indicates, 42% of those states have seen an increase in demand for warehouses while managing a 27% increase in demand for storefronts and a 21% increase in demand for land.

Many fear the Impact on the residential community as a whole. Years after the legalization of marijuana in California, that same NAR report found that ”60% of Realtors reported no change in property values while 8% reported a slight increase, and 4% reported a significant increase. Between 8-27% of members polled did see a decrease in residential property values near dispensaries, but these results do not comprise the majority opinion.” While property value and demand are only one way to measure the impact of the legalization of marijuana on a community, it seems to be an important one.

A very interesting move by New York State is allowing the municipalities instead of the county to decide if the Town/Village/City will participate with the program. Putnam County has made it very clear that it does not support the legalization of marijuana so it will be interesting to see what the local leaders decide. New York will set a 9 percent sales tax on cannabis plus an additional 4% county and local tax. If a municipality opts in, will the county still collect its portion of the sales tax?

Thank you very much for your help and assistance in the past for your work with the Putnam County Business Council serving on the task force for “Re-opening Putnam County safely”. Your time is valuable and we appreciate your input and time.

Because of your leadership we would like to invite you to participate in the PCBCs “Legislative Priorities” Meeting. We plan to have a “town hall” style meeting sharing the input we have from our membership survey along with the legislative items we’ve identified over the last year. Attached is a draft of that document for your review. We would love your input prior to the event as well as to add to the discussion. The plan is to present the draft of priorities at the meeting and to gather feedback and additional input from our membership as well as local business owners.

We hope you find this an informative and interactive meeting that will continue the push for the success of the business community in Putnam County. Below is the registration information – we hope you can join us!

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DATE: Thursday, 29th April

TIME: 07:30 AM