Business owners along the St. Mary’s Strip, Broadway Street, North New Braunfels Avenue and other major corridors have been battling a maze of barricades, traffic cones and dust for months.
Some of their customers have given up navigating partially closed roads and searching for parking as various city-funded construction projects stretch on, causing their revenue to plummet.
They are worried about their futures. And a mea culpa proposed by the city — in the form of $400,000 to be used mainly for marketing and promotion — has left them infuriated.
On ExpressNews.com: ‘A long road ahead’: Constant construction wreaks havoc on downtown businesses
At a recent City Council committee meeting, business owners said poorly managed street closures are hurting their bottom lines and that they need relief quickly.
“We’re going broke,” said Augie Cortez, who owns Augie’s Alamo City BBQ Steakhouse on Broadway and Augie’s Barbed Wire Smokehouse on North St. Mary’s. “I’m losing my livelihood.”
Glenn Silbert, CEO of Grunt Style, said the Broadway project has caused him to lose nearly $1 million in revenue at his apparel store along the street.
While Silbert said his business will be fine, he came to the committee to advocate for other owners and express his frustration with what he described as a lack of accountability.
“Our patience really is up,” he said.
The $400,000 “ construction mitigation pilot program ” would focus on 13 current or future construction zones with 10 or more small businesses affected by city projects lasting longer than one year.
Those zones include Broadway, North St. Mary’s, South Presa, South Alamo, San Saba, Santa Rosa, Commerce, Probandt, Flores and Dolorosa streets; North New Braunfels and Roosevelt avenues; Goliad and Bulverde roads; and Old Highway 90.
Most of the money — $310,000 — would be used for marketing and promoting small businesses through signage, print and digital campaigns, events and website assistance.
Another $50,000 would go toward branding that “destigmatizes visiting construction areas,” $15,000 toward a toolkit with resources and $25,000 toward sharing information about lane closures through a partnership with Waze, the mobile navigation app.
The pilot would start in January. It would be evaluated based on surveys of pre- and post-program revenue, usage and reach of marketing campaigns, city staff said.
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But business owners said such efforts should have already been in place and that they need direct assistance to help cover their rents, mortgages and utilities — not signage and digital campaigns.
At Charles A. James Bicycle Shop on North Main Avenue, owner Hank Estrada said street parking has become harder to find near his business amid a street reconstruction project and high-rise being built outside his doors.
Most of Estrada’s customers drive to his store to drop off their bicycles but don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting there. Business has dwindled, and Estrada has started two GoFundMe campaigns to keep the store afloat.
He estimates he’s making about 30 percent of what he used to earn each week. Distributing money to businesses would be the biggest help, he said.
“We don’t need signage,” Estrada said. “People know we’re here.”
Aaron Peña, who co-owns bars on the St. Mary’s Strip, called the city’s proposal “a complete waste of time and resources.”
“Essentially they are burning that money into thin air by using it on signage and social media to make customers more aware of how to access businesses when the majority of our businesses are almost completely inaccessible due to construction,” Peña said.
Peña said the city’s money should be given directly to businesses and their employees who are struggling rather than to sign makers and marketing firms.
“It’s a complete slap in the face to struggling operators and their employees,” he said.
The city has offered utility assistance in the past. In 2014, council members approved a $225,000 program for interest-free loans. The city received five applications; four were eligible, and about $13,000 in loans was issued.
Funds via the American Rescue Plan Act and the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone were also distributed. The city partners with LiftFund to offer interest-free loans as well.
“Are you seriously proposing debt?” Cortez said. “Oh yeah, let me go ahead and get into debt, knowing that the project’s not going to be complete for another two and a half years.”
Council members — including Mario Bravo, who represents District 1, which includes downtown and several of the other areas affected — suggested discussing how the city’s tax increment reinvestment zones could potentially be used to help support businesses and how to provide direct assistance.
“We need direct aid for these businesses,” Bravo said.
madison.iszler@express-news.net