SOUTH-CENTRAL : Lending Center Aids Businesses

More than a year after the 1992 riots, Claude Barber received $155,000 from the Community Financial Resource Center to expand his garment cutting business.

The loan enabled Barber, 71, to buy machinery and make repairs to the building that houses JC Cutting in the 4600 block of South Broadway. He was also able to expand his work force from 12 to 19.

“From experiencing the difficulties of getting a loan, I was impressed with the center,” said Barber, who received the first small-business expansion loan approved by the center in October.

The center is a nonprofit partnership among the city, community organizations and a coalition of 36 commercial banks created to assist businesses in low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods. It is one of several alternative lending programs intended to provide expansion capital for entrepreneurs who would not ordinarily qualify for traditional bank funding.

Since it opened March 15, 1993, the center has committed $1.4 million to expanding businesses and start-ups in South-Central. It has also provided businesses damaged in the riots and the Jan. 17 earthquake with technical assistance in filing for relief loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“We’ve seen 300 individuals under our disaster relief program and packaged 150 relief funds, and that number is increasing,” said Roberto Barragan, executive director of the financial center at 4060 S. Figueroa St. “The center has seen to date more than 2,000 individuals and provided assistance to more than half of them.”

Barragan said because the SBA application packages were “monstrous” in size, many victims of property damage from the riots did not take advantage of federal relief funds. After the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, the application forms were trimmed down.

“The riots destroyed a lot of commercial buildings, but the earthquake destroyed a lot of homes in South-Central,” Barragan said. “We experience a lot of hostility because the forms were extremely excessive and people don’t know that it’s different now.”

This year, the city has promised $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funds to the center as part of its commitment to the partnership, Barragan said. The center expects to make $3 million in loans by the end of the year, he said.

The center will host a fair Aug. 13 to introduce prospective home buyers and consumers to services offered by banks and public service organizations.

Information: (213) 233-1900.