Monday Morning Memo

Monday, May 4, 2020

Tampa Downtown Partnership launches REfund program

Tampa’s Downtown Reinvestment and Relief Fund (“REfund”) Grant Program is to provide critical financial support to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The funds for this program are provided by the Special Services District (SSD) to serve the immediate needs of Downtown at this time.

A total of $50,000 will be given out through this program which is set to help businesses in the SSD impacted by COVID-19. The grants will be for $1,000 each. The money can be used for lease or mortgage payments, utilities, supplies, and administrative expenses deemed critical for business operations and for equipment or programs needed to assist the business with a transition to temporary digital services.

Grants applications will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis and distributed until the funds are depleted.

For more information, click here.

 

Tampa Downtown Partnership set to host roundtables focused on how COVID-19 is impacting small business

Tampa Downtown Partnership members and stakeholders can participate in two virtual roundtables this week. Tuesday, May 5th, hear from communication experts Sally Dee of Playbook Public Relations and Todd Josko of Ballard Partners on best practices for earnest and transparent communications. Wednesday, May 6th, State Representative Jackie Toledo will share information about small business resources with a Q&A session.

Click here to register for free.

City of Tampa launches Lift Up Local recovery plan with key partners

In concert with the Governor’s Executive Order 20-112 , the City of Tampa has launched the Lift Up Local Economic Recovery Plan, which temporarily allows restaurants and retail businesses to expand their business footprint onto the public rights-of-way or in privately owned parking facilities without meeting certain City code and permit requirements.

For more information, click here.

Join us in participating in the National Bike Challenge 2020

The Partnership is excited to celebrate National Bike Month by joining Bike/Walk Tampa Bay in Love to Ride Tampa Bay’s National Bike Challenge. Join today!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Tampa Heights' Beck Group

In early March, a perplexing package arrived at Beck Group’s sleek office in Tampa Heights. The design-build firm’s CEO, who is based in Dallas, had sent two cases of hand sanitizer to the regional office in Tampa.

“It came to the front desk, and the receptionist was like, ‘I’m not sure what this is for,'” said Ryan Toth, Beck’s regional director for Florida. “We got an email 10 minutes later that was like, ‘Listen, this is a serious thing.'”

For many in the U.S., the novel coronavirus wasn’t yet top of mind in early March, but Beck CEO Fred Perpall, whose work has a national scope, was watching closely. The situation began to evolve rapid-fire in the days after he sent the cases of hand sanitizer to the team in Tampa.

A week later, Toth was sitting at a picnic table at Unicoi State Park in Georgia, using the Air Pods Pro his boss gifted him at Christmas to listen to calls as Beck entered triage mode. He and his wife had originally planned to take their kids, ages 10 and 12, on a cruise for spring break; while they debated whether they should go, the cruise line canceled the trip. Instead, they rented a 30-foot recreational vehicle —  Toth jokes that it was the “Cousin Eddie Cruiser,” after Randy Quaid’s RV-driving character from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies — and headed for the Georgia mountains.

Take a virtual tour of 48 murals located throughout Tampa's Downtown

No matter where you go in Tampa’s Downtown, you are bound to find an eye-catching mural but did you know there are 48 of them in total? No worries if you’re stuck in the house, now you can see them all virtually!

Check it out!

 

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Monday Morning Memo –Monday Morning Memo is a weekly update of “insider downtown information” regarding developments, transportation, special opportunities and other useful information to help you make the most of downtown. Subscribe to receive this weekly newsletter.

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