On Aug. 3, the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund (RVCDF) announced the release of a report detailing the success of the Supplemental Mitigation Assistance (SMA) program.
The SMA program was created and administered by the RVCDF during the construction of Central Link light rail. The program’s primary purpose was assisting businesses that were relocated and/or experienced revenue loss as a result of Central Link light rail construction along Martin Luther King Jr. Way South (MLK).
Construction of Central Link through the Rainier Valley began in July 2004, and major construction operations ended in March 2008. For much of that time, access to these businesses was greatly curtailed as the longest at-grade portion of Central Link was built in the center of MLK.
The report shows that of the 310 businesses eligible for SMA products, only 47 had closed at the end of 2008, when the SMA program officially ended.
The findings of the program suggest that not only did the SMA program directly assist businesses in remaining open during the construction period, it indirectly assisted those that did not participate by helping to maintain the total population of businesses along the MLK corridor. ♦
For more information on the findings of the Supplemental Mitigation Assistance program, please visit www.rvcdf.org.