Small Business Administration opens Business Recovery Centers in Greenville and Lexington

The U.S. Small Business Administration opened two Business Recovery Centers onOct. 5 one in the Upstate and one in the Midlands to assist businesses and residents impacted by Hurricane Helene.

The SBA also expanded the number of counties where disaster loans will be available, according to a news release.

SBA’s customer service representatives are available at the centers to answer questions, assist business owners complete their disaster loan application, accept documents, and provide updates on an application’s status, the release said. Walk-ins are accepted, but in-person appointments can be scheduled online .

The centers are set up at the Lexington County Library at 5440 August Road in Lexington and the Next Innovation Center at 411 University Ridge in Greenville.

The disaster declaration coversAbbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee,Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood,Laurens, Lexington, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens,Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg andUnioncounties, which are eligible for both physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.

Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Allendale, Calhoun,Chester, Colleton, Fairfield, Hampton,Kershaw, McCormick, Orangeburg,Sumterand York counties.

With the changes to FEMA’s Sequence of Delivery, survivors are now encouraged to simultaneously apply for FEMA grants and the SBA low-interest disaster loan assistance to fully recover.FEMA grants are intended to cover necessary expenses and serious needs not paid by insurance or other sources, according to the release.

“The SBA disaster loan program is designed for your long-term recovery, to make you whole and get you back to your pre-disaster condition,” the SBA said in the release.“Do not wait on the decision for an FEMA grant; apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at sba.gov/disaster . ”

Applicants may also call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage isNov. 29 this year. The deadline to return economic injury applications isJune 30, 2025.

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