Landmark Corridor Investment & Small Business Focus – A Quarterly Update of the Purple Line Corridor Coalition

JPMorgan Chase Commits to Purple Line Partners

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has awarded a $5 million grant to Enterprise Community Partners, the Latino Economic Development Center and the National Housing Trust, to help expand access to economic opportunity for local residents and small business owners along the 16-mile Purple Line light rail corridor. Enterprise Community Partners and the Latino Economic Development Center are both partners of the PLCC. Read more about this important achievement here. 

Access the full official release here and read more about the local impacts of this landmark grant in an article from The Washington Post.

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Small Business Working Group Makes Policy Progress

The PLCC’s Small Business Working Group hosted a second, successful  meeting Tuesday, October 8th at the Silver Spring Civic Building, with more than 30 stakeholders in attendance. Discussions included building capacity for local organizations who are already supporting small businesses, and top-priority issues including challenges posed by Purple Line construction and disruption.

The group also announced the hiring of a consultant to develop an action plan for this work, Manuel Ochoa. Manuel has a lot of experience working in the corridor and will be a great asset to the group. Welcome aboard Manuel!

The Small Business Working Group will meet again Thursday, December 12th from 10am-12noon, venue TBD. If you’re interested in learning more about joining this working group, contact: mtochoa@mac.com

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UMD Collaboration in Ethnic Retail Workshop 

A University of Maryland graduate planning class hosted a small business retail workshop in Long Branch, MD this week. The discussion centered around tools to preserve and strengthen the ethnic-owned small businesses in the Long Branch community in light of the forthcoming Purple Line station. 

Bobby Boone, an adjunct professor at UMD and retail specialist, led the session. Students led table facilitation with representatives from Montgomery County, the Long Branch Business League, LEDC, Montgomery Housing Partners, JBG Smith, and Streetsense. 

The class will produce a small business toolkit based on the input and collaboration with Purple Line stakeholders. 

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PLCC Receiving CDN Collaboration Award

The Community Development Network (CDN) of Maryland will be honoring the PLCC and the Housing Action Team with a collaboration award at its Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon on November 7. The Housing Action Team worked tirelessly to create the Housing Action Plan, which is expected to be released later this year. 

The event is free. The CDN keynote speaker is Michael McAfee, CEO of Policy Link.  Find the link to register here. 

November 7 from 11:30am-2pm. 

Randallstown Community Center

3505 Resource Drive, 

Randallstown, MD, 21133

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POLICY SPOTLIGHT: Housing Action Plan Underway

The Housing Action Team is in the final stages of developing the PLCC Housing Action Plan, which will serve as a guiding document to preserve long-term housing affordability along the Purple Line Corridor. Through listening sessions with residents, businesses, and other stakeholders, the team heard about the needs and aspirations for the communities along the Purple Line. 

The Housing Action Team received feedback in the past months on its plan, which is meant to be a living framework for residents and local businesses to monitor the corridor’s collective progress.  

Producing and sharing this plan marks an important milestone in PLCC’s work, but there is far more to do. As the coalition grows, the plan will evolve in new ways.

Read the full draft plan here. 

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SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

El Gavilan in Long Branch

El Gavilan has been running in the Long Branch location for 30 years under long-time owners Jose and Maria Rivera. It is well-known for its authentic Central American and Salvadoran cuisine and music and arts events. The Rivera family are trusted leaders in the Long Branch community. 

El Gavilan management plans to do outdoor renovations and expansion, such as a new patio. With the oncoming Purple Line construction, manager Ana Rivera says: “You have to grow, you have to learn.”  

Rivera has big plans for the future. “In five years, I hope to have my taco stand outside, and my patio”. 

Visit: 8805 Flower Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20901

Find more resources for businesses in the Purple Line Corridor.

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VIBRANT, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Riverdale Park Project

Two PLCC partners, Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization CDC (CKAR) and Kaiser Permanente, are working on a place-based initiative strategy for the Greater Riverdale communities. 

This concept is both a philanthropic and community development effort. The project involves collaboration with community residents, local churches, school leadership, non-profit service providers, Maryland nonprofits, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Neighborhood Design Center. Still in its preliminary stages, the project aims to build capacity for non-profits that serve along the Purple Line corridor, and address social determinants of health such as food security, employment opportunity, and affordable housing.

Stay up to date on this initiative:  https://ckarcdc.org/place-based-initiative-ckar-cdc-riverdale-park/