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The Maui News
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Monday that it will permanently close its Lahaina Portable Loan Outreach Center at 5 p.m. Oct. 31.
The center offers assistance to Hawaii businesses and residents who were impacted by the August wildfires.
"Until the center closes, SBA customer service representatives will be available to meet with businesses and residents to answer their questions, explain SBA's disaster loan program and close their approved disaster loans," said Jeffrey Lusk, director of the SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center-West, in a news release Monday.
The center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at Maui Resort Rentals at 30 Halawai Dr. in Lahaina. No appointment is necessary.
The SBA continues to provide one-on-one assistance to businesses and residents at other facilities, including at:
• Disaster Recovery Centers at UH-Maui College's Community Services Building (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday), Lahaina Civic Center (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday) and the Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday).
• Business Recovery Center and Business Resource and Assessment Center, both located at the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation at the Maui Research Technology Center, Building A, Suite 119, in Kihei (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday).
Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofits may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize disaster damage from occurring in the future.
SBA offers economic injury disaster loans for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofits of any size to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage.
Disaster loans up to $500,000 are also available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles.
Interest rates can be as low as 4 percent for businesses, 2.375 percent for private nonprofits and 2.5 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years.
The deadline to apply for property damage is Nov. 9. The deadline to apply for economic injury is May 10.
For more information or to apply for a loan, visit www.sba.gov/hawaii-wildfires or contact the SBA's Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.