Philadelphia will invest $60 million in neighborhoods over the next six months as part of a strategy to grow businesses and create jobs,including the award Tuesday of $3.4 million in funding to businesses, and the launch of a small business loan guarantee program.

In all, $72 million in bond funding and federal tax credits will be invested by the city, which stands to leverage more than $160 million in private financing and create or maintain more than 900 full-time jobs, said Andrew Altman, the city’s commerce director and deputy mayor for planning and economic development.

“This is our local stimulus program,” Altman said. “This is really about a set of programs that is about stimulating the economy.”

A dozen businesses received funding from the ReStore Retail Incentive Grants Program, which the city teamed up with with The Merchants Fund to administer. Grants of up to $50,000 were available from a pool of $500,000 made available through the city’s 2006 commercial corridors bonds. The recipients included: 3P’s Café & Palmer Park Produce; D.P. Dough; The Gold Standard Café; Kaffa Crossing; Lovers & Madmen Coffee Lounge; Tiffin Pizza Etc.; The Trolley Car Café; Weavers Way Cooperative Association; The Wine Thief; Winnie’s Le Bus Manayunk; Yards Brewing Co.; and The Village at 63rd Street

Financing was also awarded for four projects under the city’s Gap Financing Program, which the city enlisted The Reinvestment Fund to provide. The program provides low interest loans to small businesses for development projects that would have been funded if not for the economic downturn, Altman said. The program was created from city bond funds and is capitalized by The Reinvestment Fund. Funding was awarded to 40th Street Live LP, Weavers Way Cooperative Association, 1201 Chestnut Street Partners LP and Brinton Housing Partners.

The city’s small businesses now also have access to a loan guarantee program, which was developed by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. Valley Green Bank and United Bank are the first private partners in the program, which the city has been trying to get off the ground for years.

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), is a private, not-for-profit corporation created in 1958 by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce Department of the City of Philadelphia to promote economic development and job creation throughout the City.  PIDC provides financing programs and real estate products to business and developer client groups in all neighborhoods of Philadelphia.

For further information on PIDC contact Peter S. Longstreth, President, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, 2600 Centre Square West, 1500 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-2126, phone (215) 496-8181.