WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced today that SBI Venture Management, LLC in Put-in-Bay will receive a $3,680,000 loan from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development branch’s Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program. SBI Venture Management, LLC will use the funds to construct floating docks and a break wall in Put-in-Bay, to refinance debt, and to finance the purchase of real estate. This project is expected to save five jobs and create 50 new jobs.
“Increased business development is great news for Put-in-Bay,” Brown said. “This small business investment will help support jobs and boost the local economy.”
According to the USDA, the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program supports rural economic development by funding the projects of organizations that provide employment, improve an area’s economy or environment, encourage aquaculture, or develop renewable energy systems.
Brown is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years. In 2014, he was part of the Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee that successfully negotiated a five-year farm bill that had been stalled for more than three years. Brown supported a strong Rural Development title in the 2014 Farm Bill to encourage economic development in rural communities.
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