State transportation officials say they are taking steps to address the financial impacts of ongoing Purple Line construction on small businesses near work sites in Montgomery County.
“We recognize that this project has taken longer than expected, and that has impacts on both the communities and businesses who are right in our active construction zones,” Jaclyn Hartman, assistant secretary for transportation investments with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), said at a Feb. 10 joint meeting with the Montgomery County Council Transportation and Environment and Economic Development committees.
When completed, the 16-mile light-rail Purple Line will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton and connect riders to the Metro’s Red, Green and Orange lines as well as to MARC and Amtrak trains and bus services. Construction of the line and its 21 stations by a public-private partnership has faced numerous delays and cost increases since the project’s inception in 2016.
State transportation officials expect the Purple Line will be open for service in late 2027. The first Purple Line railcars arrived in Prince George’s County last summer. As of late December, Purple Line officials said the project is more than 73% complete.
One of the ways MDOT is trying to mitigate the construction impact is through a $4 million small business grant program announced earlier this month. In order to be eligible, applicants must operate a customer-facing business within one-quarter of a mile of the Purple Line route in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. To be eligible, businesses must have been open since Jan. 1, 2022, and qualify under the state’s definition of a small business by having 50 or fewer employees and gross sales averaging $2 million or less, or certification in the State of Maryland’s Small Business Reserve Program.
Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said in a Feb. 10 press release announcing the grant program that the state’s investment in the Purple Line represents “a tremendous economic growth opportunity” because the light-rail line will connect communities along its route.
“These grants will support the businesses whose operations are impacted by construction to ensure they remain open and are ready to thrive once the Purple Line opens,” he said.
Eligible businesses could receive up to $50,000 each, depending on their location and construction impacts. The first round of applications is due by March 14 and business owners can apply online.
The MDOT grant program was created using funding received through a contract re-negotiation with Purple Line Transit Partners, which was approved by Maryland’s Board of Public Works in March 2024, according to the MDOT news release. Purple Line Transit Partners is the MDOT’s private sector partner in the construction, operation and maintenance of the Purple Line and is run by project majority partners Meridiam and Star America.
Hartman noted during her meeting with the council committees that the impacts of the construction on local businesses “can change depending on the day of the week, unfortunately, … from being able to get in and out of the parking lot, or get customers through the front door.”
Some downtown Silver Spring business owners who spoke to Bethesda Today in January were worried their businesses wouldn’t survive the Purple Line construction.
“It’s been very hard. I’m not getting any customers,” Eden Negussie, who co-owns Café Via Roma on Bonifant Street, told Bethesda Today in early January. Fences and construction signage block much of the view of Negussie’s restaurant.
Stephanie Helsing, president and CEO of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, said during the council committees’ hearing that some businesses are being hit harder than others because of their direct proximity to Purple Line construction.
“It’s been messy, it’s been economically impactful, it’s been demoralizing for a lot of the businesses, but also the community,” Helsing said.
Helsing said she’s heard as many complaints from residents of The Bonifant at Silver Spring senior living apartment complex on Bonifant Street as she has from business owners about how difficult it is to get around in the area and visit local businesses. She also pointed out that a few businesses have been impacted by the closure of the Spring Street Bridge that connects Spring Street to 16th Street near the downtown area. The bridge closed due to Purple Line construction in June 2024 and has yet to reopen.
She said the owner of Fenwick Beer and Wine, a few blocks from the bridge at 1327 Fenwick Lane, has seen sales drop to the level experienced when the store first opened.
“For people to get to [Fenwick Beer and Wine], they have to drive down and around and through and you can’t take a left and you can’t take a right, and you can’t get here and you can’t get there,” Helsing said.
In 2023, Montgomery County offered three rounds of $5,000 grants targeting small, independently owned and operated businesses along the Purple Line construction route. Applications for the last round of those grants closed in September 2023.
According to Gene Smith, manager of the Montgomery County Business Center, 40 businesses along Bonifant Street and Piney Branch Road in Silver Spring are currently receiving monthly stipends of up to $1,800 through a new $900,000 allocation to support those businesses through a new grant program in the county’s fiscal year 2025 operating budget. Smith said at the committee meeting the county sent staff who spoke multiple languages to conduct outreach and make sure business owners were aware of the county grant availability.
“Our team spends a lot of time with these businesses to make sure they’re in good standing with the state,” Smith said, so that businesses can meet eligibility requirements.
Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) said at the committee meeting that she’s spoken to small business owners along the light-rail line’s route who say the financial support has been “a lifesaver.”
“It’s also important that [local businesses] know that their government at the state and local level is hearing them and is here to support them,” Stewart said.
