Allocation: $800,000,000
This program will establish the funding of projects that will significantly impact and enable the long-term economic growth and sustainability of the island. It will also have the capacity to be a funding stream for projects determined by the central government to be key drivers for Puerto Rico’s new economy in alliance with the economic recovery plan.
INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO FOR GROWTH PROGRAM
The Investment Portfolio for Growth (IPG) Program  seeks to alleviate the exacerbated economic effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria through large-scale development projects that are transformative in nature and create or retain Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) jobs and cascading economic impacts.
The IPG Program has been allocated a total of eight hundred million dollars ($800,000,000) in the Puerto Rico CDBG-DR Action Plan, as amended; an amount that is subject to change with subsequent amendments.
The IPG Program intends to award gap funding for large-scale commercial and industrial development for a broad-ranging set of economic revitalization initiatives. This may include but is not limited to the development or redevelopment of commercial, mixed-use and infrastructure projects through a significant investment to support local economy.
Eligible entities for IPG includes For-profit Businesses, Not-for-profit Organizations, Community-based Economic Development Organizations, Community Development Financial Institutions, Units of General Local Government and Government of Puerto Rico Agencies, Authorities, Trusts, and Boards and Public-Private Partnerships.
IPG projects must meet CDBG-DR underwriting criteria, provide other committed sources of financing, meet cost reasonableness requirements, and meet a national objective with an emphasis on the creation and retention of LMI jobs. Additional requirements are disclosed in the Program Guidelines.
The application period ended on September 20th, 2021.
The IPG Program will start its application evaluation period, followed by an underwriting review for eligible applications. A loan contract will be executed with the selected entities to receive an IPG award.
GUIDELINES
TRANSPARENCY PORTAL
Learn more about the progress of this program on the Transparency Portal
This portal is automatically updated on a daily basis.
FREQUENTLY QUESTIONS
If you have questions regarding the application process, please submit them through the following link. We ask you to submit one question at a time, the answer will be provided diligently.
1. General
Yes, you need to apply even though you submitted an EOI. The EOI was used to determine interest in the IPG Program. All eligible and interested applicants will need to complete and submit the formal application form found at https://recuperacion.pr.gov/en/investment-portfolio-for-growth-ipg-program/ on the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (PRDOH CDBG-DR) website: https://recuperacion.pr.gov/.
No, if you have previously created an account, you may use the same username and password. If you do not remember your password, you can click Forgot Password on the log-in page. However, the platform will not import any data from the EOI to ensure accuracy in the formal application, therefore you need to reenter your entity information.
When signing into the application there is a two-factor authentication process and you must press the button that says, “New Code”, and a new code will be sent to your email in order to log in. Once you have copied the code sent to your email, please insert it into the application and press Submit.
The application can be found here https://recuperacion.pr.gov/en/investment-portfolio-for-growth-ipg-program/.
Yes, you are eligible to submit multiple project requests and must submit an application for each project proposed. You cannot enter two project requests in a single application.
The 30-day application period closes on August 31st, 2021.
You will receive a confirmation from PRDOH stating that the application was received and is being processed. The Program Guidelines lay out the detailed application process.
2. Awards, Loans and Eligibility
Entities eligible to apply for an IPG award include:
- For-profit Businesses;
- Not-for-profit Organizations;
- Community-based Economic Development Organizations;
- Community Development Financial Institutions;
- Units of General Local Government, including departments and divisions (undertaking projects to support economic development projects);
- Government of Puerto Rico Agencies, Authorities, Trusts, and Boards (undertaking projects to support economic development projects); and
- Public-private partnerships as defined by Act 29-2009, as amended by Act 297-2012, Act 26-2013, Act 173-2013, Act 237-2014; Act 1-2017 and Act 95-2017; “Public-Private Partnership Act”.
Other requirements specific to eligible activities are outlined in the Program Guidelines.
Eligible Use of Funds include, but are not limited to:
- Acquisition, construction, renovation, rehabilitation or other improvement of a commercial property;
- Infrastructure improvements related to a project;
- Non-residential leasing and tenant improvements of space in an existing building;
- Purchasing capital equipment and/or inventory;
- Environmental review activities in accordance with HUD requirements at 24 CFR Part 58.
- Interest Reserve Costs on a case-by-case basis;
- Demolition/clearance; and
- Activities related to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and removing barriers to accessibility.
The IPG Program will award low-interest, long-term, and partially forgivable loans, subject to approval.
IPG loans range from $10,000,000 to $50,000,000.
3. Requirements
The Program Guidelines, which you may access here: https://recuperacion.pr.gov/en/investment-portfolio-for-growth-ipg-program/, list the required documents. Additional documents may be required in the application form as relevant to your proposal. Please note that PRDOH may also request additional documents during the review of your application.
System for Award Management (SAM) registration is mandatory in order to receive Federal Financial Assistance. You are advised to begin the process of acquiring your SAM number if you do not already have one. If you are recommended for an IPG award, you will not be able to proceed without a SAM number. Any company that does business with the federal government, or needs to report subcontract information, must register with SAM.
4. Technical assistance
If you have any technical issues with the IPG Application, please contact the program through the program email address listed below.
IPG PROGRAM EMAIL: EcoRecCDBG@vivienda.pr.org
PRDOH will be responding to questions related to the application until August 15th. Responses to questions posed will be published on the PRDOH website. Interested applicants are highly recommend to access the application early in order to familiarize themselves with the materials required. Questions may be submitted by https://recuperacion.pr.gov/iframes/FormForSubmissionOfInquiriesIFRM.html.
