Kimco Relaunches Program to Help Tenants Access PPP Funds

Retail REIT Kimco Realty has re-launched its Tenant Assistance Program to assist its tenants in accessing the latest round of PPP funding. Kimco’s tenants will be able to access funds through BlueVine or Asset Enhancement Solutions. With the latest round of PPP funding providing $284 million for small businesses, the firm’s goal is to expedite the process and give its tenants a better chance to secure funding.

BlueVine is an official direct non-bank PPP lender. It has created an online PPP application to expedite the funding process. In the past PPP funding rounds, BlueVine facilitated $4.5 billion in PPP loans to 155,000 small businesses, with some clients receiving same-day funding.

Financial advisory firm Asset Enhancement Solutions will help tenants that need more personalized service. Since the start of the pandemic, it has facilitated $100 million in PPP funding to more than 800 small businesses. The firm works directly with a network of banks to provide better access to funding along with guidance in the application process.

Many landlords have required that tenants secure PPP funding in exchange for rent deferral or rent abatement through the pandemic. However, in the last round of PPP funding, many retailers didn’t receive enough funds to cover costs. In an interview from April after the initial launch of the PPP program, Craig S. Coan, an attorney at Greenberg Glusker, said that many firms were only getting 25% of their initial ask, and said that more money would need to be made available. That was in April, before the acrimonious debate over additional funding.

Kimco’s Tenant Assistance Program helped to secure $20 million in relief funding last year. This time, the firm revamped the program to address some of the challenges that tenants had in accessing funds in previous rounds. The firm is not receiving fees or other compensation from BlueVine or AES for tenants’ use of their services.

Kimco has found several ways to support tenants. In addition to working with tenants to secure PPP funding, the REIT launched a curbside pickup program at its shopping centers to support tenants, many of which were receiving a 200% increase in pick-up orders. Through the program, the company formalized and expanded the curbside pickup process for national retailers as well as local mom-and-pop shops.