Attleboro Cop Taps Federal Dollars to Launch a New Business; City Officials Question Incompleted Project

Jermaine Patterson, a long-time resident and current Attleboro Police officer, appeared before the Attleboro City Council recently to introduce his dream project, Patterson Creations. 

Patterson Creations will be an incubator of sorts with a picture framing shop, a small café, an art gallery, recording and photography studios, location for Creative Memories parties, a classroom and a workshop.

Once Patterson receives all the capital expected to be provided through federal funds, he will begin work at the 52 Union St. businesses.   Patterson’s Creations is being funded through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG,) a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program that awards funds to cities and towns for a wide range of community development needs.

“This project for me is a dream come true to have a career here in your city and pursue other dreams," Patterson said. 

"I want to comment and say that you have the patience to be working on a business plan that is so creative," Councilor Richard Conti said after disclosing that he was involved in the real estate portion of the location. "What you are doing is exactly what Attleboro needs.

"You are creating an incubator" Conti added. "I cannot commend you enough. The creative business plan is the exact intent of CDBG. Your plan would never sell to a bank."

Director of City Planning and Development, Gary Ayrassian commented, “Mr. Patterson worked closely with us on his application over the course of one and half years. His project had to adhere to national objectives and regulations.

Ayrassian said the city underwrites the projects, similar to how a bank would do it by pulling credit reports, loan collateral and a business plan. The project would have to match Attleboro’s local focus.

Considered an “entitlement” city, Attleboro was allocated $507,000 for projects in 2010. Sixteen percent of that has been cut for 2011 projects. The range of grants varies project to project, but a typical grant ranges from $45,000 to $50,000.

One of the several conditions for each $50,000 awarded is job creation. Recipients must hire some Attleboro residents to be in compliance with the conditions set forth by CDBG. Patterson has two years to hire local employees.

 “As evidenced by , The and the , all funded through CDBG, our plan right now is to target downtown Attleboro," Ayrassian said. " We are allocating a significant amount of money for economic urgency."

Ayrassian and Pina were recently questioned by City Councilor Peter Blais about CDBG funds used for the Ashley building. The Ashley building, which has not yet been completed, is home to Scorpio's and is being developed by Cobalt Construction, the same company that was hired to constuct Scorpio's and has been hired to begin construction on The Caribbean Kitchen.

"That project to me has never been finished the way it was presented to us," Blais said during a presentation on CDBG funds to the city council.

Ayrassian said that often people view CDBG as handouts, but insisted that cannot be farther from the truth.

“Many of our grants are fifty-fifty. Half is a grant bound by many restrictions; the other half is a loan," he said. "We are in the business making sure our applicants have sufficient liquidity to make their business work. It doesn’t benefit the city if the project fails.”

Patterson’s project qualified for a $150,000, fifty-fifty grant. One half of it is a $75,000 loan and $75,000 is a grant.  The zero interest loan is to be repaid over a 10-year period and is attached to a property as a second mortgage, according to Pina. 

“There is a risk in starting a new business," said Salvador Pina, Attleboro’s director of Community Development. "We help mitigate the risk by going in with the applicant as a partner. "With these new businesses we are benefiting in many ways including new tax revenue, new jobs from a local work force and people coming into Attleboro and spending money.” 

However as with all CDBG projects, Ayrassian said the degree of project monitoring on the local, state and federal level is tremendous.  At anytime an applicant strays from the project’s approved business plan, the grant money becomes deemed as loan money for which the applicant is responsible.

“While matching applicants’ proposed business plans to the CDBG’s national standards, we ask, does the project have value for the city?," Pina added. "We are trying to create a downtown that people would like to live in and visit."

Patterson is in the last phase of  his application contract. Because he is employed by the city, he must complete disclosure papers that are required with the application. Patterson said he would not comment on his proposed business for the story until he received the CDBG funds for the project.

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