Rent-paying small businesses in Los Angeles County are getting another shot at becoming their own landlords, as the county rolls out a second round of funding to help them buy the commercial properties they currently occupy. The new cycle will put roughly $2.6 million on the table, with $1 million reserved specifically for projects in Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s Second District. County officials say the aim is to slow displacement and keep legacy businesses rooted in neighborhood commercial corridors instead of watching them get priced out.
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, the LA County Commercial Acquisition Fund will offer forgivable financing to help small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and mission-aligned developers purchase commercial properties. The $2.6 million Phase I allocation builds on the program’s initial rollout and is intended to stabilize commercial corridors through community ownership. Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation is set to administer the program and provide technical assistance to applicants navigating the process.
The first funding cycle, backed by $10 million from the American Rescue Plan, supported seven property acquisitions that created space for roughly 39 small businesses, three nonprofits, and more than 125 creative workspaces, as reported by The Real Deal. County officials said those early projects helped revive vacant storefronts, turning them back into active commercial spaces and drawing in additional private investment to close deals.
How the fund works
Genesis LA explains that the Commercial Acquisition Fund issues recoverable, forgivable grants that generally range from $500,000 to $2 million for qualifying acquisition entities (QAEs) pursuing commercial or mixed-use projects in high-need areas. Prospective participants must first be approved as a QAE before submitting any project-level funding requests. The program prioritizes sites identified by the County’s COVID-19 Vulnerability and Recovery Index, and includes technical assistance, webinars, and informational sessions to help smaller organizations compete on a more level playing field.
When to apply
Phase I applications are expected to open on May 5, and the Department of Economic Opportunity and Genesis LA plan to conduct outreach and informational sessions to walk prospective applicants through the details, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity. "Demand for this type of investment far exceeds current resources, and not every qualified project will be funded in this round," DEO Director Kelly LoBianco said in a statement. Interested groups can sign up for updates on the County’s CAF page to get event dates and other details before the application launch.
Why it matters
The Commercial Acquisition Fund is part of Los Angeles County’s broader Economic Mobility Initiative, which uses American Rescue Plan Act dollars and partner resources to steer capital and technical assistance toward small businesses and nonprofits, according to the county’s Economic Mobility Initiative. Local outlets followed the fund’s original 2024 launch and the initial $10 million injection, highlighting the program’s emphasis on converting vacant storefronts into community-serving spaces.
