EDA says 26 Sandy recovery grants awarded

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Twenty-six companies have been approved for grants totaling up to $1.4 million under a federally funded grant program for small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy, the New Jersey Economic Authority said today.

Michele Brown, chief executive of the EDA, which is administering the program, announced the new numbers Thursday at the authority’s monthly board meeting.

Each grant is worth up to $50,000. The EDA also is administering a loan program with awards of up to $5 million as part of its Sandy recovery effort.

Applications for the programs can be found at the EDA’s website.

Meanwhile, the board also approved $11 million worth of job-creation incentives under its Business Employment Incentive Program. The money, which will leverage $31 million in private investment, could potentially create 880 new jobs, the authority said.

Among the awardees was Nature Delivered Limited, a British online snack retailer and Orexo U.S. Inc., the American subsidiary of a Swedish pharmaceutical firm. Each is considering New Jersey as a potential site for new U.S. operations.

Other awardees included CVS Pharmacy Inc., which is considering three states as it seeks to open a new pharmacy operations support facility. Among the sites being considered is one in Florham Park.

David Yurman Enterprises was awarded a grant if it moves its East Coast logistics and information technology center to Lyndhurst from New York. The company sells jewelry, women’s fragrances and luxury eyewear.

Brown said the EDA has a number of other lending programs for small businesses, one of which will help the Belford Seafood Cooperative Association, in Middletown, make post-Sandy repairs.

“From an e-commerce retailer based in the United Kingdom to a cooperative of fishermen in Monmouth County, the companies that were approved for assistance this month illustrate the diverse range of businesses that are looking to remain and grow in New Jersey,” Brown said.

Reporter Jared Kaltwasser is @JaredKaltwasser on Twitter.