August 12 2010 S

Page 1

THURSDAY, AUgUST 12, 2010

vol. 15 No. 16

News AFRAM FESTIVAL - The 13th annual AFRAM Festival is Thursday, Aug. 12, through Saturday, Aug. 14. See page 23 for a schedule of events. BRIDGEVILLE - Commissioners vote down business licenses proposal, fees. Page 5 HEROES - Margaret Alexander keeps history of Ross Mansion alive. Page 8 EDUCATION - General contractor selected for Del Tech’s Energy House. Page 9 VETERANS - New video by James Diehl will feature 25 local WWII veterans. Page 12 SCHOOLS - Meetings planned to discuss how to improve Seaford High School. Page 45 SMOKING BAN - Seaford Council considering smoking ban in parks. Page 45

Sports

LOCAL CHAMPS - The Laurel Senior League softball team is introduced as the District III championship team during the Senior League Softball World Series opening ceremony in Roxana. Coverage begins on page 24. Photo by Mike McClure

Index Bulletin Board Business ChurCh Classifieds entertainment final Word Gas lines Gourmet health letters lynn Parks

13 6 17 36-44 23 47 35 35 20 46 34

movies oBituaries PoliCe Puzzles sPorts tides tony Windsor

7 18 33 31 24-31 27 34

50 cents

Century Window Fashion owner prepares to shut down business By Lynn R. Parks

On Monday, Louis Chan, owner of Century Window Fashion in the Seaford Industrial Park, said that by Friday, he expects his business to be closed. Already, he said, his dozen employees had been told to work only a half day Monday and not to show up on Tuesday. He expects to declare bankruptcy; the bank, he added, will probably foreclose on his building, the speculative building that was built in 1999 through a partnership with the city and state and that sat empty until Chan bought it last year. The reason for his financial difficulties, he said, is the failure of the Small Business Administration to follow through on a promise to back the business. The Wilmington Certified Development Company (CDC) that the SBA uses to process loans has so far refused to finalize the original commitment from the SBA to assume 50 percent of the $3 million bank loan Chan used to buy the building and to complete its interior. “The SBA is supposed to help small businesses,” Chan said. “But nobody wants the responsibility of finalizing this loan. I’m baffled by the whole thing.” Jayne Armstrong, director of the SBA Delaware district office, based in Wilmington, refused to comment directly on Chan’s situation, citing the federal government’s privacy policy. But she defended the actions of her office, saying that it is dedicated to helping small businesses succeed as well as to its role as a steward of taxpayers’ dollars. “I am familiar with this applica-

seafordstar.com

Century Window Fashion Inc. in the Seaford Industrial Park started operations in this building in September 2009. But now, its owner, Louis Chan, is saying that he will close the business and declare bankruptcy.

tion and I am certain that the Small Business Administration has followed established procedures and acted in accordance with the established policy guidelines,” she said. “Throughout the process, the [SBA] provided ongoing and valuable advice to the borrower and the [SBA] is satisfied that this loan application has been handled consistently within the guidelines and requirements of [its] 504 loan program,” she added. Chan, 44, is a native of Hong Kong and came to the United States about 30 years ago. Century Window Fashion, which he started in Maspeth, N.Y., in Queens, 15 years ago, makes custom window blinds. He decided to move the Queens operation to Delaware, he said, because

labor costs here are lower and because “the people are nicer.” He entered into a sales contract with the city of Seaford in February 2006; after the city extended the sales contract several times because of delays in loan paperwork, Chan and the city settled in early 2008. He had loans from WSFS and Discover Bank totaling $3 million and a commitment from SBA to assume 50 percent of the loans once the building renovations were completed. The company moved to Seaford in September of last year. In August of last year, the CDC handling Chan’s loan asked him for a business plan. After he sent that, the agency told him that it wanted to monitor Century’s progress for Continued to page four


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