Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $500,000 to Develop Plan to Grow Disaster Resilient Economy in New Orleans, Louisiana, Opportunity Zones

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $500,000 grant to Northeastern University, Boston Massachusetts, to develop a resilience-based strategy for economic development for three Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone located in East New Orleans, Louisiana. The strategy will serve as a footprint for leveraging private investment and encouraging economic diversification.

“East New Orleans has struggled with the cyclical effects of the oil and gas industry as well as the lasting impacts following natural disasters,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “EDA is pleased to support Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute as they support leaders in New Orleans with disaster resiliency planning and leverage the area’s Opportunity Zones to create a resilient business community.”

This EDA investment was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission (RPC), which EDA funds to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

The funding announced today will serve three of Louisiana’s 150 Opportunity Zones. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Opportunity Now resources webpage.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.