Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce to Invest $1.5 Million to Build Infrastructure Needed to Support Business Growth Near Opportunity Zone in Hermiston, Oregon

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.5 million grant to the city of Hermiston, Oregon, to build water, sewer, and road infrastructure needed to create ‘shovel-ready’ industrial parcels for development within the South Hermiston Industrial Park. The EDA grant, to be located near a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $1.5 million in local funds and is expected to create 250 jobs and generate $70 million in private investment.

“The Trump Administration is committed to supporting community-led strategies designed to support business growth,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This investment will establish the infrastructure Hermiston needs to attract new businesses, and the project’s location near an Opportunity Zone will also help drive public and private investment to the region.”

“This project will boost Hermiston’s capacity to attract new business to the South Hermiston Industrial Park,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This EDA grant supports critical water, sewer, and road infrastructure that will help the region grow economically, and the project’s location near an Opportunity Zone will further diversify the region’s economy.”

“I’ve said it before and I will say it again - the Trump Administration and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross continue to deliver for Oregonians and provide the support  we need in our part of the state to help us recover from some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Greg Walden (OR-02). “This money will support new water infrastructure in Hermiston, helping to grow the economy and jobs in eastern Oregon. I am glad to see that the essential funding from the CARES Act continues to flow into communities in Oregon and I look forward to ensuring that sustains.”

The funding announced today will catalyze private investment in a nearby Opportunity Zone. 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. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.

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.