Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $600,000 to Boost Workforce Training and Entrepreneurial Growth Efforts in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $600,000 grant to Lawrence Partnership Inc., Lawrence, Massachusetts, to promote workforce training, job creation, entrepreneurial growth, and private investment in northeastern Massachusetts by expanding the Lawrence Revolving Test Kitchen. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with nearly $300,000 in local funds, is expected to create 100 jobs and spur $12.8 million in private investment.

“The Lawrence Revolving Test Kitchen provides local food-based businesses with the space and business training programs they need to succeed,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “The expanded facility will serve a broad range of food-based businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the region, and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will attract additional, diverse investment to the Merrimack Valley region.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, 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 four of Massachusetts’ 138 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. 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.