February 1 - 5, 2021

EDA announced 17 investments from February 1-5, 2021, totaling $29,657,155, which is matched by $9,553,600 in local investments. These investments include the following: (1) $14,994,221 in 11 Economic Adjustment Assistance-COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Projects to help alleviate sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which includes five projects for $14,230,635 that will help create 2,261 jobs, save 534 jobs, and leverage $47,877,986 in private investments; (2) $14,032,934 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance projects to help communities design and implement strategies to adjust or bring about change to their economy in response to structural damage to their underlying economic base that will help create 1,517 jobs, save 100 jobs, and leverage $54,320,000 in private investments; and (3) $630,000 in three Partnership Planning projects to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy process.

• $14,994,221 in 11 Economic Adjustment Assistance-COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Projects, matched by $3,917,346 in local investments, as follows:
  • $6,930,635, with no local match, to the Nevada System of Higher Education/City of Las Vegas, Las Vegas/Clark County, Nevada, to support the Nevada System of Higher Education and the City of Las Vegas with constructing the Westside Education and Training Center to function as a workforce education and training facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, a designated Opportunity Zone. The project will include the construction of a 10,000 square foot building complete with an advanced manufacturing laboratory, welding laboratory, healthcare laboratory, classrooms, multi-purpose room, computer laboratory, and offices. Once completed, the project will help the region with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, lead to higher pay employment opportunities, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantees estimate that this investment will help create 300 jobs.
  • $3,000,000, matched by $3,021,500 in local investment, to the Victoria County Navigation District, Victoria/Victoria County, Texas, to support the Victoria County Navigation District (Port of Victoria) which encompasses all of Victoria County, Texas, with constructing a new 1.9-mile rail loop and a 2,000-foot ladder track (spur) that will connect to existing rail infrastructure. The project will help the region’s railroad, manufacturing, ware housing and terminal operations recover from the economic effects of COVID-19 by providing additional capacity for rail car storage and handling as they are critical to the supply chain. In addition, the expansion will allow for long-term competitiveness amid natural disasters and economic shocks, support the advancement of the manufacturing industry within the region, spur economic growth in a designated Opportunity Zone and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 83 jobs, save 300 jobs, and leverage $45,900,000 in private investment.
  • $2,400,000, matched by $600,000 in local investment, to the University of Wyoming, Laramie/Albany County, Wyoming, to support the University of Wyoming with establishing IMPACT 307, an incubator program to serve the entire state of Wyoming through a hybrid virtual/personal startup launch and entrepreneurial support structure. The project will expand business incubation and launch support services by providing them in digital as well as physical environments to respond to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help diversify the base of employers within the state. Once completed, the project will advance economic resiliency, create new job opportunities, and attract private investment to an area that has been impacted by the decline in the coal industry. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 368 jobs and leverage $1,000,000 in private investment.
  • $1,500,000, with no local match, to the Delaware Division of Small Business, Dover/Kent County, Delaware, to support the Delaware Division of Small Business with establishing a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide access to capital for small businesses that suffered economic injury as a result of COVID-19 pandemic across the entire State of Delaware. The RLF will provide access to capital through loans with flexible, below market terms that will include waiving the application fees, allowing a minimum of 12 months of forbearance and giving preference to small businesses that are located in Qualified Opportunity Zones, Certified HUBZones and Delaware's Downtown Development Districts, which were identified as distressed areas even before COVID-19 pandemic occurred. Once completed, the project will provide permanent resources to support economic resiliency, further the long-term economic adjustment objectives, create and retain jobs, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 1,500 jobs and save 500 jobs.
  • $400,000, matched by $100,000 in local investment, to the Lake County Community Development Corporation, Ronan/Lake County, Montana, to fund a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to support economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Montana region including the Flathead Indian Reservation and Lake, Mineral and Sanders Counties. Through the new RLF, Lake County Community Development Corporation will provide financing options and gap financing to small businesses impacted by the pandemic and support the development of new entrepreneurial business opportunities arising from, or related to, recovery or future resiliency. The RLF will provide much-needed capital in the region for businesses to not only continue operations but also retain and create jobs. The RLF will help diversify the region's economy, which already was impacted by previous natural disasters and the decline in the timber industry before the pandemic. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 10 jobs, save 34 jobs, and leverage $977,986 in private investment.
  • $317,655, matched by $83,000 in local investment, to the East Central Intergovernmental Association/Northeast Iowa Community College, Dubuque/Dubuque County, Iowa, to support the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) and Northeast Iowa Community College with establishing the Business Resiliency and Recovery project to help northeast Iowa businesses prepare for, respond to, and recover from coronavirus pandemic impacts through technical assistance and capacity training opportunities. The project will equip and staff a business helpline and triage system, offer one-to-one business counseling, research best practices for and develop capacity trainings, and provide business consulting services for long-term growth and to fuel the region’s jobs and resilience.
  • $162,580, matched by $40,645 in local investment, to the California Association for Local Development, Sacramento/Sacramento County, California, to fund the creation of an Economic Development Resiliency and Recovery Playbook—a comprehensive, strategic tool communities can use to prepare for disasters that impact their economy. The project will target areas with Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies to provide case studies and a model for recovery and resiliency. Once completed, the playbook will be printed and distributed to every jurisdiction in California to enable these communities to plan and protect against future disasters and economic shocks and downturns, which will support the retention of jobs in the region impacted by disasters, both natural and economic.
  • $96,000, matched by $24,000 in local investment, to Snohomish County, Everett/ Snohomish County, Washington, to fund the development of a strategic workforce action plan for Snohomish County that supports long-term, resilient, and broad-based economic growth; provides educational, training and career pathways to residents and workers; and develops and establishes an agile workforce development system that can respond to short-term and adapt to long-term change in Everett, Washington, a designated Opportunity Zone. Once implemented, the strategy will allow the County to make informed investments that will create and save jobs, as well as spur private investment throughout the region.
  • $80,000, matched by $20,000 in local investment, to Dillion County, Dillion/Dillion County, South Carolina, to support Dillon County with conducting the Inland Port Dillon Traffic Study to help address current and future roadway and rail needs in the immediate 6-mile radius of Inland Port Dillon in South Carolina. Once completed, the study will help identify new construction, capacity or maintenance improvements that will need to be made over the next 20 years to maintain maximum access to the port and surrounding industrial, commercial and residential parcels, which will help attract a diverse range of businesses to the region, diversifying the workforce and overall economy.
  • $70,550, matched by $19,000 in local investment, to the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments, Gaylord/Otsego County, Michigan, to support the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments’ Alcona County Broadband Connectivity Plan and Rollout Strategy. As a rural and remote area, Alcona County’s broadband infrastructure is limited, which impacts the County’s competitiveness and ability to attract and retain businesses and jobs, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once implemented, the strategy will establish the analytical foundation for critical broadband infrastructure development in the County and help guide local leaders and stakeholders as they make the region more resilient to future economic shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • $36,801, matched by $9,201 in local investment, to the Eastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, Inc., Richmond/Wayne County, Indiana, to support the Eastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission in its effort to develop a regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that can assist the region in responding to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The region’s existing economic development strategy was developed as part of USDA Rural Development’s Stronger Economies Together (SET) program, and it will form the basis for the new regional CEDS. The EDA-funded CEDS will upgrade the region’s economic development strategy and initiate a new strategic planning process where regional leaders and stakeholders, together with EIRPC, will chart a course for a resilient and dynamic future for the region’s economy.
• $14,032,934 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance projects, matched by $5,126,254 in local investments, as follows:
  • $11,177,918 in 2019 Disaster Supplemental funds, with no local match, to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Saipan/Saipan County, Northern Mariana Islands, to fund the rehabilitation of roadway infrastructure within a commercial district on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, a designated Opportunity Zone. The project will help with recovery efforts from Super Typhoon Yutu and address the transportation and logistical needs of the business community. Once completed, the project will provide higher skill employment opportunities to boost workforce development in the area, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 893 jobs and leverage $1,320,000 in private investment.
  • $1,750,000 in Assistance to Coal Communities, matched by $4,850,000 in local investment, to the Raleigh County Memorial Airport, Beaver/Raleigh County, West Virginia, to support the Raleigh County Memorial Airport with expanding the West Side section of the Airport Industrial Park by 105 acres in Raleigh County, West Virginia, nearby a designated Opportunity Zone. The development of the 105 acreage allows for the creation of 16 new seven-acre sites that will have direct access to the airport’s runways, which is key to attracting new, innovative businesses, especially in the aerospace industry. Once completed, the project will help create new job opportunities and attract private investment to an area that has been impacted by the decline in the coal industry. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 624 jobs and leverage $48,000,000 in private investment.
  • $1,105,016 in 2019 Disaster Supplemental funding, matched by $276,254 in local investment, to the Miami Conservancy District, Dayton/Montgomery County, Ohio, to support the Miami Conservancy District with providing critical upgrades to the Greater Old North Dayton levee to help mitigate the effects of future flooding and natural disaster events in Montgomery County, Ohio, a designated Opportunity Zone. The project improvements include re-armoring the levee with concrete and utilizing the levee as a new alternative transportation route for the region’s commuters. Once completed, the project will help the region with recovery efforts from the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes by ensuring business continuity in the Greater Old North Dayton area, which will help bolster job creation and retention, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 100 jobs and leverage $5,000,000 in private investment.
• $630,000 in three Partnership Planning projects, matched by $510,000 in local investments, to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) process. The CEDS process is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.