May 10 - 14, 2021

EDA announced 15 investments from May 10-14, 2021, totaling $17,748,431, which is matched by $4,721,492 in local investments. These investments include the following: (1) $13,625,547 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 seven projects for $12,844,653 that will help create 924 jobs, save 960 jobs, and leverage $139,506,000 in private investments; (2) $3,912,884 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, which includes two projects for $3,838,634 that will help create 500 jobs and leverage $41,000,000 in private investment; and (3) $210,000 in one Partnership Planning project to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy process.

• $13,625,547 in 11 Economic Adjustment Assistance-COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Projects, matched by $3,477,584 in local investments, as follows:
  • $4,000,000, matched by $1,000,000 in local investment, to the Rural Development Fund, Casper/Natrona County, Wyoming, to support the Rural Development Fund with establishing a Revolving Loan Fund to support gap financing business lending to enable businesses within the State of Wyoming to recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and aid in resilience against future economic disruptions. Once implemented, the project will alleviate sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, provide permanent resources to support economic resiliency, and further the long-term economic adjustment objectives of the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 200 jobs, save 50 jobs, and leverage $60,000,000 in private investment.
  • $2,600,000, with no local match, to the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation, Hudson/Columbia County, New York, to support the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation with establishing a $2,088,000 Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide gap financing to farm and food businesses in Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties in New York, including nearby Opportunity Zones. In addition, the RLF will provide $512,000 for technical assistance to operate the fund and assist clients. Once implemented, the project will alleviate sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, provide permanent resources to support economic resiliency, and further the long-term economic adjustment objectives of the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 67 jobs, save 220 jobs, and leverage $2,000,000 in private investment.
  • $2,000,000, matched by $500,000 in local investment, to the Lumpkin County Water and Sewerage Authority, Dahlonega/Lumpkin County, Georgia, to support the Lumpkin County Water and Sewerage Authority with constructing water and sewer improvements to serve a new medical center and support other industry in Lumpkin County, Georgia. The project will allow the County to diversify its economic sectors thereby creating a more resilient and stable economy prepared for future pandemics and natural disasters. Once completed, the project will have a long-term economic impact and benefit two companies, which will bolster job creation, spur private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 147 jobs and leverage $72,000,000 in private investment.
  • $1,533,053, matched by $939,613 in local investment, to Spoon River College, Canton/Fulton County, Illinois, to support Spoon River College with purchasing equipment and reconstructing their Vocational and Technical Education Center to both modernize their existing workforce training equipment and facilities to expand their capacity to deliver vocational training post-COVID and to retrain displaced workers in the service region. Once completed, this project will help close gaps in the talent pipeline for the region's important manufacturing and logistics clusters and help ensure a strong recovery from the pandemic as well as economic resiliency in the future. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 275 jobs, save 125 jobs, and leverage $500,000 in private investment.
  • $1,500,000, with no local match, to the National Capital Investment Fund, Inc., Charles/Jefferson County, West Virginia, to support the establishment of a revolving loan fund capital for the Natural Capital Investment Fund’s West Virginia COVID-19 Emergency Response Loan Fund. The Fund will offer new flexible and affordable working capital loans that fills the gaps of Economic Injury Disaster Loans/Paycheck Protection Program and will help small businesses in West Virginia. Once implemented, the project will alleviate sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, provide permanent resources to support economic resiliency, and further the long-term economic adjustment objectives of the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 200 jobs, save 500 jobs, and leverage $5,000,000 in private investment.
  • $1,100,000, matched by $600,000 in local investment, to the County of Alleghany, Covington/Covington County (Project: Covington/Alleghany County), Virginia, to support Alleghany County with completing Phase 5 of the Jackson River Scenic Trail consisting of 1.6 miles of trail and a 1.33 acre trailhead starting at the current end of the existing 14.4 mile developed rail trail in Alleghany County and going into Bath County, Virginia. Once completed, the project will assist the region with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, support the tourism industry, create jobs, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 35 jobs and leverage $6,000 in private investment.
  • $350,894, with no local match, to Launch Alaska, Anchorage/Anchorage County, Alaska, to support Launch Alaska with conducting a feasibility study to determine if an Aerospace Innovation Center on the west side of Merrill Field Airport will attract private sector investment in new businesses to create high-skill, high-wage jobs in exporting value-added aviation products and services to take advantage of Anchorage’s strategic location as a global air-trade hub. Once completed, this project will help Anchorage rebuild from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which will support recovery and resiliency to diversify the local economy.
  • $202,000, matched by $350,571 in local investment, to the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, Moline/Rock Island County, Illinois, to support development of a regional COVID-19 Recovery Strategy. The Quad Cities' economy was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with job losses in nearly every industry in the region. Throughout the crisis, the Chamber attempted to provide businesses with immediate recovery assistance, and with knowledge gained from a research report on the region’s industry clusters, the Chamber is now focused on pivoting to growth opportunities in industries where the region remains strong. This project will provide key insights into regional assets and opportunities and chart a course for regional growth with goals and an action plan for success. In addition, coordinators will create partnerships across industry sectors and among regional business leaders and stakeholders, to enhance the region’s already strong talent attraction and retention program and create next generation leaders for the region’s economy.
  • $160,000, matched by $40,000 in local investment, to the Madison Region Economic Partnership, Madison/Dane County, Wisconsin, to support the Madison Region Economic Partnership and Capital Area Regional Planning Commission with developing the region's Pandemic Recovery Sector Strategy. The project will identify potential sites for key industry sectors including advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology, biosciences, and healthcare. Once implemented, the strategy will ensure the region recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with a clear vision for economic growth based on growing clusters and an action plan that builds the region’s resiliency.
  • $111,600, matched by $30,400 in local investment, to the City of Tracy, Tracy/Lyon County, Minnesota, to support the City of Tracy’s efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic via a two-year business retention and expansion program that will help local and regional businesses adapt to future economic realities. The program will provide free technical assistance to allow businesses to expand and improve their online presence, with the goal of making up sales income lost due to the pandemic. Once implemented, the program will help educate local businesses about new opportunities, initiate workforce development and retention efforts in the City, and, among other activities, develop a new business retention and expansion website to promote the City’s strengths, which will advance the regional economy. The grantee estimates that this investment will help save 65 jobs.
  • $68,000, matched by $17,000 in local investment, to the Dairyland Power Cooperative, La Crosse/La Crosse County (Project: Genoa/Vernon County), Wyoming, to support the Dairyland Power Cooperative's effort to develop a strategic re-use and redevelopment plan for a 140-acre site within Genoa, Wisconsin. Dairyland recently closed a coal power plant and formerly closed a nuclear power plant also located on the site, which displaced a significant set of workers and the City's overall economic health. The study will help identify potential redevelopment opportunities for the site and help the City focus their site marketing on industries with high growth potential and those that would fit the character of the region’s existing industrial base post the COVID-19 pandemic.
• $3,912,884 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance projects, matched by $1,033,908 in local investments, as follows:
  • $2,000,000 in Assistance to Coal Communities, matched by $500,000 in local investment, to the Ashland Hospital Corporation/Boyd County Fiscal Court, Ashland/Boyd County, Kentucky, to support the purchase of equipment and appurtenances to increase King's Daughters Medical Center's healthcare capacity in Ashland, Kentucky. The closure of Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital and the loss of 1,000 jobs negatively impacted the area while occurring at the time COVID-19 swept the country and the health system was forced to suspend all non-emergent procedures, impacting revenues and expansion efforts. The project will help the Center meet the healthcare needs of Eastern Kentucky's population and strengthen the region's healthcare sector, enhancing resilience to future pandemics. Once completed, the project will create jobs, advance economic resiliency, and attract private investment to an area that has also been impacted by the decline in the coal industry. The grantees estimate that this investment will help create 250 jobs and leverage $1,000,000 in private investment.
  • $1,838,634 in 2019 Disaster Supplemental funding, matched by $459,658 in local investment, to the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii (NELHA), Kailua-Kona/Hawaii County (Project: Kealakekua/Hawaii County), Hawaii, to support the NELHA with building on the success of the pilot HATCH aquaculture accelerator program and developing a medium to long-term program to incubate additional aquaculture startups as well as host ideation and company building workshops in Hawaii County, Hawaii. The project will assist with recovery efforts from the Puna East Rift Zone lava eruption, which destroyed four acres of NELHA property and the subsequent effect of the COVID 19 pandemic. Once completed, the project will drive economic diversification, provide growth and jobs in the aquaculture sector, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 250 jobs and leverage $40,000,000 in private investment.
  • $74,250, matched by $74,250 in local investment, to the City of Odessa, Odessa/Lafayette County, Missouri, to support the City of Odessa with conducting a hydrogeological study to locate a new flooding-resistant well field to replace the current wellfield, which sits 13 miles north of the City on the banks of the Missouri River. The 2019 major flooding disasters demonstrated significant weaknesses in the City's water supply system and its current well placement. Once completed, the study will help the City make well-informed decisions to proceed with completing much needed improvements to its water supply system, which will allow the community to be more resilient in the face of public health emergencies and future major flooding events. This increased resiliency will mitigate potential interruptions to business continuity from the impacts of natural hazards in the community, thereby making the City better able to attract new businesses and more likely to retain existing employers in the wake of future disasters.
• $210,000 in one Partnership Planning project, matched by $210,000 in local investment, 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.