September 13 - 17, 2021

EDA announced 24 investments from September 13-17, 2021, totaling $41,250,059, which is matched by $15,972,430 in local investments.  These investments include the following: (1) $4,466,727 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance-COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Projects to help alleviate sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which includes two projects for $2,466,727 that will help create 84 jobs, save 22 jobs, and leverage $2,200,000 in private investments; (2) $23,393,078 in six 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 three projects for $5.713,878 that will help create 190 jobs and leverage $25,700,000 in private investments; (3) $12,011,440 in six Public Works projects to help communities revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure that will help create 809 jobs, save 815 jobs, and leverage $407,245,000 in private investments; (4) $260,470 in one Local Technical Assistance project to strengthen the capacity of local or state organizations and institutions to undertake and promote effective economic development programs; and (5) $1,118,344 in eight Partnership Planning projects to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy process.

• $4,466,727 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance-COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Projects, matched by $1,116,700 in local investments, as follows:
  • $2,000,000, matched by $500,000 in local investment, to Little River County, Ashdown/Little River County, Arkansas, to support the construction of fiber optic cable lines to bring broadband infrastructure to rural communities that have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The project will help make the region more resilient to future pandemics and natural disasters and increase the region's economic competitiveness through the deployment of new broadband service.  Once constructed, the County will partner with service providers to improve regional access to high-speed service, and this is expected to have a significant impact on the County's ability to attract and retain employers in its target industries.  Once completed, the project will help the region overcome the lack of adequate, reliable broadband service to help diversify and strengthen the regional economy. 
  • $1,460,000, matched by $365,000 in local investment, to the Bowie Economic Development Corporation/City of Bowie, Bowie/Montague County, Texas, to support infrastructure improvements for the Bowie Business Park and construction of an approximately 10,000 square foot spec building within the business park.  The project will help the City of Bowie rebound from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an F-1 tornado that struck the town in May 2020.  Once completed, the project will generate employment opportunities and attract private investments, which will strengthen the regional economy and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.  The grantees estimate that this investment will help save eight jobs and leverage $800,000 in private investment.
  • $1,006,727, matched by $251,700 in local investment, to the Thurston Economic Development Council Center for Business, Lacey/Thurston County, Washington, to support the establishment of the Lacey MakerSpace CARES Act Response to serve as a 21st-Century Manufacturing Training Program in Thurston County, Washington.  The project will help train workers and business owners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in modern manufacturing processes and the safe and appropriate use of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.  The project will benefit the City of Lacey, a designated Opportunity Zone, including residents of Thurston, Lewis, Grays Harbor, and Mason counties of western Washington State.  Once completed, the project will advance the manufacturing industry, create and retain jobs, spur private investment, and strengthen the regional economy.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 76 jobs, save 22 jobs, and leverage $1,400,000 in private investment.
• $23,393,078 in six Economic Adjustment Assistance projects, matched by $5,848,269 in local investments, as follows:
  • $16,000,000 in 2018 Disaster Supplemental funding, matched by $4,000,000 in local investment, to EcoExploratorio, Inc./University of Puerto Rico, San Juan/San Juan County, Puerto Rico, to support construction of the EcoEx Resilience Institute to serve as the hub for disaster preparedness, recovery education, and training in the Caribbean.  The multi-use site will build recovery, resilience capacity and develop more effective emergency response mechanism that will help the region with recovery efforts from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  Once completed, the project will benefit a designated Opportunity Zone and allow continuity of operations of businesses and overall community recovery after future disasters, which will strengthen the regional economy and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.
  • $2,829,958 in Assistance to Nuclear Closure Communities, matched by $707,489 in local investment, to the City of El Paso de Robles, Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo County, California, to support the installation of a city-wide fiber optic broadband network to provide a more complete coverage in San Luis Obispo County, California, a designated Opportunity Zone.  The project will support the economic capacity of small business enterprises to operate more efficiently and consist of the installation of approximately 11,500 feet of new fiber optic cable in the City’s existing 2-inch underground conduit, and the installation of approximately 52,500 feet of new fiber optic cable in new 2-inch underground conduit.  Once completed, the project will create employment opportunities in sustainable industries for the region’s workforce and advance economic resiliency to an area hit hard by the closure of a nuclear power plant.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 90 jobs.
  • $2,283,920, matched by $570,980 in local investment, to the City of Woodruff, Woodruff/Spartanburg County, South Carolina, to fund construction of sewer infrastructure that will support the location of a new facility by the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare system in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.   The project will provide wastewater service to approximately 650 acres along Highway 101 to support future increased commercial, healthcare, and industrial development.   Once completed, the project will bolster job creation, spur private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 18 jobs and leverage $3,500,000 in private investment.
  • $1,600,000, matched by $400,000 in local investment, to the South Central Alabama Development Commission, Montgomery/Montgomery County, Alabama, to support the South Central Alabama Development Commission, an EDA designated Economic Development District, with establishing a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to respond to the capital needs of small and medium sized businesses and industries within the counties of Bullock, Butler, Crenshaw, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, and Pike in Alabama.   Once implemented, the RLF will provide access to working capital, which will help with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, bolster job creation and retention, attract private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.
  • $600,000, matched by $150,000 in local investment, to the City of Conover/Catawba Valley Community College, Conover/Catawba County, North Carolina, to support the purchase of equipment and critical supplies needed to create a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) prototyping and testing lab in Conover, North Carolina.  The equipment and supplies will go into a newly constructed Manufacturing Solutions Center expansion, which will augment the Center's capacity to expand prototyping and testing of fibers and fabrics needed to produce PPE and other products needed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Once completed, the project will benefit a nearby Opportunity Zone, increase job creation, spur private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.  The grantees estimate that this investment will help create 82 jobs and leverage $22,200,000 in private investment.
  • $79,200, matched by $19,800 in local investment, to the Paden City Development Authority, Inc., Paden City/Tyler County, West Virginia, to support Paden City with conducting a market analysis of their current position in the regional economy and identifying improvements needed to attract new jobs and private investment to West Virginia.   The goal of this feasibility study is to implement the identified property improvements and transform a vacant industrial space into manufacturing or related business space.   This will increase the local tax base, increase local employment, help support regional economic growth, and create the potential for investment in an Opportunity Zone.   Once completed, the project will help stabilize and increase the working population and boost resiliency of the local economy.
• $12,011,440 in six Public Works projects, matched by $8,345,086 in local investments, as follows:
  • $5,052,255, matched by $1,263,063 in local investment, to the Oxnard Harbor District, Port Hueneme/Ventura County, California, to support the Oxnard Harbor District with providing long-term infrastructure enhancements to maximize facility utilization through dredging in Ventura County, California, a designated Opportunity Zone.  The project includes dredging 5ft from 35ft to 40ft to enable fresh produce container vessels to load heavier with each visit, installing 600ft of sheet pile wall, demolishing old and installing new fender and mooring systems, repairing dilapidated areas of the concrete deck, and installing a passive cathodic protection system.  Once completed, the project will modernize the wharf and pier structure to mitigate moderate seismic episodes and climactic resiliency, which will help with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, create and retain jobs, and strengthen the regional economy.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 113 jobs and save 417 jobs.
  • $2,000,000, matched by $4,614,613 in local investment, to the City of Warner Robbins/City of Perry/City of Cochran/City of Hawkinsville/City of Byron/Mid-State Energy Commission, Warner Robbins/Houston County, Georgia, to fund the construction of a natural gas infrastructure to serve multiple existing and expanding businesses located in several counties in Middle Georgia.   The infrastructure improvements will allow the Mid-State Energy Commission to expand its capacity to ensure existing facilities and future industries continue to have access to the natural gas needed to support their economic development efforts.   Once completed, the project will help with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, advance the manufacturing industry, bolster job creation, increase private investment, and strengthen the regional economy.  The grantees estimate that this investment will help create 220 jobs, save 30 jobs, and leverage $310,000,000 in private investment.
  • $1,760,000, matched by $440,000 in local investment, to the City of Dunlap, Dunlap/Sequatchie County, Tennessee, to support the renovation and replacement of aging infrastructure to the City's wastewater treatment plant in Sequatchie County, Tennessee, a designated Opportunity Zone.  The project includes the replacement and/or upgrade of operational equipment and materials to address wastewater system infrastructure inadequacies that impact core commercial, industrial, and residential development within the area.  Once completed, the project will help with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, create and retain jobs, increase private investment, and advance economic resiliency throughout the region.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 160 jobs, save 315 jobs, and leverage $28,200,000 in private investment.
  • $1,400,000, matched by $1,400,000 in local investment, to the City of Cleburne, Cleburne/Johnson City, Texas, to support the City of Cleburne with making roadway construction, connecting two existing segments of Sparks Drive, and providing industrial companies in an economically distressed part of the city with improved access to a major highway.  The improved access and additional road capacity are expected to facilitate job retention and the creation of new jobs by accommodating increased truck traffic and reducing transportation times.  Once completed, the project will advance economic resiliency, help diversify and strengthen the regional economy, and attract private investment in a designated Opportunity Zone.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 300 jobs and leverage $60,000,000 in private investment.
  • $950,000, matched by $627,410 in local investment, to the Fairfield Economic Development Corporation/City of Fairfield, Fairfield/Freestone County, Texas, to support improvements to the Old Mexia-Fairfield Road to facilitate job creation and private investment in a new industrial park.  The project will help Fairfield City diversify its economy and become more resilient to economic cycles.  It will also directly help the city to rebound from the closure of the Big Brown Power Plant and Big Brown Coal Mine in 2018. Once completed, the new infrastructure will help bolster job creation, spur private investment, and strengthen economic growth throughout the region.  The grantees estimate that this investment will help create 14 jobs and leverage $9,000,000 in private investment.
  • $849,185, with no local match, to the Native Village of Ekwok, Ekwok/Dillingham County, Alaska, to support construction of the Green Building to store supplies in Dillingham County, Alaska.  The project includes a heated and covered S-1 Moderate Hazard storage facility for emergency supplies, recyclable materials, and regulated materials that cannot be discarded in the local landfill.  Once completed, the project will increase resiliency of the Ekwok Tribal village by allowing for a proper infrastructure to dispose of recyclable and hazardous materials, which will help with recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, create and retain jobs, increase private investment, and strengthen the regional economy.  The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 2 jobs, save 53 jobs, and leverage $45,000 in private investment.
• $260,470 in one Local Technical Assistance project, matched by $111,630 in local investment, as follows:
  • $260,470, matched by $111,630 in local investment, to the Northeast Texas Economic Development District, Texarkana/Bowie County, Texas, to support Northeast Texas Economic Development District (NETEDD) in cooperation with regional partners with proposing to restart the Red River Leadership Institute for the ArkLaTexoma region.  NETEDD, along with the three other EDA districts identified in the region, will work together to discover key public and private sector partner that will be included in the concept structure, recruitment of participants, and sponsorships of events.  NETEDD and its partners will develop a curriculum that will teach the necessary leadership skills to build the regional community that addresses three areas of focus: talent, technology, and tolerance, thus enhancing economic development opportunities for the ArkLaTexoma region. The group will also identify a format for the leadership institute and logistics that would be most beneficial to the region, communities, and participants.   Once completed, the project will provide economic stability, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy.
• $1,118,344 in eight Partnership Planning projects, matched by $550,745 in local investments, to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS).  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.