GRANT BACKGROUND

Through the Economic Development Administration, each state that applied was awarded a $1,000,000 non-competitive planning grant with American Rescue Plan Act funds. This funding enables a variety of state economic development initiatives to help states chart a coordinated path forward as their economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

PROJECT GOAL

The goal of this project is to identify sites that have strong potential, analyze the challenges of each site, and create a plan for improving the site to be shovel ready for targeted industry projects. Every site selected to be a part of the grant program will receive a final report discussing each site’s strengths, weaknesses, and a strategy to improve the site. A number of communities will also receive an in-depth economic impact analysis of their sites with possible targeted industries. These efforts will provide each community a course of action to take their site to the next level, allowing them to focus community efforts on making specific changes to enhance the site and increase the chances of landing a competitive project.