California

Program # of Grants EDA Funds
Economic Adjustment Assistance 5 $1,985,432
Public Works 2 $5,620,500
Planning 8 $483,751
Technical
Assistance
3 $616,399
Total 18 $8,706,082

With bountiful sunshine and a highly skilled labor force, California’s Coachella Valley is a magnet for new tech-based entrepreneurial firms in the alternative and renewable energy industry cluster.  In 2013, the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) of Palm Springs was awarded a $200,000 Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) strategy planning grant to develop an implementation-ready strategy to enhance the region’s capacity to attract and expand private investment in the manufacturing sector and increase international trade and exports.

As an outgrowth of that strategy, this California iHub Accelerator Campus Project provides an avenue for economic diversification, job creation, and the development and attraction of targeted advanced manufacturing to the region. In 2014, EDA invested $784,769 to renovate four buildings on the west side of the Palm Springs International Airport for use as a business accelerator. When complete, the accelerator will contribute to the development of renewable energy technologies, including wind and solar power, which are huge growth sectors in California. This project will create high-skill, high-wage jobs resilient to economic downturns and help the Valley weather the economic impacts of the on-going drought, while helping the region become more competitive in the global arena.

Report fiscal year

  • 2014