Grant

August 31-September 6, 2018

  • $3,571,070 in two Public Works projects as follows:
    • $2,015,395 to the County of Jackson and the Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees, Sylva, North Carolina, to fund the construction of a workforce training facility known as the Health Sciences Occupations Building, serving Western North Carolina and will be located on the main campus of Southwestern Community College. The facility will provide a home for programs leading to occupations in the Health Sciences as a means of enhancing employment opportunities in the region. The clinic within the new facility will not only provide students with an opportunity for firsthand clinical practice experience but will also provide much needed medical services to the community. The grantees estimate that this investment will help create 236 jobs, save 127 jobs, and leverage $1.25 million in private investment.
    • $1,555,675 to the City of Baldwyn, Mississippi, to fund needed upgrades to the City of Baldwyn's high-pressure natural gas transmission system. The proposed natural gas line upgrade will provide the City the ability to provide continued, reliable gas service to current customers, as well as allow the region to remain globally competitive and attractive to incoming industries. The investment will bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 425 jobs, save 1,439 jobs, and leverage $56.6 million in private investment.
  • $34,311,343 in seven Economic Adjustment Assistance projects as follows:
    • $32 million in 2018 Disaster Supplemental funds to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Tallahassee, Florida, to fund a revolving loan fund (RLF) to assist businesses repair, replace, and/or improve operations that were disrupted by Hurricane Irma in the state of Florida. The RLF will establish or expand operations in order to meet an increased demand for products or services that support recovery from the impact of the hurricane. The investment will provide access to affordable capital for business start-up or expansion in the state to encourage job creation, retention, high paying jobs, economic diversification and economic stability.
    • $600,000 to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to fund a comprehensive study and analysis of marine science and technology sectors in the advancement of regional job creation, business and industrial expansion, and exporting of goods in Bristol county, Massachusetts. The investment supports the development of a formal Massachusetts Science and Technology Cluster Alliance where relevant regional institutions, businesses, and universities can work collaboratively to support the Marine Science and Technology Supercluster development in Southeastern Massachusetts. The project will address unemployment, facilitate the creation of long term, high wage employment opportunities, and diversify the regional economy providing a substantial direct benefit to the region.
    • $592,357 to the University of Arkansas World Trade Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas, to support the World Trade Center in Arkansas with promoting the increase of exports, job growth and retention by assisting small businesses and companies offset the cost of expanding in the international marketplace. This investment will provide funds for expert trade staff to accompany the local businesses to trade shows and missions to help defray the costs of trade booths, which will improve the state’s economic health and strengthen the region’s long-term global trade development. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 10,000 jobs, save 350,000 jobs, and leverage $5 million in private investment.
    • $330,566 in Assistance to Coal Communities to the Town of Somerset, Massachusetts, to fund equipment upgrades and improvements to the Town of Somerset's drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities in Bristol county, Massachusetts. The upgrades will serve as a catalyst and incentive to enable the town to attract and encourage new development and expansion opportunities for redevelopment of Brayton Point and Montaup Power sites. In addition to providing the neighboring communities of Dighton and Swansea with sewer services to enable additional economic development, the project will also provide employment opportunities and generate new local tax revenues to offset some of the economic downturns the area has experienced recently.
    • $304,000 in 2018 Disaster Supplemental funding to the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, to fund a disaster resiliency plan that assists the United States Virgin Islands Bureau of Economic Research to develop a Post-Disaster Resiliency Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and Tourism Master Plan. The planning strategy will focus on reconstruction and rebuilding towards resiliency while diversifying the economy to promote a quick recovery and make it more hardened to withstand future impacts of economic, natural, and other disasters. The investment will support economic diversification and economic stability.
    • $289,420 to Northern Vermont University, Lyndonville, Vermont, to fund technical assistance to competitively procure, deploy and deliver an effective full-time entrepreneur in residence and part-time facilities coordinator for its new co-working facility in the heart of Lyndonville, Vermont. The positions will provide business coaching, technical assistance, and development services promoting a state of the art rural co-working space, through peer-based learning and networking opportunities within an entrepreneurial environment to foster next generation job and wealth creation. Specific attention will be given to help traditional forestry-based and value-added agriculture businesses. Once completed, this project will help the local area diversify its economy, attract investment, and support long-term job creation. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 58 jobs and leverage $2 million in private investment.
    • $195,000 to the Northern Maine Development Commission, Caribou, Maine, to support the establishment of the Entrepreneurial Technical Assistance Center to encourage and assist entrepreneurs in starting and growing businesses in Aroostook and Washington counties in Maine. The Center will deliver a comprehensive program of technical assistance, training and mentoring in all business-related disciplines, including business planning and access to capital. Once completed, this project will help the local area diversify its economy, attract investment, and support long-term job creation. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 200 jobs.
  • $12,999,999.10 in 11 Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms projects to provide technical assistance to U.S. manufacturing and production firms affected by import competition in order to help them develop and implement projects to regain global competitiveness, increase profitability and create jobs, as follows:
    • $1,483,058.90 to the Regents of the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, to fund the activities of the Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Boulder, CO, which serves import-impacted firms located in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,373,910.90 to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, to fund the activities of the Western Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Los Angeles, CA, which serves import-impacted firms located in Arizona, Hawaii, California, and Nevada, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,286,622.40 to the Trade Task Group, Seattle, Washington, to fund the activities of the Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Seattle, WA, which serves import-impacted firms located in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,243,455.90 to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia, to fund the activities of the Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Atlanta, GA, which serves import-impacted firms located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,155,374.40 to the Mid-Atlantic Employers’ Association, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, to fund the activities of the Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in King of Prussia, PA, which serves import-impacted firms located in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,145,078 to the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas, to fund the activities of the Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in San Antonio, TX, which serves import-impacted firms located in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,128,912.90 to the University of Missouri System, Columbia, Missouri, to fund the activities of the Mid-America Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Columbia, MO, which serves import-impacted firms located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,075,632 to the Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, to fund the activities of the Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Ann Arbor, MI, which serves import-impacted firms located in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,027,467.40 to the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, Inc., North Billerica, Massachusetts, to fund the activities of the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in North Billerica, MA, which serves import-impacted firms located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $1,090,998.40 to Applied Strategies International, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois, to fund the activities of the Midwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Chicago, IL, which serves import-impacted firms located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
    • $989,487.90 to the Research Foundation for the State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, to fund the activities of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Center in Binghamton, NY, which serves import-impacted firms located in New Jersey, New York, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to strengthen their competitiveness in the worldwide marketplace.
  • $50,000 in one Partnership Planning project 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.
  • $48,036 in one Technical Assistance project to the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Newport, North Carolina, to support a feasibility study for North Carolina shellfish Mariculture infrastructure. The project aims at studying the feasibility of developing and/or constructing a network of coastal land-based supporting facilities to build capacity in communities vulnerable to a variety of climate-related disturbances. These facilities would provide Mariculturists and other fishers with access to working waters and a place to store, refrigerate and process sea products. The proposed facilities will provide support and incentives to increase production capacity in this industry.