Success Stories

Nome, Alaska, is a hub for the transshipment of cargo and equipment from the Lower 48 states to coastal communities in Alaska’s vast territories known as the Unorganized Borough.

“I was just a humble chocolate maker with a dream.” Daniel Herskovic, a gourmet chef who worked at top restaurants in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, started his luxury chocolate company, Mayana Chocolate, in his apartment and eventually moved to a small table in the corner of a local cheesecake bakery on Chicago’s North Side.

On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and 150 mph winds. It resulted in catastrophic loss and significantly impacted communities throughout the state. The storm left more than 2.6 million residents without power. Ian’s impact on the state’s economy was no less intense, with insurance losses topping $12.6 billion.

World War II sparked a surge of defense activity in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, leaving behind, by war’s end, several unused military facilities. In 1958 the Port of Pasco in Pasco, Washington, acquired one of these facilities — a U.S. Army POW camp — and repurposed it as the Big Pasco Industrial Park.

Puerto Rico is known as the Island of Enchantment, a favorite tourist destination revered for its white sandy beaches and cool tropical breezes. Each year, the island welcomes more than 4 million visitors eager to enjoy the sun and surf. Unfortunately, there are more and more unwelcome natural visitors, as climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of damaging storms.

Throughout much of the 20th century, Shelby, North Carolina, about an hour west of Charlotte, was a powerhouse of textile manufacturing. It was home to several mills, which produced yarn and thread for the clothing industry. It also had considerable transportation assets, making these products readily available throughout the United States. By the dawn of the 21st century, however, all of that would change.

EDA is helping create the cities of tomorrow, today. Curiosity Lab is a technological business incubator and living laboratory in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. It provides a test environment for more than fifty local businesses to advance smart city technology and next-generation intelligent mobility.

The EDA University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (REI) at Michigan State University connects economic development practitioners in the state’s underserved communities to much-needed resources and technical support.

Montana attracts millions of visitors every year with its vast landscapes, natural beauty, and wildlife. The Big Sky State is one of the country’s largest by area, but is one of the least populated, home to less than 2 million residents and averaging less than seven people for every square mile of land. It is also home to eight federally recognized tribes.

North Carolina is no stranger to natural disasters. In recent years, the Tar Heel State has hosted some of the most destructive hurricanes in American history, including Dorian (2019), Florence (2018) and Matthew (2016). Combined, these storms have accounted for more than $24 billion in damages to homes and businesses and the loss of more than forty lives throughout the state.