Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $735,000 grant to the town of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, to reconstruct a critical roadway that serves an industrial park and surrounding businesses. The EDA grant project, to be located near a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $735,000 in local funds and is expected to create 200 jobs and generate $35 million in private investment.
“The Trump Administration is committed to creating American jobs and business opportunities, especially by way of critical infrastructure improvement,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Dr. John Fleming. “This roadway overhaul will directly support new development and expansion opportunities to Mattapoisett’s growing industrial park, and the nearby Opportunity Zone will drive additional private investment to the area and boost the local economy.”
This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD). EDA funds SRPEDD to 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 funding announced today will catalyze private investment near an Opportunity Zone. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas.
