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The United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration announced a $2.7 million grant for flood resilient development at Hancock’s business park on Thursday. The application was initially filed by the city last November, and was seen as a great opportunity because the normal 50% match was waived. State and local funds will total only around $667,000.
The business park is expected to be the home of technology and manufacturing companies. Projections suggest that those entities could contribute as much as $17 million in new investment that would create 61 permanent jobs and help keep almost 150 jobs in the area. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and United States Senator Gary Peters praised the announcement.
The full release is below.
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Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.7 million grant to the city of Hancock, Michigan, to provide flood resilient infrastructure for a new a business and technology park that will house technology and technology-driven light manufacturing businesses. This EDA project, to be matched with $666,028 in state and local funds, is expected to create 61 jobs, retain 147 jobs, and generate $17 million in private investment.
“President Biden is committed to helping communities cultivate and expand business opportunities to ensure that they not only recover from the coronavirus pandemic but build back stronger,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment in Hancock will support efforts to boost the local industrial and technology business sector and attract new job opportunities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”
“The Economic Development Administration is pleased to support the Hancock’s strategy to diversify and grow the region’s economy,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project provides development-ready space for new and existing companies to expand, while also helping build a more resilient regional economy.”
“This $2.7 million grant will allow us to continue building our economy back better from the pandemic and create and retain good-paying jobs in the UP,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Michigan is grateful to President Biden, Secretary Raimondo, and all our federal Partners for investing in our communities and helping us build up the industries of the future.”
“The 2018 flooding in Houghton County dealt significant damage to local roads and buildings,” said Senator Gary Peters. “I was able to visit Hancock after the floods and see the damage firsthand, and I’m grateful that this federal grant will help build resilient infrastructure will not only create jobs but jumpstart local economies – especially as we work to recover from the damage and this pandemic,” Senator Peters said. “I’ll continue partnering with the Biden Administration and the Economic Development Agency to support economic growth in the UP and invest in manufacturing.”
This project was made possible by the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Regional Commission’s regional planning efforts, which EDA funds 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.
This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act. Please visit EDA’s Disaster Supplemental webpage for more information.
