The Economic Development program (EDP) provides communities with gap funding to assist identified businesses in the creation/retention of jobs for low-and moderate-income persons.
- Eligible Activities by Group Number:
Group Numbers Maximum Award
a) Grants to Municipalities: for acquisition, relocation, $500,000* demolition, clearance, construction, reconstruction, installation and rehabilitation associated with public infrastructure projects. All public infrastructure must be owned by the municipality, or public or private utility, and be in support of an identified business.
b) Grants to Municipalities for Direct Business Support: $500,000* for capital and non-capital equipment, land and site improvements, rehabilitation or construction of commercial or industrial buildings, job training, working capital and capital equipment and be in support of an identified business. Acquisition is not an allowable activity under this group.
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Exclusions: • Applicants may apply in only one specific activity group • EDP funds cannot be used to refinance existing debt.
• All EDP activities must be in support of an identified business; speculative activities are excluded. • Communities receiving an EDP award may not receive any other EDP award for the same project or business during the same program year or for the same project or business from a prior program year that has not met final closeout status.
• Communities that received an EDP award, for the same business in a prior year, must document, at submission of Letter of Intent, employment baseline information to show the company is at or above the employment number achieved as a result of previous CDBG assistance and that the CDBG assistance is vital to the project and cannot be obtained elsewhere. • *Start-up businesses are limited to a maximum grant award of $250,000 • Waivers to increase the maximum grant award amount, in instances where the impact of the project is substantial and can be documented, both through project investment and job creation, may be requested to the Director of the Office of Community Development. -
Project Benefit: All projects must document that at a minimum, 51% of all jobs created or retained as a result of the funded activity must be taken/held by persons of low and moderate income as defined by HUD. Jobs created/retained must be in the community applying for the EDP award, new jobs to that community and not associated with any other branches of the assisted business located in another community. Transfer positions cannot be counted toward the job creation/retention requirements. In the event that job creation requirements are not met, the applicant community will be responsible for immediate repayment to DECD of all CDBG funds expended on the project.
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Program Dollars per Job: The maximum CDBG participation per job created or retained with EDP funds is $30,000.
Please see the current Program Statement for further program information.