Last Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) had awarded a $2 million grant to the city of Johnson City. These grant funds will be used to upgrade the Sinking Creek Pump Station in support of current and future business needs including an ongoing expansion at the Crown Laboratories facility. This EDA grant, to be matched with $3.8 million in local dollars, is expected to create 216 jobs, retain 265 jobs, and generate $5 million in private investment.
Written by the staff of the First Tennessee Development District (FTDD), the grant is the largest secured for a single community in Northeast Tennessee since the FTDD was established in 1965. "This project is emblematic of the successes possible through cooperation, between Crown Labs, the City of Johnson City, and the FTDD," said Bill Forrester, Director of Community Planning, Housing & Development. Forrester went on to say that "efforts such as this, which will not only permit Crown Labs to expand, but also enable the community to attract future growth, which is precisely what the Development District was designed to do."
The FTDD has long utilized EDA funds, on behalf of communities, to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and assist in the creation of jobs. This project is funded under the Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC) program, which assists communities severely impacted by the declining use of coal through activities and programs that support economic diversification, job creation, capital investment, workforce development, and re-employment opportunities.
For more information on the U.S. Economic Development Administration, visit www.eda.gov.
For questions about this or similar projects, please contact Bill Forrester, bforrester@ftdd.org
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