Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding an $850,000 grant to the city of Hooks, Texas, to make critical wastewater infrastructure improvements needed to support business development and economic growth in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone. The EDA grant project will be matched with $212,500 in local funds and is expected to create 250 jobs.
“Supporting communities in Opportunity Zones as they work to provide vital infrastructure for businesses is a top priority for President Trump,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This EDA investment will upgrade Hook’s wastewater treatment plant and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will attract new businesses that will diversify the northeast Texas economy.”
The funding announced today will serve one of Texas’ 628 Opportunity Zones. 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. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Opportunity Now resources webpage. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.