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U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1 Million to Help Grow Technology Cluster in Lower Grande Valley Region of Texas


WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1 million grant to the city of Mercedes, Texas, to make roadway, water and sewer infrastructure improvements needed to establish a mix-use commercial park at the 200-acre Technopolis Village. The project is expected to create 135 jobs, according to grantee estimates.

“Ensuring that our communities and regions have the critical infrastructure they need to support our job-creating innovators is a top priority for the Obama Administration,” said Secretary Pritzker. “This EDA investment will help to establish a mix-use commercial park that will accommodate the tech-based businesses that are integral to expanding the Lower Rio Grande Valley’s technology cluster.”

Technopolis Village is being developed to leverage and link technology innovators and the resources of local, higher educational institutions with the private sector to create a technology cluster in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. This grant builds upon a 2011 EDA investment that provided $1 million to the Texas Valley Communities Foundation, the city of Mercedes, and the Texas Polytechnic Institute of Mercedes to help develop a feasibility study for Technopolis Village. The investment was honored at a White House ‘Champions of Change’ event the same year.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The Economic Development Administration marks 50 years of public service, leading 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.