Colorado

During Fiscal Year 2013, EDA invested $1,032,415 in 10 projects in the State of Colorado.   EDA’s investments help Colorado communities achieve bottom-up, locally-defined economic development goals and strategies.

EDA offers a complementary, balanced portfolio of grant programs designed to help rural and urban communities grow their private sectors and create jobs.

Investment Spotlight: Increasing Economic Diversity in the San Luis Valley

Bordered by the San Juan Mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and north, the San Luis Valley in Colorado is a region that is geographically, culturally, and economically isolated from the rest of the state.   The primary Valley industries, agriculture and tourism, are subject to seasonal income fluctuations and are especially vulnerable during hard times. Agriculture alone accounts for nearly 60% of the region’s jobs.

While having significant natural and cultural strengths, the region desperately needed to increase business creation and diversity. In 2013, EDA awarded approximately $200,000 to Adams State University in Alamosa County to develop a feasibility study for marketing and development of the five county San Luis Valley region.

The study will address the feasibility of developing an operational, marketing, and development plan for the Sustainable Environmental and Economic Development (SEED) Park. The study will address green zoning, land use design and planning, and business planning tied to regional assets and economic opportunities.   All SEED Park businesses will use by-product material and green practices.   This effort will not only increase economic opportunity and prosperity, but also make the economy more resilient to disasters and market fluctuations which would be potentially devastating for the region.