Michigan
| Program | # of Grants | EDA Funds |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Adjustment Assistance | 1 | $100,000 |
| Public Works | 1 | $534,237 |
| Regional Innovation Program | 1 | $499,679 |
| Technical Assistance | 3 | $303,463 |
| Trade Adjustment Assistance | 1 | $1,709,961 |
| Planning | 11 | $935,348 |
| Grand Total | 18 | $4,082,688 |
Southgate, MI - Central Wayne County has experienced significant job loss and chronic long-term high unemployment rates. Common to the greater Detroit region, high-wage manufacturing jobs in the automotive, steel and power generation sectors have steadily been eliminated over the past decade. Since 2002, it is estimated that employment in the project region’s manufacturing sector has decreased by approximately 30 percent. Most recently, the scheduled closing of two coal-fired power plants will result in additional job losses. In response, regional stakeholders needed to collaborate on the completion of a multi-jurisdictional, comprehensive and detailed strategy to assess the impacts of both past and imminent employment losses, identify development opportunities which will support and grow the region’s manufacturing sector and identify ways to diversify the area’s economy.
In February 2017, EDA awarded $100,000 in Economic Adjustment Assistance funds to the Downriver Community Conference to fund an Economic Recovery and Development Strategy for the Downriver area of the greater Detroit region, including, and with emphasis on, the communities of Trenton, Ecorse, Wyandotte and River Rouge. The strategy will include the identification and assessment of the economic impacts of the decline in the area’s long-term industrial sector. The project will engage regional stakeholders and the general public in the strategy development process as well as assess the relationship of the project area to the larger geographic region.
The completed Economic Recovery and Implementation Strategy will enable project area local government jurisdictions, economic development organizations, businesses, and stakeholders to best identify economic development obstacles and opportunities, and to establish a plan to implement selected actions. The completed strategy will identify clusters and individual firms with growth potential that could be expanded as well as those industries that could be attracted to the region. Activities identified by the strategy will help create project area employment and personal income opportunities, and an economic environment better able to stabilize and create public revenue sources.