Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests to Support Manufacturing Growth in Greensburg, Kentucky, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $640,000 grant to the city of Greensburg, Kentucky, to support the growth of manufacturing businesses by improving the Greensburg/Green County Industrial Park. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $812,000 in local funds and is expected to create 150 jobs and generate $15 million in private investment.

“President Trump is committed to supporting locally-devised business growth and economic development strategies across the nation,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Dr. John Fleming. “The investment will increase manufacturing jobs, assist with new business development, and reduce the number of residents having to commute outside of the region for employment. The project’s location in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone will provide additional tax incentives for business development.”

This investment will buildout an existing shell building located in the Greensburg/Green County Industrial Park to support manufacturing. This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Lake Cumberland Area Development District (LCADD). EDA funds the LCADD to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

The funding announced today goes to a designated Opportunity Zone, created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to spur economic development by giving tax incentives to investors 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 Opportunity Zone program, see the Treasury Department resources page here. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage.

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.