Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $2.5 Million to Provide Critical Infrastructure to Serve Tribal Businesses in Oklahoma Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.5 million grant to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Shawnee, Oklahoma, to make critical infrastructure improvements needed to support diversified business growth at the Iron Horse Industrial Park. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, is expected to create nearly 50 jobs and generate $4.5 million in private investment.

“The Trump Administration is dedicated to advancing economic growth and business development in tribal communities throughout the United States,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “Enhanced infrastructure at the Iron Horse Industrial Park will strengthen the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s ability to launch new ventures and compete in the global economy.”

“EDA is pleased to support the Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s strategy to diversify the tribal economy,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will extend rail infrastructure and purchase equipment for the transload facility to attract new businesses and make the Park more resilient after natural disasters. The project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will further attract a diversified business community.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Central Oklahoma Economic Development District (COEDD), which brings together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20) (PDF), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (PDF) funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act. Please visit EDA’s Disaster Supplemental webpage.

The funding announced today goes to one of Oklahoma’s 117 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 page here.

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.