Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.9 Million to Provide Critical Infrastructure for Business Development in Orange Cove, California, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.9 million grant to the city of Orange Cove, California, to provide sewer and roadway infrastructure improvements to support the community and its businesses. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $485,700 in local funds and is expected to create or retain 330 jobs.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping American communities build the infrastructure they need to generate business growth in Opportunity Zones,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will provide the city of Orange Cove with the necessary infrastructure to open up new land to be commercially occupied and to attract businesses to the area.”

“This investment will construct a new sewer main, storm drainage piping, traffic signals, concrete sidewalks, and more for the city of Orange Cove, offering more land for commercial use,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “The project will help the city become a more attractive destination for new business development, and its location in an Opportunity Zone provides additional tax incentives for companies to build and grow in communities of great need.”

The funding announced today goes to one of California’s 879 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. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.

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.