Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.4 Million to Make Infrastructure Upgrades to Protect Businesses From Flooding in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.4 million grant to the city of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to make stormwater infrastructure improvements at the North Gateway Business Park. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $357,269 in local funds and is expected to create more than 50 jobs, retain 241 jobs, and generate $3.1 million in private investment.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping American communities build modern infrastructure in Opportunity Zones,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will expand the North Gateway Business Park to create flood-resistant building sites, and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will attract additional investment.”

“EDA is pleased to support Prairie du Chien’s strategy to protect its businesses,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project mitigates future flooding of existing businesses, and the project’s Opportunity Zone designation will further transform the community and diversify the regional economy.”

“I want to thank the Trump Administration for its continued attentiveness to southwestern Wisconsin’s needs,” said Senator Ron Johnson. “These grants will help southwestern Wisconsin be more prepared to deal with flooding and its economic impacts.”

The funding announced today goes to one of Wisconsin’s 120 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 webpage. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.

With this grant, EDA has invested more than $750 million in Opportunity Zones across the nation since 2018.

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) Program 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 for more information.

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.