Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $956,858 in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Economic Diversification Efforts in Michigan Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $956,858 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to purchase lab equipment to build capacity at the Center for Freshwater Research and Education. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $239,215 in local funds, is expected to create 20 jobs, and generate $14.2 million in private investment.

“This investment comes at a crucial time to help Michigan’s and our nation’s economy come roaring back,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will build economic resiliency in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula by catalyzing new water-related industries and innovation through expanded training and research services to be provided through Lake Superior State University’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education.”

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit our recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

The funding announced today will serve one of Michigan’s 288 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.

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.