Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $3 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Business Growth in Industrial Park in Holdrege, Nebraska

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $3 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the city of Holdrege, Nebraska, to construct water, sewer, and street improvements to support business development at the Iron Horse Industrial Park. This EDA grant, to be matched with $763,682 in local investment, is expected to create 73 jobs and generate $40 million in private investment.

“President Biden is committed to creating new opportunities to expand regional economies as we build back better from the pandemic,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment will provide critical infrastructure to expand the Iron Horse Industrial Park, supporting development of a new personal protective equipment manufacturing facility, and diversifying the regional economy.”

“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in supporting community-led economic development strategies designed to boost coronavirus recovery and response efforts,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will provide water, sewer, and street improvements to 34 acres of the industrial park in Holdrege, providing new opportunities for manufacturing in the community, as well as creating dozens of job opportunities for residents.”

“Thank you to the Economic Development Administration for their support of Nebraska,” said Governor Pete Ricketts. “Their investment in the City of Holdrege will help build the infrastructure needed to continue to grow jobs and great opportunities in Phelps County.”

“This funding, which was secured by Congress through the CARES Act, will bring direct economic relief to Holdrege as the city recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Deb Fischer. “It will help create dozens of good-paying jobs for the community and generate millions of dollars of economic activity.”

“Holdrege and Phelps County have been Nebraska leaders in pursuing economic development and job creation opportunities,” said Congressman Adrian Smith (NE-03). “I applaud their work to obtain this funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which will assist in providing key infrastructure improvements to support new opportunities for business development at the Iron Horse Industrial Park. Investments like these are critical to our economic recovery from COVID-19 and to building our domestic manufacturing and production capacity.”

This project was made possible by the South Central Economic Development District’s regional planning efforts, which EDA funds 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.

This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136 PDF), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. 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.

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.