January 21, 2025
ATLANTA — Six local development authorities have been awarded $9.3 million in grants through a new state program aimed at fostering economic development in rural communities, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday.
The OneGeorgia Authority’s Rural Site Development Initiative will enable grant recipients to identify, assess, and develop new industrial sites through such activities as site studies and land grading.
“When we talk to companies, the first question they ask is if we have the workforce. The second is if we have the sites,” Kemp said. “The Rural Site Development Initiative is just one of the ways we’re making sure Georgia remains in the pole position for economic development for years to come.”
Grants of $2 million will go to each of four grant applicants. The Liberty County Development Authority will use its grant to build an access road at the Tradeport West Business Center.
The Joint Development Authority of Peach County and the city of Warner Robins are planning to build a new entrance to the Robins International Industrial Park.
The Dodge County-Eastman Development Authority will put its $2 million grant toward water and sewer improvements at the Eastman Aerospace Park, located adjacent to the local airport and Middle Georgia State University’s School of Aviation.
The Brunswick and Glynn County Development Authority is planning road, water, sewer, and site grading improvements at the Georgia Breakbulk Logistics Site.
The other two grants in the program’s first round of funding include just more than $1 million to the Screven County Development Authority for flooring and building improvements at a speculative building within the Screven County Industrial Park.
The smallest of the grants – $31,500 – will go to the Dade Industrial Development Authority in Northwest Georgia to help cover the costs of studies and reports required to qualify the Dade Industrial Park as ready for development.
All six applicants leveraged local funding sources to match the OneGeorgia Authority grants. The grant funds must be spent within the timeframe specified in the award, typically two years.
