West Central Initiative was awarded $3.5 million from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Main Street Economic Revitalization Program to provide matching grants for redevelopment of commercial space along three corridors in west central Minnesota. The corridors include:
- The City of Browns Valley along Broadway and State Highway 28.
- The City of Morris along Atlantic Avenue, State Highway 9, and US Highway 59.
- The Cities of Moorhead, Dilworth, Glyndon, Hawley, Lake Park, Audubon, Detroit Lakes, Perham, and Bluffton intersected by State Highway 10.
West Central Initiative applied for the DEED funding as one of six Minnesota Initiative Foundations, which have been serving Greater Minnesota for more than 36 years.
“We’re passionately committed to unleashing the full, dynamic potential of west central Minnesota,” said West Central Initiative Innovation Strategist Jill Amundson. “We’re thrilled to partner with these communities and businesses to help revitalize local economies. Several of the communities already have begun developing plans to restore and enhance segments of their retail and service-related infrastructure to better serve consumers, create expanded employment opportunities, and build tax revenues in the post-pandemic recovery era. We expect these business-focused matching grants will help to make those plans and more a reality.”
Businesses along the corridors will apply directly to West Central Initiative for grants. The organization plans to release the program details and application in the coming weeks. To stay up to date, visit old.wcif.org.
DEED’s statewide Main Street Economic Revitalization Program has distributed $80 million through two rounds of funding.
“These investments will help rebuild business clusters hit hardest by the challenges of the last few years—and they’ll create jobs and spark economic revitalization throughout Minnesota,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.
For more information about DEED’s program, visit mn.gov/deed.
