The Department of Agriculture today announced a $99,500 grant award to assist the City of Clarkesville in renovations of fire damaged buildings at the Historic downtown Clarkesville Town Square. The project will provide business space to new or returning small business enterprises and create or bring back jobs that were displaced as a result of the fire. Funding is from the Rural Business Development Grant program which supports the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas.
USDA Grant Assists the City of Clarkesville to Restore and Create Jobs: Renovations of Fire Damaged Historic Buildings Projected to Bring Back Businesses and Jobs
“The City of Clarkesville is taking this opportunity to redevelop its downtown area,” said Jill Stuckey, USDA Rural Development Georgia State Director. “We are invested in your success”, she said. This project can have a positive impact on the real property values and help improve the tax base in the entire Downtown Business District. It is anticipated that approximately 59 jobs will be retained and up to 31 new jobs will be created.
In March of 2014, the City of Clarkesville experienced a devastating fire that destroyed or severely damaged five buildings in the Historic Downtown Clarkesville Town Square. Four of the buildings were part of a contiguous row of seven historic buildings directly facing the Downtown Square in Clarkesville. Prior to the fire, these four buildings housed seven businesses that employed 48 people. This grant will fund a portion of the costs for the historic restoration and rehabilitation of three buildings that suffered damage, and create a public plaza where the fourth building was completely destroyed by the fire.
In Fiscal Year 2016, Georgia Rural Development awarded twelve Rural Business Development Grants totaling $899,000, see http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/ga_fy16RBDGlist.pdf for a list of awardees.
Since 2009, nationwide, USDA Rural Development has invested $13.5 billion for 5,739 water and waste infrastructure projects, benefiting 19.1 million rural residents; invested nearly $13 billion to start or expand nearly 112,000 rural businesses; helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; funded nearly 9,200 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. USDA also has invested $31.3 billion in 963 electric projects that have financed more than 185,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines serving 4.6 million rural residents. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.