The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (“DCA”) recently announced the availability of one-time funding of $17 million allocated in the FY2022 Amended State Budget for the purpose of supporting transformative economic development projects in rural downtowns that will revitalize the community. The availability and use of these funds are subject to all applicable state laws and regulations, and is further subject to DCA’s policies. DCA is the administrator of the state’s Rural Downtown Redevelopment Grant Program.
The objective is to provide financial resources to communities who have planned for and are ready to initiate projects within their core downtown areas that have the potential to revitalize the community, while being transformative in nature. Generally speaking, DCA is seeking to fund construction projects that have likely to have already undergone a large degree of planning by the community. As a result, applicants should be able to provide commitment of all necessary partnerships, plans, architectural/engineering designs, the remaining balance of funding, and any other relevant documentation to demonstrate the readiness of the project to proceed. The intent is to award applicants that propose to create transformational change within the downtown area as a result of the application’s implementation. Projects should have a minimum total cost of $1M; requests can be up to $5M. There is a 10% minimum match requirement. Local governments and Authorities are eligible to apply. Applications are due by June 3rd.
For more information, visit DCA’s Rural Downtown Redevelopment page.