October is Community Economic Development month! The Centralina Community Economic Development (CED) department is celebrating this month by reflecting upon the following ongoing economic development projects:
- Centralina supported Mecklenburg and Union County in another successful Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement program year. CDBG funding supports local critical home repair agencies, access to daycare centers for working parents, senior nutrition needs, job empowerment programs, mortgage assistance programs, sidewalk infrastructure in vulnerable communities and public safety needs in rural areas. Centralina CED serves as the administrator of the CDBG program for Mecklenburg and Union counties and assists the counties with the efficient and effective delivery of HUD CDBG funds to non-profits, housing and homelessness providers, county departments, local municipalities and other public service agencies.
- Centralina successfully supported nine municipalities in managing their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds through an ARPA Peer Consortium series that works in a peer-to-peer sharing format to better understand how to successfully implement ARPA funds in their communities to remedy impact from the Covid pandemic.
- The Centralina Economic Development District (EDD) launched the Regional Resilience Collaborative (RRC) program in April 2021 in partnership with the nine-county emergency management directors. In September 2022 the RRC program received grant funds from the North Carolina Association of Regional Council of Governments to examine and enhance the viability and resiliency of long-term pre-disaster disaster recovery plans and promote economic resilience needs to ensure the region benefits from greater efficiency in responding to current and future natural and man-made disasters and economic shocks.
- The Centralina Economic Development District (EDD) launched the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) update to the 2017-2022 Prosperity for Greater Charlotte CEDS. Centralina CED serves as staff to the Centralina EDD and has been working with the CEDS Steering Committee since January for the adoption of the CEDS update in November 2022. The CEDS is a requirement of the US Economic Development Administration for the Centralina EDD and it serves as the NorthStar for economic development strategies for the nine-county Centralina region.
A glance into an exciting upcoming Centralina CED project:
- Centralina is currently working with Anson County in developing grant applications to support utility infrastructure improvements, rural downtown transformation grant opportunities and neighborhood revitalization activities. These grants will provide much needed asset and inventory assessments of the utility and neighborhood infrastructure in Anson County and provide housing rehabilitation for low- to moderate-income residents.