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EDA has published a Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance (PWEAA) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for FY23. The Public Works program provides resources for construction and infrastructure design to enable communities to become more economically competitive. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program supports activities such as construction and upgrading of public infrastructure, sector partnerships for workforce training, design and engineering, technical assistance, economic recovery strategies, and capitalization or recapitalization of Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs). Through this NOFO, EDA intends to pursue projects that prioritize equity, workforce development, and climate resilience. EDA supports bottom-up strategies that ...

As the pandemic enters its third year, white-collar work has changed, with some workers looking to remain remote full-time while others are itching to get back to the office. The pandemic has shown that the hybrid work model and the option to work remotely are here to stay. According to Forbes, at the height of the pandemic half of the workforce was working remotely, and currently around 15 to 18 percent of those workers plan to work from home permanently. What this has created is a surplus of available commercial office space as companies change their work landscape. From early 2020 to summer 2021, vacancies in high-end office buildings climbed from 13 percent to 17 percent; this rate is expected to surpass 20 percent this year. Rents ...

A Detroit developer’s innovative commercial leasing strategy is fostering the city’s creative sector while promoting inclusive economic growth in a historic neighborhood located about three miles north of downtown. After restoring the Fisher Building, a National Historic Landmark in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood, the Platform, a developer focused on revitalizing Detroit, was searching for a marketing plan for the building’s fourth floor. The floor was divided into small suites, making it difficult to attract typical corporate tenants. Its large windows, though, which allowed plenty of natural light, were perfect for businesses in the creative sector, such as graphic design, marketing and architecture firms, ...

The Federal Reserve is expanding its emergency lending program for small and medium-size businesses, allowing larger businesses to qualify and lowering the minimum loan amounts to help more small businesses. The Main Street Lending Program, which has not yet started accepting applications, is aimed at midsize companies that are too large to qualify for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program but are too small to access debt markets relied on by large corporations. Unlike the SBA program, the Fed’s loans must be repaid, reported the Washington Post. Businesses with up to 15,000 employees and $5 billion in annual revenue now can apply to the Main Street Lending Program, the Fed said April 30. It had been ...

The importance of design in rural community development is getting increasing attention (Community Matters). Good design helps communities see “great options for growing a village center, establishing welcoming public spaces or revitalizing downtown,” among other benefits. Here are some examples of ways to encourage good design: Introduce elected officials to the principles of good design: The Carl Small Town Center at Mississippi State University teaches a “Design Cents” workshop for public officials and community partners. The workshop shows how to promote and implement good design to improve the quality of life in communities. Attract creative talent: In Green River, Utah, a local non-profit called the ...

By Emily Brown In planning, there’s always been tension between the policy-makers and the design crowd. Those on the policy side tend to believe that larger-scale investments and regulations bring greater change (and more jobs) than design-based solutions. Urban designers see top-down regulations as neglecting planning’s “wicked problems,” and advocate for more appealing places that organically attract people, investment, and, eventually, more jobs. Typically, economic developers have landed in the policy camp, but lately, the overlap between design-based planning and policy-based planning appears to be growing. For example, the recent annual meeting in Buffalo of one of the most prominent design-based ...