Tennessee Invests $8 Million in Rural Development

Nashville (WDEF) – Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd announced Tuesday morning a new investment in Rural economic development for Tennessee.

Rural communities will be able to apply for grants to move their development sites to "shovel-ready" status.

The new initiative also provides new money for improvements to tourism sites in rural area.

And finally, there will be more money for main Street Business Incubator programs in downtown districts.

“Tennessee has embraced real change in our approach to workforce readiness with programs like the Tennessee Promise, and these new initiatives led by TNECD will help build capacity in rural areas and get them ready for investment and economic success,” Haslam said.

The Rural Economic Development Fund includes:
•$6 million Select TN Site Development Grants
•$1 million Tourism-Based Economic Enhancement Program
•$300,000 Main Street Incubator Grants
•$250,000 ThreeStar Community Enhancement Awards
•$250,000 Statewide Broadband Supply/Demand Analysis
•$100,000 ThreeStar Asset Based Planning Assistance
•$75,000 AgLaunch in cooperation with Launch Tennessee