Eastgate gets a $210,000 federal grant

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded a $210,000 grant Tuesday to the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.

The money will go toward developing and implementing a comprehensive economic development strategy, or CEDS, that will serve as a road map for diversifying and strengthening the regional economy in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.

“This investment will help ensure Northeast Ohio communities have the resources they need to help local businesses expand and attract jobs to the area,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat.

The CEDS process is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development plan for the region, Brown said.

The EDA awarded a $600,000 grant to Eastgate on June 27 to develop and implement a strategy to help the region respond to the idling of the General Motors complex in Lordstown. That grant will be matched with $150,000 in local investments.

That money will fund the Eastgate Economic and Resiliency Project, which includes a dedicated recovery coordinator and supporting team to develop a strategy to guide the region’s economic development efforts.

The team will work with experts at Cleveland State University’s Center for Economic Development to determine where the region should focus its economic resiliency efforts.

Eastgate works in areas such as transportation, water and air quality, land-use planning, and local infrastructure projects in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.