New River Valley Times

The EDA's Washington, D.C. office awarded an Opportunity Zone grant to Roanoke - The Blacksburg Innovation Network on Sept. 16, 2020 with a total project amount of $2,079,184 from the US Economic Development Administration.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration offered the following description of this project:

"This EDA investment funds the Growing our Innovation Ecosystem: Scaling the Success of the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP), to support scalable startups in technology and health and life sciences across the state of Virginia. The project would focus on activities in four key areas: Startup Pathways, Scaling the Accelerator-in-Residence Program, Enhanced Support for Later-Stage Startups, and Resource Development and Research."

According to the Internal Revenue Service, opportunity zones were added to the tax code under The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The bill has come under some criticism for creating another big tax break for the ultra-wealthy.

The EDA is a federal government agency that focuses exclusively on economic development.The agency solicits applications for funding in order to support construction, non-construction planning, technical assistance, and revolving loan fund projects under the agency's Public Works and the Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) programs. Grants made under these programs are designed to advance economic development in distressed communities.

Grantee Name	Total Project Funding	Grant Award Date
BioSTL	$3,337,602	Sept. 16
Delaware Innovation Space	$2,976,166	Sept. 16
University of Maryland Baltimore County	$1,323,540	Sept. 16
University System of New Hampshire	$1,196,436	Sept. 16
Trustees Of Indiana University	$952,574	Sept. 14
Pennsylvania Economy League	$600,000	Sept. 16
RI Bio	$595,000	Sept. 16
Casper Area Economic Development Alliance	$352,700	Sept. 16