Money to go toward industrial road

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $1.9 million investment to the city of Atmore for an industrial access road in the Rivercane Development.

Erskine made the announcement Friday following a tour of Muskogee Technology in Atmore.

“We at the EDA are pleased to announce that we’re going to be providing a $1.9 million investment here in this part of the state to help build an industrial access road that will serve the new aerospace manufacturing facility located in the Rivercane Industrial Park,” Erskine said.

The investment will fund the construction of an industrial access road to serve a new aerospace manufacturing facility that will be located in the Rivercane Industrial Park. The investment is expected to create 116 jobs and generate $14 million in private investment, according to the EDA.

The announcement of the investment came almost a month after Brown Precision Inc., which manufactures medical and aerospace parts, made it known the company will be building a plant here.

EDA grants are awarded through a competitive process based upon the application’s merit, the applicant’s eligibility and the availability of funds.

In addition, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce will receive a $2.9 million grant to renovate and modernize the former Threaded Fasteners building to house Innovation PortAL, a business that will support economic diversification in the designated manufacturing region.

“Manufacturing fuels the world’s most innovative economy and has helped build the American middle class,” Erskine said. “These EDA investments in Alabama will help to establish and grow manufacturing firms in the Mobile region, and bring a new aerospace manufacturing facility to Atmore.”