U.S. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans Announces $5.1 Million Grant
for City of Aurora
Grant will fund construction of Sand Creek Parkway
U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans today
announced a $5.1 million grant from the Economic Development Administration
(EDA) to the City of Aurora. The grant reaffirms President Bush's
commitment to increasing economic growth and job creation in America.
“The Commerce Department is
pleased to partner with the people of Aurora. We all know government
can't create jobs, but it can set the stage for investment and innovation
through economic development investments like these,” said
Commerce Secretary Don Evans. “President Bush is committed
to working with local communities to grow the economy, create jobs
and encourage investments in their local areas.”
Secretary Evans presented the grant
check to Aurora Mayor Paul Tauer and U.S. Representative Bob Beauprez
during a presentation ceremony in Denver.
"The new Fitzsimons is about
jobs, quality research and improved quality of life. It's established
a new standard for public-private partnership in all of America,"
Beauprez said. "This is a noble investment in the critical
infrastructure of the total Fitzsimons campus that is undeniably
going to pay huge dividends to Aurora and Colorado for years to
come."
The Commerce Department grant will
be used for the construction of the Sand Creek Parkway to facilitate
the redevelopment of the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center,
as part of President Bush’s commitment to keep America Working.
This critical piece of transportation infrastructure will connect
Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street, allowing for improved access, as
the site of the former medical center is fully redeveloped as a
bioscience incubator.
EDA has already assisted in upgrading
basic infastructure within the campus and provided major funding
for the Colorado Biotechnology Incubator. The incubator is the centerpiece
of a job-generating powerhouse that marries research capabilities
of the University of Colorado with the entrepreneurial know-how
of the biotechnology community.
EDA serves as a venture capital resource
to meet the economic development needs of distressed communities
throughout the United States. EDA partners with states, units of
local government and community nonprofit organizations in economically
distressed areas, regions and communities in order to alleviate
conditions of poverty and substantial and persistent unemployment
and underemployment.
Additional information on how EDA investments are helping distressed
communities create a positive and sustainable economic future can
be accessed at: http://www.doc.gov/eda.