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.