NEW LONDON - The City of New London will receive nearly $418,000 in a state grant to rehabilitate homes and businesses in town.
The money is part of a $17.6 million Department of Employment and Economic Development grant that will be shared with 37 Minnesota communities, such as Appleton, Dawson, New London and Grove City.
“Fabulous,” is the word New London City Clerk Trudie Guptill used to describe the news, which was made public Monday.
This is the first time New London has received funds through the Small Cities Development Program, which is geared for rehabilitation of commercial and residential buildings as well as municipal infrastructure projects.
New London will focus the funds on its downtown commercial district as well as owner-occupied homes, Guptill said.
Eligible projects must benefit people of low and moderate incomes, eliminate slum and blight conditions or eliminate an urgent threat to public health or safety, according to DEED.
Investing $417,804 in New London will go a long way to improve the aesthetics and economy of the community, Guptill said.
The Kandiyohi County Housing and Redevelopment Authority applied for the grant on behalf of New London.
The city’s request included pre-applications from about 25 home and commercial building owners.
That list will likely be pared down to meet the constraints of the grant, Guptill said.
Projects must be completed within 30 months.
The program is available to cities with populations under 50,000 and counties with population under 200,000.
“Thanks to this program, many residents of Great Minnesota will have access to improved housing and better economic opportunities,” said Kevin McKinnon, in a news release.
Other area communities that were awarded the DEED grants include:
• Appleton: $591,250 for housing/commercial improvements
• Dawson: $419,382 for housing/commercial improvements
• Grove City: $600,000 for a water distribution line replacement
Nearly half (47 percent) of the 2015 DEED grant will go to rehabilitate owner-occupied housing, 15 percent is for public facilities, 14 percent is to rehabilitate commercial buildings, 14 percent is to rehabilitate rental housing and 10 percent is for general administration.
