DELAWARE- Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., announced Thursday the successful allocation of more than $14 million in federal Community Project Funding for critical initiatives across Delaware, marking a significant boost for affordable housing, workforce development, healthcare, and economic growth in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties.
"For me, these Community Project Funding requests had to have two main criteria – there had to be real community support and real community need, and all 15 final projects strongly demonstrated both," Blunt Rochester said. She highlighted the bipartisan efforts alongside Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, emphasizing the projects' focus on real community support and needs.
The funds, part of the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9, will support 15 projects out of nearly 100 applications received. These projects range from the development of affordable senior housing in Wilmington to expansions at the Rosa Health Center to accommodate more patients in Sussex County.
Key Projects and Their Impacts
Among the initiatives benefiting from the funding are:
- $715,000 for Delaware River Basin Commission Signatory Fund, Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for federal signatory funding share of the DRBC budget, which will be used to further advance DRBC’s scientific mission and programs, maintain the high-quality regulation of the Delaware River and its Basin, and support staffing for these activities.
- $1.6 million for Cornerstone West Community Development Corporation to build The Vistas at St. Francis, a 57-unit, state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, affordable senior housing project that will increase the amount of affordable senior housing in the West Side of Wilmington.
- $1 million for Rosa Health Center to make critical capital improvements, including doubling the size of the current building, (providing six additional exam rooms, and critical renovations to the building) to grow their patient population from 1,900 to 4,000 and offer more services to Sussex Countians who are low-income, uninsured, or underinsured.
- $1 million for Family Promise of Northern New Castle County to fund the construction of a shelter building and a community building which will double the amount of shelter Family Promise can offer at any single time, meaning between 40-50 families experiencing homelessness would now be served each year.
- $500,000 for the Town of Bethany Beach Loop Canal and Lake Bethany Erosion Mitigation Project for the development of a bulkhead and shoreline that would help restore and stabilize a land strip that lies between the Loop Canal and Lake Bethany.
- $84,548 for the Food Bank of Delaware, Inc. Growing Hope in Milford Project to create an essential community agriculture facility to support produce distribution and provide educational opportunities to low-income Delawareans in rural communities.
- $1 million to Polytech Adult Education to fund improvements, demolition, and reconstruction of a Transportation and Logistics Training Center.
Blunt Rochester underscored the significance of these projects in addressing diverse community needs, from healthcare to education and economic development. Her office's year-long process to select and advocate for these projects involved close collaboration with local stakeholders and federal counterparts.
A Forward-Looking Approach
As these projects move from planning to implementation, they promise to bring about lasting improvements in community infrastructure, access to essential services, and quality of life for Delawareans.
"I look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition in our communities.," Blunt Rochester stated. She also thanked her colleagues and the community for their support and dedication to moving the state forward.
The congresswoman's office plans to monitor the progress of these initiatives closely, ensuring they deliver on their promised benefits and contribute to the broader goal of fostering a thriving, inclusive community across Delaware.