PENNSYLVANIA ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO KEY STATE GRANT PROGRAM

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently announced substantial changes to the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) including a program name change to the Pennsylvania Economic Growth Initiative (PEGI). The revised program offered an initial application opportunity for a 2012 funding round. For a project to have been eligible for consideration in the initial funding round it must have already been listed in a previously enacted Capital Budget Act and applications must have been received by the Office of the Budget on June 29, 2012. Awards will be made in October 2012 to those projects which are selected.

Starting in February 2013, applications will be accepted on a semi-annual basis and awards will be made twice a year, in April and October. Funding for PEGI will be set at approximately $125 million statewide each year, with releases being set at a much lower level than in previous years. An eligible project must first be listed in an enacted Capital Budget Act. To apply, the project must be “shovelready”, demonstrating site control, availability of match financing, and zoning approvals, among other factors. The project sponsor may then submit an application to the Commonwealth’s Office of the Budget presenting the scope of work, project costs, documentation of other financing sufficient to complete the project, anticipated construction schedule and other relevant project and organizational information.

Projects will be selected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through a process involving a multi-agency review committee, and the selection criteria are described in the attached fact sheet. For the first funding Round.

For more information on these recent changes, visit the Budget Office online at www.budget.state.pa.us and select the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program link. PIDC and the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID) administer a variety of federal, state, and local grant programs, acting as a conduit to bring critical resources to Philadelphia non-profits and development projects. In 2011, on behalf of our clients, PIDC and PAID settled nearly 100 grants totaling more than $326 million and supporting total investment of over $577 million.