DRA to invest more than $3.6M in five Tennessee municipalities

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has announced investment in six projects across five Tennessee municipalities, totaling more than $3.6 million in investment.  

The projects include a $1.7 million investment in the city of Bells through the DRA Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF) and $1.9 million in the municipalities of Rives, Scotts Hill, Memphis, and Nashville through the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program (SEDAP).  

“The road to economic revitalization begins with strengthening a community’s infrastructure, supporting small businesses and developing a workforce to meet local industry needs,” said DRA Federal Co-Chairman Dr. Corey Wiggins. “Delta Regional Authority’s investment will help boost five projects in Tennessee communities to enable economic growth and preparing the region for a prosperous future.”  

The DRA’s more than $1.7 million investment in Bells is part of the more than $8.9 million overall investment in Project Mallard and will finance the relocation of utilities as part of a larger project involving TDOT and Pictsweet as they relocate a portion of U.S. Highway 79/State Route 76 to expand operations. The investment will help retain 380 jobs in the community.  

Through the SEDAP program, the DRA will invest $422,235 to finance the Rives Flood Mitigation Phase II project, which will improve existing flood mitigation measures in the area. The DRA will also invest $509,578 of a total $536,417 Scotts Hill Water SCADA Improvement Project. The town of Scotts Hill will use the funds to replace the Bath Springs water systems controls with more reliable equipment, benefiting 900 area households.  

SEDAP funding will also be used for two projects in Memphis. The first is at the 28126 Innovation and Technology Center where the DRA will invest $390,000 in a more than $2 million project that will create 30 jobs and train 11 individuals. The South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation will use the funds to build a commercial/retail construction project that will bring innovation and technology to an underserved community. 

The second Memphis project is the DRA investment of $500,000 into the $625,000 Kudzukian Media Group Downtown Memphis Office. The media group will use the funds to open an office in downtown Memphis to better serve current clients and provide greater access to Memphis businesses and local government. The investment will create 10 jobs, retain four, and train 10 individuals.  

DRA will also invest $78,563 into the $672,563 Tri-Star Angel and Entrepreneur Training program based in Memphis. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) will use the funds to recruit and train high net worth individuals, non-accredited investors, and entrepreneurs on angel investing with an emphasis in underserved and underrepresented individuals.