State establishes $250M grant programs for local development, health care projects

Wisconsin will spend $250 million in pandemic relief money on two programs to help support housing, transit, child care and health care projects. The priority will be underserved communities in the state, Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday.

Local and tribal governments will be able to apply for the grants, to be awarded in a competitive process, according to the governor’s office.

There will be $200 million in neighborhood investment grants for projects to “deliver innovative public services, including new or improved facilities,” the governor’s office stated in announcing the programs. Those might include workforce and entrepreneur “innovation centers” or projects in affordable housing, transit, child care or public space development, “with a particular emphasis on increasing services for underserved individuals and populations.”

Another $50 million in grants will be awarded to local and tribal governments or nonprofit health care organizations for health care building projects focused on increasing access for low-income, uninsured and other underserved communities, including boosting their ability to respond to future pandemics. New construction, as well as upgrades to existing space that expands capacity, would both be eligible.

“If we want to see Wisconsin’s families, communities, and economy succeed for years to come, then we need to make the investments today to build long-term, sustainable economic wellbeing for tomorrow,” Evers stated, adding that the aim was to invest “in our people and our neighborhoods so every Wisconsinite has access to the infrastructure and resources to thrive.”

The grants will be administered by the Department of Administration and funded through Wisconsin’s share of money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was enacted earlier this year.