On Tuesday, the federal government awarded a Billings agency just over $2 million for business development in Yellowstone County.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration, under the Department of Commerce, granted public-private partnership Big Sky Economic Development $2 million for a business growth project.
Big Sky Economic Development plans to turn a decade-old building in downtown Billings into a center for entrepreneurship training and small business development.
That’s according to Business Director Melanie Schwarz with Big Sky Economic Development.
“We know that entrepreneur ecosystems actually bring people to the community,” she says. “So again, you’re just kinda driving and churning that market for people to come and want to be in Billings.”
In the service of that mission, Schwarz says they’ll turn the historic Montana National Bank building on North Broadway into a coworking space for entrepreneurs, a training facility, and a new office for Big Sky Economic Development.
Under the Trump Administration's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the federal government awards so-called “opportunity zones”, areas designated as low-income, like Yellowstone County, with funds for business development. It encourages investment in these areas with financial incentives like tax breaks.
According to a U.S. Economic Development Administration press release, the $2 million grant will be matched with local funds. The project should lead to 95 jobs and generate $6.6 million in private investment.