MATTAPOISETT — On March 3, Congressman Bill Keating announced that the town had gotten a $735,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration to to support new business and create 200 local jobs in the Mattapoisett Industrial Park. 

The town had previously planned to spend $1.4 million to reconstruct the road that runs through its Industrial Park and other business areas. This grant represents half of that funding. 

The project will “support new business development... and enable expansion of office space, light manufacturing, assembly, warehouse, and distribution activities within the industrial park.”  In addition to the jobs it will create, the project will also lead to $35 million in private investment leveraged.

“Federal funding distributed in the correct ways can create so many opportunities for our communities,” said Congressman Keating, who promoted the project to the EDA. “That is exactly what we are seeing here. Not only will be we improving our infrastructure, which alone is a win, but we are also providing opportunity — opportunity for business growth, entrepreneurial development, and partnerships with private investors.” 

Town Administrator Michael Gagne added that “many companies at the Park are looking to expand, and this infrastructure project will facilitate that growth.”

Mattapoisett had planned to pursue a Mass Works Grant for the project, and wrote an article in its October 2019 Town Meeting specifying that the project would be funded with that grant. The town then had to do a second Town Meeting in January to approve a slightly amended version of the article that would allow for other funding sources. Residents in Mattapoisett voted 178 to 6 to approve the change in wording.