With a federal grant on hold indefinitely, it's unclear whether the City of Columbia will receive the $2.13 million it was awarded last year to study improvements to I-70 Business Loop.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods infrastructure grant to the city in March 2024. After the Trump administration’s January executive order ending federal funding for DEI programs, the grant was placed on hold.
“We think this street is definitely a prime example of why cities need government help,” said Carrie Gartner, who serves as executive director of the Loop Community Improvement District (CID) and oversees efforts to revitalize the Business Loop corridor. She said the organization will consider other funding options if the grant is ultimately canceled, but that grants of this size rarely come from local governments.
“That's exactly why the federal government has grants like this every single year, because projects like this are just too expensive for local municipalities to fund,” she said.
While the grant remains paused, the Loop CID is continuing work on other economic development projects. For instance, at CoMo Cooks Shared Kitchen, entrepreneurs work with business coaches from Regional Economic Development Inc., or REDI, a public-private partnership that works to support local businesses and create jobs in Columbia.
Gartner said she hopes to continue and expand partnership with REDI and its new president, Columbia Economic Development director Paul Eisenstein. The city has supported the Loop CID’s efforts, providing $500,000 as a local match for the federal grant.
“It was a huge commitment on behalf of the city to apply for the grant and commit this funding,” Gartner said. “So we're just hopeful that either the grant will become unstuck or there'll be another way forward when they release new funding opportunities.”
