Check this page for information about future events.
This roundtable and workshop series provides tips small cities and towns can use to create an economically-vibrant Main Street, featuring presentations by experts from throughout Texas.
Whether it’s for business, education, or personal use, high-speed internet service, or broadband, is increasingly critical infrastructure for cities and residents. H-GAC’s Regional Broadband Initiative supports expanding access to high-speed internet and increasing adoption of internet service or devices in the 13-county Houston-Galveston region.
On May 13, 2021 H-GAC launched a new broadband planning website.
The site will help communities understand where residents lack access to high-speed internet and where the adoption of existing internet is limited.
The site includes eligibility maps and detailed information on federal grants and loan programs for broadband expansion.
At the event, expert speakers from CTC Technology and Energy, Connected Nation, and NRTC Rural Utilities Cooperative introduced current federal funding sources and potential partners for local governments. The City of Dayton shared the story of their new municipally owned broadband network: DayNet.
Heather Mills, Vice President Grant & Funding Strategies, CTC Technology and Energy
Charles Spann, Director, Engineering & Technical Services, Connected Nation
Greg Santoro, SVP Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, NRTC Rural Utilities Coop
Theo Melancon, City Manager, City of Dayton
In 2020, the Economic Development Administration provided $268 million in grant funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to support job creation and bolster economic recovery.
At H-GAC's webinar on June 18, 2020, with the U.S. Economic Development Administration, participants learned how their communities could access this grant funding for economic recovery.
Opportunity Zones are a tax incentive created in 2017 to spur investment in designated low-income census tracts. Taxpayers can reduce or eliminate capital gains through qualified investments in businesses or real estate within an Opportunity Zone. Attracting investments to the region’s Opportunity Zones will speed the long-term economic recovery of our communities.
H-GAC, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the International Economic Development hosted an Opportunity Zones Summit on August 19, 2019.
Summit participants:
Learned about the rules and regulations governing Opportunity Zones
Learned to identify criteria for potential Opportunity Zone projects in their community
Learned what Opportunity Zones investors are seeking
Learned how to develop a prospectus and market their project to investors
©2021 Houston-Galveston Area Council
Houston-Galveston Area Council
Houston-Galveston Area Council