Blunt Rochester Announces Community Project Funding for a Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship in Kent County
Dover,
June 28, 2022
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Victoria Panzera
(302-753-7684)
  (Left: Karen Speakman, Executive Director, NCALL; Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester; Dr. Tony Allen, President, Delaware State University.) (Right: A rendering of the joint venture between NCALL & Delaware State University)
“I’m thrilled to announce $1,000,000 in Community Project Funding for a Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship (CURE), an exciting partnership between Delaware State University and NCALL,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “For me, this project is all about three things: jobs, partnership, and innovation. CURE will help drive both our economic and community development in Kent County, strengthen partnerships between the federal government, higher education, and nonprofits, and encourage entrepreneurs to be innovative in ideas and practice. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this Center will undoubtedly have on our entire state.”
“Congresswoman Blunt Rochester’s leadership has been critical in supporting our entrepreneurial and economic development efforts among women and people of color. We know that small business is deep in the fabric of this country – it provides jobs, builds communities, and promotes the ingenuity inside of every American. Unlocking that talent is the key. Today’s appropriation for the University’s Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship is a significant step toward that objective, particularly in and around the DSU Downtown Dover campus,” said Dr. Tony Allen, President of Delaware State University.
“We at NCALL are extremely honored and appreciative of this federal investment of $1 million dollars that Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester has supported and secured for the Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship,” said Karen Speakman, Executive Director of NCALL. “This funding comes at a crucial time and will supplement the $1.24 million that NCALL has raised from various sources such as the Delaware’s Community Reinvestment Fund and the Longwood Foundation to make this building a reality. The Center is the result of many talks between NCALL and Delaware State University on how to we could both be more present in the community and provide a small business incubator for community-based entrepreneurship in downtown Dover.”
The $1,000,000 in Community Project Funding for the Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship (CURE), a partnership between Delaware State University and NCALL. This project will address the lack of small business incubators in Kent County, specifically in Downtown Dover. CURE will be located at 225 W. Division Street in Dover, one block from Delaware State University’s Dover Campus. CURE will house NCALL’s Restoring Central Dover program, a resident-driven comprehensive community development effort on the first floor and a DSU-run shared business space on the second floor to promote community-based entrepreneurship in Downtown Dover.
The Community Project Funding was a part of a robust, bipartisan, year-long process in which Blunt Rochester’s office received over 150 applications. Each House Member was permitted to submit only 10 applications to the House Committee on Appropriations for consideration. Blunt Rochester was able to ensure that 8 applications made it into the final appropriations package.
In March, Blunt Rochester voted to fund nearly $100 million in Delaware projects, which included $23,662,500 of Community Project Funding. This funding, included in the appropriations government funding package and signed into law by President Biden, responds directly to some of the most pressing needs in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties.
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