The Executive Office of Economic Development is pleased to announce the Community One Stop for Growth.
Donor Name: Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED)
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/03/2026
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The One Stop is a single application portal and collaborative review process that allows applicants to access a series of grant programs that support community economic development. The Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) partners with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) and Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (Mass Development), to make targeted grant investments based on a Development Continuum.
This coordinated process is designed to provide a more streamlined experience for applicants and to make the programs more accessible to all types of organizations, large and small, in all regions of the state. The partner agencies have a long-standing and successful history of providing funding, through multiple programs, that support various stages and/or phases of economic development projects. The One Stop gives communities the ability to pursue, and in some cases stack, state resources in a more timely and strategic manner based on what stage they are at and how ready they are to implement a project. The goal of the One Stop is to support more efforts that result in economic growth for all cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
The first five rounds of the One Stop were met with positive reviews and, more importantly, have resulted in over 1,500 grants across 306 communities, totaling over $774 million in funding. Largely based on feedback received from applicants, several changes were made in preparation for the 2027 Round of the One Stop:
- Development Continuum: Downtown Activation
- The Community Activation & Placemaking Development Continuum category has been rebranded a Downtown Activation. This category primarily supports two EOED programs the Massachusetts Vacant Storefront Program and the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Capital Grant Program.
- Expression of Interest: Enhanced EOI Tool Powered by AI
- The Expression of Interest (EOI) tool has been enhanced to provide more detailed, project-specific feedback delivered immediately on screen. Instead of selecting from predefined multiple-choice responses, users now submit a brief project description and respond to questions tailored to their project.
- New Program: Seaport Economic Council Grant Program
- The Seaport Economic Council Grant Program is now fully integrated into the Community One Stop for Growth. Grants are available to public organizations in all 78 of Massachusetts’ coastal communities and provide capital funding for planning and infrastructure projects that support economic development across the blue economy.
- New Program: Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Capital Grant Program
- EOED is pleased to introduce the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Capital Grant Program (MDICapital) to the Community One Stop for Growth. Building on the original MDI Technical Assistance program, MDI Capital provides municipalities with planning and implementation grants to support the transformation of downtowns, village centers, and main streets into thriving, walkable, and inclusive destinations.
Development Continuum Categories
- Categories Related to Preparing for Growth: The development of certain districts, sites or the advancement of certain economic development initiatives requires a series of initial steps by applicants to attract and guide private investment. Recognizing that these initial steps are applicable for almost all communities, whether a strong or weak market, grants associated with Preparing for Growth help support activities related to:
- Community Activation & Placemaking: Community Activation & Placemaking grants support projects and programs aimed at identifying and enhancing community assets
- Planning & Zoning: Applications for projects in the Planning & Zoning category represent an early-stage project that requires a guiding plan, study, or assessment of project needs, prior to any construction or site preparation. These are planning grants and projects that produce a planning document or zoning revision
- Site Preparation: This category includes funding for an applicant working to progress a key site toward development; a final developer or end use is not necessarily identified at this phase
- Categories Related to Catalyzing Specific Projects: In areas where Preparing for Growth activities may have already occurred, certain projects within a community may be ready for implementation by public and private investment. Grants associated with Catalyzing Specific Projects will be used to incentivize and leverage private commercial, industrial, and/or residential investment projects that further the community vision
- Buildings (Vertical): Funding is available for predevelopment activities and capital improvements that are essential to the occupancy of a blighted and/or underutilized property, with additional opportunities to activate underperforming commercial space within a Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) district. Funding in this category is limited to projects with a strong public purpose and benefit. Projects in this category must have the building secured with building and/or site control, an identified end use, and a clear public purpose. Additional funding is available for eligible Housing Choice designated municipalities to projects supporting the production, rehabilitation, or preservation of housing units within the community
- Infrastructure (Horizontal): The Infrastructure category supports improvements to land and infrastructure that leverages and supports private investment in the community. These are predevelopment and implementation grants for projects that improve infrastructure such as roadways, streets, bridges, culverts, water/sewer, other utilities, etc. Investments will be targeted to projects that require the infrastructure improvements or expansion to support and/or facilitate new growth or address road safety issues.
Eligibility Criteria
- All types of public entities are welcome and encouraged to submit a One Stop application. Municipalities and other public entities, such as local housing or redevelopment authorities, will have access to all grants administered through the One Stop process. Non-municipal public applicants are encouraged to open a discussion with their municipal leadership to ensure coordination and local support.
- Non-public entities may submit an application jointly with a public entity or with the written letter of support of the public entity and will be considered for funding only under those programs that allow for financial assistance to non-public entities. Non-public entities are not eligible for funding through the following categories: Downtown Activation, Planning & Zoning, and Infrastructure. Non-public entities should partner with their municipality to submit applications in those categories.
- Non-profit entities are eligible to apply through the Site Preparation category, for consideration by the Site Readiness Program, as well as the Building Development Continuum category, for consideration by the Underutilized Properties Program and the TDI Equity Investment Program.
- For-profit entities are only eligible to apply to the Building category, for consideration by the Underutilized Properties Program and the TDI Equity Investment Program. For-Profit entities must demonstrate a public benefit or purpose for the grant.
- All applications should include a letter of support from the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the project is located or, if not available, an explanation of why the municipal letter was not included.
For more information, visit Executive Office of Economic Development.
