FREDI – Franklin Regional Economic Development Initiative

The RDI partners with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), the Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC), and HRA, to help advance key economic and commercial development initiatives in the Franklin County and North Quabbin region. This is a PILOT demonstration project conceived by Senator Rosenberg and funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in partnership with MassDevelopment. The FRCOG is the lead organization.

FREDI’s mission is to provide the following economic development assistance to localities:

• Advising on the appropriate planning steps, tasks, and process to evaluate and assess the feasibility of potential projects

• Assist with the preparation of requests for proposals, consultant selection where applicable, and provide supervision for planning and feasibility projects

• Identify and advise relative to potential funding sources for project planning and implementation

• Advise and assist on marketing efforts for existing industrial land sites, vacant buildings, and newly developed or renovated commercial and industrial buildings

• Based on existing data and studies – undertake reviews of the costs, advantages, obstacles, and status of different proposed industrial park sites and work with local, regional, and state officials to set priorities for future industrial park development.

Impact on Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region

RDI, in FREDI’s first year, worked on a number of projects in Erving, Montague, Orange, and Shelburne Falls. The four regional partners have banded together to offer their experience and expertise to work collaboratively to increase and sustain the local regional capacity to support economic development initiatives.