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Program Guidelines for the FAST NY Shovel Ready Grant Program Now Available

Empire State Development has released the program guidelines for the FAST NY Shovel Ready Grant Program. The application portal opens in October 2022 but now is the time to prepare your application for the $200 Million that will be available for capital grant funding and determine which of the three tracks your project fits in to.

Track A - FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification 
This no-cost designation by ESD for site-marketing purposes establishes that the applicant has worked proactively with New York State (the “State”) to address all major permitting issues prior to a business expressing interest in the location. 

Track B - FAST NY Pre-Development Grants  
Working capital grants of up to $500,000 per site will be awarded to fund the cost of necessary pre-development site planning and reviews for future shovel-ready sites.  Grants will fund necessary costs to assist grantees in completing pre-development activities, such as those required for FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification. 

Track C - FAST NY Infrastructure Improvements  
Capital grants will be awarded to improve the shovel-readiness of existing, mature sites by funding infrastructure improvements such as water, sewer, transportation, electricity, gas and other capital-eligible site improvement costs. Competitive grant awards will be available to sites that have substantially met the requirements of FAST NY Shovel-Ready certification. 

For questions about the program, please contact fastny@esd.ny.gov or visit the Shovel Ready Grant Website