Pointing to potential jobs, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday awarded more than $1.1 million for infrastructure projects in Walton County.
DeSantis drew $500,000 from the state’s Job Growth Grant Fund for roads, water and sewer improvements in the Woodland Commerce Park, which is expected to attract businesses tied to modular-home and aircraft manufacturing.
“This infrastructure, we believe, will end up supporting 1,000 jobs with this entire project,” DeSantis said during an appearance at the Walton County Administration Building. He also directed $625,000 from the Rural Infrastructure Fund for a local broadband access project. DeSantis has discretion about how to use the Job Growth Grant Fund for infrastructure and workforce projects.
For the current fiscal year, legislators put $50 million into the fund, which was created in 2017 after a battle between lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott about business incentives.