Yonkers officials accepted the HUD award, which included a loan guarantee commitment of $3 million and a $1 million grant, last week. "This grant will be a huge step forward for the entire nValley project that we have been anticipating for quite some time," says Yonkers Mayor John Spencer. "I commend the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency and our Office of Economic Development for procuring these essential dollars which will continue our trend toward a state-of-the-art, business-friendly city."

Those funds will be used in conjunction with a $1 million Brownfields Economic Development Initiative grant to finance the nValley Technology Center, which formerly housed operations of Purdue Frederick until the company shifted those functions to Ardsley several years ago. Yonkers officials say the Section 108 HUD loan will be used by the city to finance the rehabilitation of the building that will be geared at upgrading the property's infrastructure in order to attract media, high technology and biotechnology firms. The Brownfields Economic Development Initiative funding will be allocated to assist in the remediation of the site as well as for funding of the building rehabilitation and interest payments.

"This project will surely be a catalyst for the development of the entire Nepperhan Valley and we are very pleased that HUD has seen the great potential of our long term plans," says Edward Sheeran, special assistant to the Mayor and executive director of the IDA. "Our overall economic landscape in the city continues to move forward and we are happy to join, in a collaborative spirit, with our friends across the state and the nation as we maintain that progressive mindset."