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The state awarded nearly $8.4 million in infrastructure grants to five local government applicants Friday, the first round of awards through a rural workforce housing initiative Gov. Brian Kemp announced during his State of State address last January.

The grants ultimately will support more than 500 units of single-family and multi-family housing.

“On the back of three straight record-breaking years for economic development, we are taking action to ensure hardworking Georgians are able to live in the same communities where they work,” Kemp said. “These grants are the first step in meeting the needs of communities experiencing incredible growth as we continue to see new opportunities come to all corners of the state.”

The largest of the grants – $2.4 million – will go to the city of Colquitt to provide water and sewer service to a new subdivision that will include 49 single-family homes as well as a nearby multi-family housing development with 44 units.

The consolidated government of Columbus and the Douglas Coffee County Industrial Authority will receive $2.3 million each. The Columbus grant will go toward water, sewer, drainage, and street improvements to enable the completion of a development that will add 24 new single-family homes.

The Coffee County grant will be used for water, sewer, drainage and street improvements to allow the construction of 65 homes in a new subdivision near several large employers.

The city of Albany will receive $925,513 to facilitate the creation of a subdivision with 29 single-family homes on six acres within the city limits.

The Stephens County Development Authority was awarded a grant of $478,400 for a sanitary sewer lift station needed to accommodate the construction of 318 housing units in a new development near a regional industrial park that is set to expand.

The General Assembly allocated $35.7 million in the fiscal 2023 midyear budget to launch the initiative.