Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program

RACP Selection Process at a Glance

A Candidate wishing to have their project selected for a RACP award must first meet the minimum eligibility requirements set forth in the redesign of RACP and highlighted below. For more detailed information on eligibility, please refer to the RACP Program Guidelines section of this website.

The project must be authorized in a Capital Budget Project Itemization Act, which is passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. A list of authorizations can be found in the Itemized Projects Eligible for Funding 1986-Present section of this website.

The project must not be completed. A project that has completed construction and if applicable, obtained an occupancy permit is deemed a completed project.

The project must not have their main focus be related to funding through other state programs such as PENNDOT or PENNVEST.

Once the project meets the minimum eligibility requirements, the Candidate must then submit a Business Plan to the Office of the Budget (OB). The Candidate should refer to the Funding Round Schedules and choose the round that will be closest to the anticipated start date of the project construction. The Candidate will need to submit their Business Plan before the deadline of that round.

Once a Business Plan is received, OB staff will perform a two-level review of the Business Plan. Projects that are set to start more than one (1) year from the Business Plan date and projects with incomplete submissions will be rejected at the first-level review. Projects not rejected will move to a second-level review and be scored based on published selection criteria which are summarized below. For more details, see the Selection Criteria section of this website.

JOBS (created or retained)—40%

The maximum points can be obtained when job creation starts at 351 for direct jobs, retained and/or created (permanent/full-time) with wage base of jobs that is at least a multiple of 2.51 of the county per capita median income, and with at least 101 construction jobs.

COMMUNITY IMPACT—20%

The maximum points can be obtained when the project: 1) is situated in a blighted, brownfield or related area, 2) improves the economic health of community, 3) enhances the quality of life, and 4) has a significant regional impact.

STRATEGIC CLUSTER FOR DEVELOPMENT—5%

The maximum points can be obtained when the project falls into two (2) or more of the targeted sectors. The sectors are as follow 1) Biotech/Pharmaceutical/Life Sciences; 2) Agri-Business; 3) High Tech & Advanced Manufacturing Materials; 4) Meds/Eds (Healthcare & Medical Research); 5) Business & Financial and Services; and 6) Energy Extraction & Mining.

FINANCIAL IMPACT—25%

The maximum points can be obtained when 1) the project has demonstrated its long term viability; 2) the RACP grant is appreciably leveraged by a factor of five (5); 3) the tax base has been considerably increased by at least $2,000,000; and 4) the potential candidate has already put in place enough long term financing instruments that are fully amortized.

CONSTRUCTION READINESS—10%

This category touches on the start of construction activities. The maximum points can be obtained when the anticipated construction start date is scheduled to occur within 180 days of the submission date of the Business Plan.

Projects that have been scored by OB in each round will then be sent to the Selection Committee. The committee will consist of multi-agency members (listed below) and will review the OB staff scoring results from each round. The Selection Committee then decides which projects will be awarded a RACP Grant. The Selection Committee will be chaired by the Governor’s Office of the Budget.

Department of Labor and Industry
Department of Revenue
Department of Banking
Department of Community and Economic Development
Governor's Policy Office
Office of Legislative Affairs

Once a project is selected, an Award Letter will be sent detailing the amount of the RACP award and instructions to submit a formal application for the RACP grant to the Office of the Budget for further processing.

All Candidates, whether selected or rejected, will be notified with a formal letter and the results will also be posted to the RACP website for public access.