The Town of Bridgewater is pleased to announce the beginning of “Bridgewater’s Best Idea” (BBI), a competition that will provide $250,000 in funding for an existing business to expand its Bridgewater operation, or for a new business to locate in Town. The Bridgewater Town Council adopted a resolution on July 13 that appropriated $250,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to the Bridgewater Industrial Development Authority (IDA) for BBI. The IDA met on July 21 and adopted its own resolution authorizing BBI and implementing rules for the competition.
So here’s how BBI will work: applicants will submit their BBI application to the Town now through 5:00 p.m. on September 30. Town staff will review the applications and select the top three proposals. Those three finalists will present their idea at the “ARP Tank” competition to be held at Sipe Center in November in front of the judging committee, which will consist of three Town Council and two IDA members. Based on their presentation and business plan, the judging committee will select a winner for the $250,000 funding.
“We are really excited about Bridgewater’s Best Idea,” said Mayor Ted Flory. “A lot of great ideas don’t come from the government but from the private sector. This is a unique opportunity to reward creativity by improving an existing business or bringing a new one to Bridgewater.”
The rules and application are attached below.
Questions? Please reach out to Gwen Gottfried, the Town’s Economic Development Advisor, at (540) 908-4212.
We look forward to finding out what Bridgewater’s Best Idea will be!