KEARNEY, Neb.- City officials say a recently-acquired federal grant is expected to generate around 46 jobs, and $27 million dollars in private investments.

Kearney announced Tuesday via news release that it had received $2.6 million from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration, to go along with $653,696 in local matching funds.

Acting Assistant Secretary for the organization, Cristina Killingsworth, said in a news release that “We are proud to partner with Kearney as it pursues place-based economic development strategies to diversify its regional economy."

The grant will fund water, sewer, and road improvements on two tracts of land near Antelope Avenue and East 39th street.

Buffalo County Development Council President Trevor Lee said that one of the biggest priorities for this grant "was assisting existing businesses in the area that are hamstrung as far as growth because of the lack of sanitary sewer or water pressure to their site. This will immediately benefit a number of those businesses."

"And on the other side there is some undeveloped ground on the east side that is now able to be fully developed," he said.

Lee mentioned that all of Kearney is expanding, and that the Northeast side of the community "has several attributes that make it very well suited for light industrial, office, logistics, distribution, and generally commercial."

Lee says he doesn't expect any sort of delay in the federal funds because local leaders, along with state representatives, helped both the City and development council through the application process.