The funding — which would have brought $7.25 million into Warren — was part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

Warren County was part of a 13-county application that has been coordinated by the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship and word came down late last week that the application would not be funded.

The application was one of 60 nationwide to move to a second application phase.

Jim Decker, president/CEO of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, called the news “disturbing” and “disappointing.”

A boat launch, shown here in a rendering, is at the heart of a downtown riverfront project proposal.

“Locally, I will be meeting with city administration (this) week to discuss next steps in evaluating funding available for the riverfront development project,” he said.

Part of that discussion, he added, would be discussion regarding “where additional funding may be secured to replace the loss of the Build-Back-Better funds so that we can proceed with the project as efficiently and quickly as possible.”

“We recognize the commitment, teamwork, and thought that was put into your application,” officials with the U.S. Economic Development Agency wrote in an email to the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship. “However, with $4.4 billion in requests and $970 million in resources, we were not able to fund a number of extraordinary high-quality applications.”

EDA offered feedback on the application as well as a program, Community of Practice, which “will be providing programming and resources that can help your coalition continue to make progress.”

Decker provided an email from PA Wilds Center Founder/CEO Ta Enos, as well.

A look at what the future of the riverfront in Warren could look like from a boat launch to improved infrastructure, trails and bicycle amenities.

“While I am deeply disappointed in this decision, I am appreciative of the bold planning and deepened partnerships we were able to accomplish through the BBBRC process with each of you and our other partners,” Enos told the coalition.

“Those are not small things in regional work like ours. In the days ahead we will begin to pivot the Center’s two component applications into different funding applications to keep this generational work moving forward,” she added.