MONTAGUE — MassDevelopment will send a grant application to the U.S. Economic Development Administration on Montague’s behalf to participate in the Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Portico Project, a program intended to foster community improvements that benefit new Americans.

In February, the state announced an expansion that doubles the size of the program, which now entails a $23.7 million investment in “Gateway Cities” over three years. The expansion added 12 communities to the list of those who would benefit from the program, none of which were located in Franklin County. Now, Montague joins Greenfield and Shelburne Falls as a Franklin County community invited to participate in the project, a result of what Town Administrator Steve Ellis said was continuous advocacy to extend the reach of the program.

“For some time, we tried to lobby the state to change its definition of ‘Gateway Cities’ to provide some of the services that are given to larger communities that are often a first landing point for new Americans,” Ellis said.

Massachusetts General Law defines Gateway Cities as cities with populations between 35,000 and 250,000 “that anchor regional economies around the state, with below state average household incomes and educational attainment rates,” according to a state press release.

Efforts to support the program’s inclusion of smaller communities, Ellis said, were ultimately supported by MassDevelopment.

“MassDevelopment seems pretty committed to roll out a model to better support smaller communities,” he said.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in a press release that the TDI program would help give “access to financial, organizational and technical resources that can help create thriving local economies.”

“By developing coalitions of local public, private and nonprofit partners to make progress toward shared neighborhood goals, MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative has become a proven model for accelerating economic development in Gateway Cities across Massachusetts,” Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s board of directors, said in a press release. “This collaborative, street-level approach engages community members to advance small businesses, activate public spaces, rethink vacant properties and more.”

Ellis said there is a chance that Montague may still benefit from a “scaled-down pilot program” if the U.S. Economic Development Administration decides not to provide full grant funding.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.