Developers and public entities can tap into $3 million in funding for site preparation in the latest round of the state’s Site Readiness Program, which provides funding for land acquisition and soft costs related to projects.

Municipalities, nonprofits and private developers can seek grants for land acquisition, feasibility studies, master plans and environmental permitting under the fifth round of the program, which is administered by MassDevelopment.

The fiscal 2021 application round opened this week. MassDevelopment will accept applications for funding in the following categories:

• Funding for land acquisition and site assembly (including both land and buildings) to expand or improve the marketability of existing or future industrial development sites, focused on strategic acquisitions that unlock development potential.
• Funding for property acquisition and site assembly (including both land and buildings) to broadly support mixed-use development opportunities in downtown settings, not limited to industrial uses.
• Funding for site preparation and improvements including demolition, remediation, and the design and construction of on-site and off-site utility and access improvements with a focus on targeted actions that unlock development potential.
• Funding for predevelopment work including due diligence, site identification, market studies, pre-permitting, master planning and other technical studies.

Applications will be ranked based upon criteria including community support, consistency with existing zoning and plans, property attributes, marketability and the level of potential private investment and public benefits.

The program has awarded $10.4 million for 48 projects in four previous rounds of grants.

The full Request for Proposals is available at https://www.massdevelopment.com/what-we-offer/real-estate-services/site-readiness. Responses are due by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12.