In an effort to draw in private investment and generate employment through shovel-ready industrial sites, Governor Wes Moore announced the first $2.3 million in grant awards from the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program. These grants will assist site development and economic growth in ten counties as well as Baltimore City.
According to the press statement issued on Wednesday, July 9: The first round of grant awards for the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program, run by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, was announced by Governor Wes Moore today. The program, which was created by the governor’s executive order on economic competitiveness, would hasten the creation of shovel-ready locations for private sector investment and business attraction, retention, and expansion throughout the state. “The key to our success is economic growth,” Governor Moore stated. We make a significant advancement today in our efforts to develop new sectors and generate employment. We are making investments in communities throughout our state, from projects in Mountain Maryland to the Eastern Shore, in order to increase everyone’s access to wealth, employment, and income.
Three support pillars are offered by the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program to assist in covering the expenses of marketing, site improvement, and site characterisation. The $2.3 million in grants awarded in the first round will help fund economic development initiatives in Baltimore City and ten counties.
According to Tom Sadowski, executive director of the Maryland Economic planning Corporation, smart site planning is essential to economic success. We are helping Maryland’s top sectors and creating the foundation for tomorrow’s companies and jobs by investing in shovel-ready sites.
Site Improvement Grants were awarded for six projects. The grants, which are the program’s main source of funding, assist in bringing properties closer to shovel-ready status by clearing and grading, improving site access, and upgrading utilities.
-
$450,000 to support site work at the 37.7-acre Messick Road development in Cumberland (Allegany County)
, led by Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, which has drawn strong interest from prospective tenants in the aerospace, defense, and light manufacturing sectors. The investment will accelerate Western Maryland s economic growth through good-paying jobs in the industries of the future.
-
$450,000 to prepare land for new hangars at the 1,046-acre Salisbury Airport (Wicomico County)
. The project will leverage Salisbury Airport s central location on the Eastern Seaboard and substantial opportunity for growth, while supporting new jobs in the aerospace mechanic industry. Salisbury Airport also received a Site Characterization Grant for a business park adjacent to the airfield.
-
$450,000 for site development work on a 48.2-acre parcel in South Baltimore that will house Hellenic Cables Americas Co. s first US manufacturing facility (Baltimore City)
. Hellenic will manufacture underground medium- and high-voltage cables for use in grid modernization efforts nationwide. The project provides a template for reinvestment in Curtis Bay and adjacent industrial areas.
-
$450,000 to support the redevelopment of a 37-acre parcel in Savage Crossing (Howard County)
, which will house new flex industrial buildings developed by Tradepoint Atlantic. This site is well positioned to bridge traditional industrial uses with the industries of the future, benefitting from proximity to many of Central Maryland s key economic drivers.
-
$200,000 for access and utility improvements to serve an industrial end-user as part of TREND s 9.4-acre redevelopment of Edmondson Village Shopping Center (Baltimore City)
. The project will create new food manufacturing jobs and promote community wealth-building in West Baltimore.
-
$200,000 to support underlying infrastructure improvements at Cross Street Partners 16.9-acre Crown Cork & Seal redevelopment project in East Baltimore (Baltimore City)
. The mixed-use site can support a variety of industries including light manufacturing use cases that leverage its thriving artist community.
The Maryland Business Ready Sites Program also granted Site Characterization Grants for early-stage projects in Allegany, Baltimore County, Calvert, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, and Wicomico counties to supplement the initial wave of Site Improvement Grant recipients. With the help of professionals in site engineering and site selection, the Site Characterization Grant provides a $10,000 matching grant to support a thorough examination of a property’s present condition and potential for future use.
With a 60-day decision timeline, the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program is still accepting new applications on a continuous basis. The program still has the option to give at least one grant to each county in the state of Maryland, and more than $800,000 in Site Improvement Grant monies have been set aside for competitive allocation in the upcoming months, along with matching grant funding for dozens of Site Characterization Grants.
Under the direction of Maryland’s lighthouse industries, the program will keep collaborating closely with state leaders in economic development to assess, plan, and promote the industrial locations that will propel our economy in the future.
Go to medco-corp.com/programs/maryland-ready-sites-program for additional details.
