{"id":12165,"date":"2024-07-16T13:29:48","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T17:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/?p=12165"},"modified":"2024-07-16T15:01:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T19:01:21","slug":"state-of-maryland-awards-more-than-3-4-million-to-assist-small-businesses-and-empower-community-revitalization-on-the-eastern-shore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2024\/07\/16\/state-of-maryland-awards-more-than-3-4-million-to-assist-small-businesses-and-empower-community-revitalization-on-the-eastern-shore\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Maryland Awards More Than $3.4 Million to Assist Small Businesses and Empower Community Revitalization on the Eastern Shore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three programs will provide funds to businesses, local governments, and economic development organizations<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>NEW CARROLLTON, MD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (July 15, 2024) \u2013 Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day announced today the department has awarded $3,419,141 from three state programs to assist small businesses and support local revitalization projects and activities on the Eastern Shore. Grants from the Business Boost Microgrant Program, the Main Street Improvement Grant, and Project Restore 2.0 will provide funds to 28 businesses, local governments, and place-based economic development organizations to spur community revitalization by attracting, retaining, and expanding small businesses, as well as through the promotion of local, cultural attractions and events.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cTo ensure the continued quality of our communities and to improve the quality of life for all their residents, we must revitalize their hearts &#8211; downtowns, Main Streets, and other important community hubs and places,\u201d <\/span><b>said Secretary Day.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cThis important funding will strengthen these hearts by supporting the growth of small businesses that provide local services and job opportunities and the events and attractions that make the Eastern Shore\u2019s unique, varied communities such great and lovable places.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Business Boost Microgrant Program assists businesses seeking to expand or establish a location with preference given to home-based businesses establishing their first commercial location outside of the home. Applicants were also required to meet one or more of the priority impact attributes that contribute to Maryland\u2019s economic growth, such as supporting minority and women-owned businesses, driving innovation or technology advancements, growing new industries, or leveraging existing regional strengths. Business Boost <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\/Documents\/PressReleases\/FY2024-Business-Boost-Awards.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">awarded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> $449,355 to assist 10 businesses, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Funding for T&#8217;s Divine Sweets &amp; More (Dorchester) to purchase equipment and hire staff to increase its production capacity to serve grocery chain stores, locally and abroad.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Renovation of the Salisbury Dance Academy\u2019s (Wicomico) downtown location to accommodate three dedicated studio spaces with companion dressing rooms, bathrooms, and dining areas, providing space to expand services and staff.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Main Street Improvement Grant Program provides operating assistance to the local governments or economic development organizations in Maryland\u2019s designated and affiliated Main Street Maryland communities and Baltimore City\u2019s designated Main Street neighborhoods. Grants help awardees achieve their community revitalization and economic development goals, including creating and retaining small businesses and increasing tourism for local events and attractions. The program <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\/Documents\/PressReleases\/FY2024-Main-Street-Improvement-Grant-Program-Awards.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">awarded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> $290,000 to 14 designees, including funding for the Town of Centreville (Queen Anne\u2019s) to support its fa\u00e7ade improvement program and to cover fees for National Main Street membership, website maintenance, photography, videography, and business promotions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Project Restore 2.0 seeks to activate vacant buildings, support small businesses, and increase local economic activity by providing financial support to improve the vitality of Maryland\u2019s commercial corridors. Unlike prior rounds of the program which directly funded businesses, $2,679,786 was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\/Documents\/PressReleases\/FY2024-Project-Restore-Awards.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">awarded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as a block grant to 12 place-based economic development organizations, nonprofit or local government entities that work to improve a specific jurisdiction within the state. Awardees including the Town of Rock Hall (Kent), the City of Crisfield (Somerset), and the Ocean City Development Corporation (Worcester) will sub-grant the funds to for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, cooperatively-owned businesses, and social enterprises to start up or expand into vacant buildings in their jurisdictions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here\u2019s what local leaders and awardees are saying about the announcement:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThis grant is crucial to the expansion of my business,\u201d <\/span><b>said Mark Lewis, Founder of Lewis Security Services.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cWith this funding we are able to provide a service that is not currently available in Dorchester or Caroline Counties.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe are delighted to have been chosen by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to support the expansion of our Crab &amp; Cruise<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00ae<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and Crab Party events,\u201d <\/span><b>said Greg Cain, CEO of The Crab Place and the Crab &amp; Cruise\u00ae experience.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cThese events currently attract over 4,000 visitors annually from across the country, significantly benefiting our small waterfront community. With our planned expansion, we aim to increase seasonal visitor numbers to 20,000\u201330,000, further boosting the local economy and providing greater opportunities for our residents.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;This grant will allow further expansion of our fiber network into small rural communities that desperately need connectivity to compete in today&#8217;s constantly evolving world,&#8221; <\/span><b>said Bret Davis, Owner of Simple Fiber, LLC.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe are grateful for the Business Boost Microgrant Program for supporting our small business so it can continue servicing Salisbury for many more years to come,\u201d <\/span><b>said Elena Manakhova, Director of the Salisbury Dance Academy.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cWith this grant, SDA will be able to accelerate renovations on the West Main Street location and relocate the Academy from Fruitland to beautiful downtown Salisbury, bringing new faces and opportunities to the area.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe are incredibly grateful to the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Main Street Program for awarding us a $25,000 Main Street Improvement Grant,\u201d <\/span><b>said Ivy Wells, Director of Economic and Community Development for the Town of Berlin.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cThis funding is instrumental in supporting our district&#8217;s local businesses.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;The City of Pocomoke is thrilled to be an award recipient of Project Restore 2.0,\u201d <\/span><b>said Karah Burton Lacey, Events and Downtown Coordinator for the City of Pocomoke<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u201cThese funds will help bring two downtown commercial properties back to life that have been sitting vacant for over 20 years! This is truly a life changing opportunity for these women owned businesses and the Pocomoke community as a whole.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;The Easton EDC is excited to have received a fully funded Project Restore award for two projects in Easton, Maryland,\u201d <\/span><b>said Holly DeKarske, Executive Director of Easton Economic Development Corporation.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cWe are excited for our developers and their projects, both of which will have huge impacts on the Main Street and Arts &amp; Entertainment Districts of Easton.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cA key corner being vacant has sent the wrong message about the economic viability of our Town,\u201d <\/span><b>says Ashley Heffernan Kaiser, Esq, President of the Centreville Town Council. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThanks to this Project Restore grant, Centreville will be welcoming a new business in 2025 in a property that has been vacant for nearly two decades.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) is very pleased to have recently been awarded $300,000 through the DHCD\u2019s Project Restore 2.0 grant,\u201d <\/span><b>said OCDC\u2019s Executive Director, Zach Bankert.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cThese funds will be used to renovate the property located at 102 Worcester Street in Downtown Ocean City MD. We are excited to be able to breathe new life into this building and bring it into compliance with our Downtown Design Standards.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe are grateful for the community grant funding, which will have a long-term impact on our town,\u201d <\/span><b>said Jessica Willoughby, Executive Director of Downtown Denton Main Street.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cThis support will help us create positive change and improve our community.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe Town of Rock Hall and Main Street Rock Hall are excited to be selected as one of the recipients of 2024 Project Restore funds,\u201d <\/span><b>said Laurie Walters, President of Main Street Rock Hall.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u201cWe have identified three historic buildings which are currently vacant that will be given new life providing retail and service opportunities for our residents and visitors alike. Revitalization of these three properties will bring fresh energy to our growing business community.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For more information about the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development business assistance and Main Street improvement programs, visit <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three programs will provide funds to businesses, local governments, and economic development organizations NEW CARROLLTON, MD (July 15, 2024) \u2013 Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day announced today the department has awarded $3,419,141 from three state programs to assist small businesses and support local revitalization projects and activities on the Eastern<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2024\/07\/16\/state-of-maryland-awards-more-than-3-4-million-to-assist-small-businesses-and-empower-community-revitalization-on-the-eastern-shore\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12165"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12182,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12165\/revisions\/12182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}