Economic outlook for Wicomico County looks bright

According to business leaders in the Wicomico County area the forecast for the economy in the area looks bright. Tuesday the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce hosted an economic outlook panel at University of Maryland Eastern shore and panelists said the prospects for 2017 look great. 

Real estate for one, has seen an incredibly successful 2016 and is poised for an even better 2017 according to John McClellan, senior advisor for SVN Miller Commercial Real Estate.

"We're seeing finally an improved confidence, you know for years we've had the  "L.E. Elements" in place, you know low-interest rates, reasonable supply, but know people are finally willing to take that step and buy a building renovate a building, you know make a real estate investment and you know that's coming from confidence,' McClellan said. 

That confidence is clear sign that the region is showing they're in full recovery from the recession that ravaged the nation's economy just years ago.  

The panel said growth going forward will be spurred by "economic pillars" such as agriculture and poultry, healthcare institutions like PRMC and institutions of higher education like UMES and Salisbury University.  

As those pillars grow in the community their expansion means new buildings and the renovation of older buildings. Growth, a sign of an economy on the rise.

"I think we're slowly coming out of the recession and I think there is great things happening, we're bringing new high-skilled professionals to this community," said Chris Hall, vice president and chief business officer for PRMC. "As you heard from the real estate side, we're taking some of the older inventory off of the books and renovating that for some of our locations."

One of the other big players in the turnaround of the economy hasn't come by land, but rather by air over at Salisbury-Wicomico Airport.

"If you look at some of the larger airports around the country, you look at Atlanta, you look at Charlotte, the growth of air service has really driven the growth of those economies," said Lyle Hogg, president of Piedmont Airlines.

Although Salisbury is not as big as Charlotte, Hogg said as the airline grows more businesses will be encouraged to move into the area.  

Despite the positives, state delegates still say infrastructure such as our roadways still poses potential road blocks.