More than $19 million awarded to historic building revitalization in Maryland

MARYLAND – The Hogan Administration has announced the award of over $19 million in revitalization tax credits to 16 projects across the state, leveraging more than $92 million in additional investments.

We’re told 24 applicants had sought $39.3 million in tax credits for construction projects totaling more than $210 million in estimated costs. The 16 projects selected for the 2023 tax credits were based on an established set of criteria, including those outlined by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for historic building rehabilitations.

The following Eastern Shore projects were awarded funding:

•  F.W. Woolworth Company Building, 420-422 Race Street, Cambridge – $4,537,500 in Tax Credits awarded, estimated total cost $16.5 million
  • The F.W. Woolworth Company Building sits on the eastern side of Race Street and was constructed in two parts in 1919 and 1930. The building has a Streamline Moderne style storefront that spans the entirety of the first floor. Historically, the ground floor housed commercial and retail operations, while the second floor was used for office and storage spaces. We’re told the building will be rehabilitated to accommodate retail and restaurant spaces on the ground floor and residential units on the second floor.
• 11 North Main Street, Worcester County – $292,028 in Tax Credits awarded, estimated total cost $1.1 million
  • 11 North Main Street is a two-story commercial building with similar construction material and degree of ornamentation, elements common to the buildings that comprise the Berlin Commercial historic district and which contribute to the continuity of the streetscape forming the “Main Street” commercial avenue. The rehabilitation of this building will include multiple apartments on the 2nd floor, bringing residents to the central business block and adding to its vitality. It also involves reinstating the historic awning that spans the width of the building.
• 15-19 North Main Street, Worcester County – $103,192.50 in Tax Credits awarded, estimated total cost $412,700
  • Located in Downtown Berlin, this two-story commercial brick building is characteristic of the late 19th, early 20th century commercial structures that were built following the 1895 fire that leveled the central commercial downtown. The rehabilitation of this currently vacant and underused structure will contribute to the Berlin Main Street Community with residential and commercial spaces.
• Pocomoke Firehouse, Fifth Street, Worcester County – $257,925.80 in Tax Credits awarded, estimated total cost $1.2 million
  • Built in 1939, the Pocomoke Firehouse is a large two-story brick structure with a main central block, front and rear wings ,and a rear addition constructed in 1955. Unique to its design include the tall arched side windows and the inclusion of a large, vaulted meeting room, dining hall, and kitchen on the second floor. The building acted as both a firehouse and a center for social life in Pocomoke from 1939 until 2008 when the fire company outgrew the space and relocated. The firehouse will become mixed use with commercial space on the first floor and housing on the second floor.
• Powell Building, North Main Street, Worcester County – $364,498.25 in Tax Credits awarded, estimated total cost $1.4 million
  • Located adjacent to 11 and 15-19 North Main Street, the two-story commercial building features elements common to most of the commercial buildings along Main Street. What distinguishes it from its neighbors is its Victorian decorative elements, including its pedimented and bracketed stamped metal cornice with egg and dart molding and capped runs at the ends. The rehabilitation of the Powell Building will contribute to the overall efforts of the Main Street Redevelopment Program by adding new business locations on the street as well as housing.