Governor Moore Launches $2.3M in Site Grants for Business Growth in 12 Jurisdictions

Governor Wes Moore announced the first round of grants through the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program, a key initiative under his economic competitiveness executive order. The program aims to speed up the development of shovel-ready sites to attract, retain, and grow businesses, while boosting private sector investment statewide. Governor Moore emphasized that economic growth is essential to Maryland’s success. He said this step reflects a commitment to strengthening future-focused industries and creating jobs, with investments reaching communities across the entire state—from Mountain Maryland to the Eastern Shore—to expand opportunities for work, wages, and wealth for everyone. Six projects received site improvement grants including: 450,000 to prepare land for new hangars at the 1,046-acre Salisbury Airport (Wicomico County).  To complement the first round of Site Improvement Grant awardees, the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program also awarded Site Characterization Grants for early-stage projects including in Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, and Worcester counties. 

Additional Information from the Office of Governor Wes Moore:

The Maryland Business Ready Sites Program provides three pillars of support to help defray the costs of site characterization, site improvement, and marketing. The first round of grant awards, totaling $2.3 million, will support economic development projects in 11 counties and Baltimore City.

“Smart site development is a cornerstone of economic growth,” said Maryland Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Tom Sadowski. “By investing in shovel-ready sites, we’re supporting Maryland’s leading industries and laying the groundwork for the businesses and jobs of tomorrow.”

Six projects received Site Improvement Grants. As the program’s primary funding modality, the grants help bring sites closer to shovel-ready status, including through improved site access, utility upgrades, and clearing and grading: 

• $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. 

To complement the first round of Site Improvement Grant awardees, the Maryland Business Ready Sites Program also awarded Site Characterization Grants for early-stage projects in Allegany, Baltimore County, Calvert, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, and Worcester counties. The Site Characterization Grant is a $10,000 matching grant to fund an in-depth analysis of a site’s current status and potential for future use, utilizing experts in the fields of site engineering and site selection. 

The Maryland Business Ready Sites Program remains open for new applications on a rolling cycle, with a 60-day decision timeline. More than $800,000 in Site Improvement Grant funds have been preserved for competitive allocation in the coming months, as well as matching grant funding for dozens of Site Characterization Grants; the program retains the ability to award at least one grant to every county in the state of Maryland. 

Guided by Maryland’s “lighthouse” sectors, the program will continue to work closely with economic development leaders across the state to evaluate, prepare, and market the industrial sites that will drive our economic future. 

For more information, visit medco-corp.com/programs/maryland-ready-sites-program.