Mayor: Jennifer P. Dougherty

CONTACT: Nancy Gregg Poss, Public Information Officer, 301-360-3842
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 22, 2005

Spring is upon us, and Economic Development is busy with projects, new prospects and existing business assistance. Read on to learn the latest in the City of Frederick's Department of Economic Development!

Spring Forum: Business "Hot Topics" Toolkit - May 24^th from 8:00-11:00am at the C. Burr Artz Library (110 E Patrick Street in Downtown Frederick). Find the answers to the questions you've had about starting your own business, but were afraid to ask! Here from experts from the Small Business Development Center, the City's Planning Department & Building Department, the State Licensing agency (BLIS) and others. Hear, and ask questions about, financing options, the City's zoning and approval process, permitting, water and more! The most in-depth look at taking your business from idea to ribbon-cutting. This is a FREE forum brought to you by M&T Bank. For more information call 240-629-6360.

Business Retention: The City knows that existing businesses are a valuable asset to the community. DED spends much time & effort working with current City of Frederick businesses to help them meet their ever-changing needs.

• Business Visits - DED visits businesses throughout the year to learn about their operations, their future plans, their current & future needs and ways in which the City DED can assist those businesses in reaching their goals. Recently DED and the Frederick County Office of Economic Development held joint business visits with SeraCare (formerly BBI), Jenesis, Hartz & Co., and Potomac Tile and Carpet. If you would like DED to visit your company, call Susan Jessee at 240-629-6362 to schedule a visit.
• WATER - The City of Frederick does have water, and DED can assist businesses in obtaining the necessary water allocations through the Business Retention & Development category. This last quarter, DED assisted 1 existing business to expand and 2 small businesses to open in the City through the allocation of 500 gallons per day from this business category. These allocations will result in approximately 15 new jobs and $650,000 in local company investments. For more information about water allocation call Susan Jessee at 240-629-6362.  

Carroll Creek Park: Construction fencing is in place and work has begun on this exciting $10.2 million Carroll Creek Park project! A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for April 28^th at 1:30 in front of the C. Burr Artz Library. For more information about the Carroll Creek Park project contact the Department of Economic Development at 240-629-6360.

Carroll Creek Development:  Private investment continues to move forward along Carroll Creek as well. Two new buildings along Carroll Creek Park have full approvals and another two are under construction. 

• Creekside Plaza - This 90,000 sf building is located between Court Street and Market Street along the north side of Carroll Creek. Uses include commercial/office and residential. Construction to begin in the spring 2005. Contact Cathy Smith-Burdette with McShea at 301-695-1100 for leasing information.
• LaPaz - LaPaz has begun construction on their new 200-seat facility at the northwest corner of Market Street and Carroll Creek. Look for a ribbon cutting on the new location Fall 2005.
• South Market Center - This 43,000 sf building located between Carroll Creek and the Carroll Creek Parking Deck, is under construction! Uses include ground-floor retail, upper-story commercial/office. Construction completion is expected in the fall of 2005 and tenant fit-out will begin. Contact Mary Ford-Naill with MacRo Ltd at 301-698-9696 for leasing information.
• South Market Commons - This project, a partnership between Main Street, LLC and Washington Homes, will consist of approximately 65 residential condominiums with 200 parking spaces. Groundbreaking expected Spring 2005. Contact MacRo Ltd at 301-698-9696 for leasing information.
• The Galleria - Formerly known as Site D, this site (located between the Delaplaine and East Street), is under contract to the Wormald Company. The Galleria is currently under design and review. Uses include 120 condominiums, 30,000 sf of commercial/retail space and 550 parking spaces. Look for a groundbreaking in 2006.
• Site F - The City's Request for Proposal closed on March 8^th. Four proposals were received for the site situated between Commerce, East and All Saints Streets. Interviews are on-going and award of the bid is expected in the next 30 days.
• Site G - The Frederick County Board of Education (BoE) has identified this site as the desired location for a consolidated Board of Ed office building. The City of Frederick is currently negotiating with the BoE on the sale of Site G for $625,000.

Situated on the corner of South Street and East Street, the new BoE facility will contain approximately 100,000 sf and centralize 250-300 employees in this downtown location. The Tourism Council of Frederick County is also in discussions with the City and the BoE to renovate and occupy the Lippart Cabinet building on the northeast corner of the site. This site is also programmed for a 550-space parking deck to provide much-needed parking in this corridor.

• Site H - The City recently sold this site and the General Tire Building, located on the southeast corner of East and South Streets, to Bert Anderson, owner of Shab Row/Everedy Square. This space is programmed for mixed-use office/commercial space. The renovations are scheduled to be complete by the spring of 2006.
• Site I - The City sold this site, located on the southeast corner of Patrick and East Streets, to Douglas Development Corporation. Terms of the sale included the required demolition of the existing facility and mixed-use programming. Look for more activity on this site in the coming months.

Downtown Business Survey: Kate Shiflet, work study graduate assistant and a graduate student at the University of Maryland, is working on a Downtown Business Survey this spring. The purpose of the survey is to gain a greater understanding of the business mix and emerging fields in downtown. While surveys are still being received, the survey currently boasts a 25% response rate and has uncovered a few interesting tid-bits about Downtown Frederick.

• There are approximately 600 businesses in Downtown Frederick (roughly defined as the historic district, as well as W Patrick St out to Jefferson St).
• Business Mix - Downtown's economy is split roughly in thirds: office/professional, retail/restaurant/service and arts/government/construction makes up the miscellaneous category.

DED will continue to analyze the data as it is received, gaining a greater understanding of the number of employees in downtown, business clusters and future industry growth potential in Downtown Frederick. If your business is located in Downtown Frederick please consider submitting your survey response online at www.cityoffrederick.com or fax your responses to 240-629-6363.

Frederick Innovative Technology Center: The first high-tech incubator in Frederick County is now officially home to it's first 3 companies - 2 bio companies and 1 IT company. Interviews and selections are on-going for the remaining offices and wet lab space. The facility is located on the third floor of Rosenstock Hall at Hood College. FITCI offers office space and wet lab space, accommodating both information technology and biotech start-ups. For more information about FITCI, visit their website at www.fitci.org or call 301-600-2999.

Microenterprise Loan Program: In a partnership between Community Development and Economic Development, the City of Frederick announced this NEW loan program to small businesses in October 2004. Since that time numerous inquiries have been received, and several prospective loan recipients have been interviewed. To assist entrepreneurs with early stage capital needs, loans of $600 to $10,000 are available to those who qualify. Contact Susan Jessee (Business Development Specialist) at 240-629-6362 for more information.      

Downtown Frederick Farmers' Market: DED is spearheading a special event farmers' market in Downtown Frederick. This new market, slated to open July 8, 2005 on Carroll Street (between Patrick and All Saints Streets), will feature more of a festive, family event atmosphere, offering fresh produce as well as music, art and entertainment. The market will occur just three times per year (July 8, August 12, and September 9), with opportunities for expansion over the long term. The task force is working closely with the existing Frederick County Farmers' Markets to ensure a complimentary, rather than competitive, relationship. For more information call Heather Galbraith at 240-629-6360.

Frederick has the SITES you're looking for! Looking to become a Major Element in Frederick? The City has more than 400,000 sf of existing office & flex space available, and more than 1.2 million sf in the making (CoStar, April 2005). If you need space, we'll help you find it. Call DED at 240-629-6360.