In Maryland, tax credits for rehab projects have saved thousands of historic buildings statewide and created billions in state revenue.
Smart Growth Maryland is a campaign of Preservation Maryland which advocates for a more environmentally and economically sustainable future that creates opportunities for all Marylanders through better development patterns.
Thanks to this program, nearly all Marylanders are just 15 minutes away from a state, local park or public open space.
Promoting and enhancing the history of Maryland is a big job – and one that fuels one of the state’s most important industries: Heritage Tourism.
Federal agencies oversee key funding programs and policies that protect America’s historic resources from needless destruction.
State funding for preservation benefits all Marylanders – and has saved historic resources from Oakland to Ocean City.
Several key state agencies are charged with protecting Maryland’s history – a job that requires adequate resources.
All across the state, local governments have realized the value of a well-preserved community and many offer lucrative programs to assist with rehab efforts.
Main Street Maryland’s traditional downtown economic and cultural districts are the cornerstones of local communities throughout the State of Maryland.
The following advocacy issues represent our current portfolio of active efforts. Each issue presents itself with an opportunity to get involved – and each urgently requires donor support to make them a success.
Report: The 2019 Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly came to a close on Monday, April 8, 2019. After 90 days of championing key bills and testifying on many other pieces of important legislation, it is safe to say that Preservation Maryland had one of its busiest legislative sessions in recent history. With Session adjourned until January 2020, we are happy to report that we were able to accomplish significant advances for preservation and smart growth in Maryland.
The revitalization of Maryland communities is fueled by the Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. Senator Bill Ferguson and Delegate Brooke Lierman of Baltimore’s District 46 plans to introduce legislation that will strengthen this effective community redevelopment tool.
As of FY19, Maryland invested only $9M in the Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit program for the year for the entire state. By comparison, Virginia invests nearly $100M annually, and West Virginia invests $30M. Maryland is falling behind. This legislation will require the Governor to appropriate at least $20M annually for this essential program and will extend the authorization of the program through 2024.
We recognize the positive impact that historic preservation projects can have for the surrounding community. This new legislation will help incentivize the use of historic buildings to create affordable housing. The forthcoming bill would:
Maryland’s preservation grant programs had gone completely unfunded since FY10. Because of our advocacy, in FY18, funding was restored to the Capital and Non-Capital grant programs. Current funding is still at starvation level. We must and will do more to support those safe-guarding our state’s rich and unique history.
The Smart Growth Investment Fund was established to help provide loan guarantees for smart growth infill projects. The Fund will help incentivize growth and revitalization in existing communities, protecting critical natural, cultural, and historic resources from development and sprawl. Legislation this Session (SB3) will appropriate $7M for the Fund.
In 1969, the Maryland General Assembly created Program Open Space through the institution of a transfer tax of .5% on every real estate transaction in the state. Since then the program has been responsible for:
The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority is funded by Program Open Space. Preservation Maryland supports full funding of Program Open Space and the Heritage Area Authority, opposes any attempts to shortcut, reduce, or cap the program in any way, and supports the repayment of previous diversions from the fund.
Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust are pleased to announce the newest grantees of the Heritage Fund grant program. The Heritage Fund is one of few stable sources of preservation funding in Maryland and has provided over $1.4 million dollars in direct funding to projects across the state.
Did you know? The primary species of Christmas Trees grown in Maryland are Scotch Pine, White Pine, Blue Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Fraser Fir according to the Maryland Christmas Tree Association. Preservation Maryland works to protect the state’s cultural landscapes and supports it’s regional legacy businesses, so this holiday season we feature three of Maryland’s oldest Christmas tree farms:
The historic Lovely Lane United Methodist Church in Baltimore City was recently awarded a grant by the National Fund for Sacred Places, a joint program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Partners of Sacred Places – the first church in Maryland to be included in the program.
Smart Growth Maryland is proud to have partnered with the Howard County Sierra Club and The People’s Voice, LLC to create the Smarter Growth Alliance for Howard County, which brings together organizations focused on sustainable development, healthy communities, and protection of natural resources for information sharing, strategizing, and coordinating advocacy efforts.
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Following the selection of Senator Bill Ferguson as the next President of the Senate of Maryland, Preservation Maryland Executive Director Nicholas Redding issued the following statement:
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The Woodberry neighborhood’s request for local historic district designation will have its first hearing in front of the Baltimore City Commission For Historical & Architectural Preservation (CHAP) on October 8, 2019. This is an essential step in protecting the historic character of the neighborhood that recently saw the startling demolition of two stone houses from the 1840s.
Continue ReadingAs the sun set on September 17, 1862, Sharpsburg, Maryland had just witnessed the single bloodiest day in American history – a day that also forever changed the tiny rural town.
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The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has narrowed the potential third Chesapeake Bay bridge to three corridors, all of which originate in Anne Arundel County. Smart Growth Maryland supports the no-build option.
Continue ReadingIn a major win for the environment and smart growth, earlier this week the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) denied a controversial application to construct two utility-scale solar developments proposed for forested land in western Charles County.
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One of the largest and most visible artifacts of the Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI) is the WWII-era shipbuilding crane towering over the campus. In partnership with the BMI through our Six-to-Fix program, Preservation Maryland successfully advocated for state funds to repair and repaint the iconic crane.
Continue ReadingThe 2014 application by the State of Maryland to recognize and protect Mallows Bay has been approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration early this month. The designation will help protect the natural and cultural resources of the 18-square mile area in Charles County, Maryland.
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In response to the startling demolitions of two historic stone homes from the 1840s in Baltimore’s Woodberry neighborhood on May 21, 2019, Preservation Maryland issued the following statement:
Continue ReadingFor many years the historic Glenn Dale Hospital complex was de facto protected from incongruous development by a long-standing deed restriction. Now that there is a committed interest from a team of public agencies, preservation organizations, and private firms, in the redevelopment of the site, the deed restriction was deemed unnecessarily strict.
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