For decades, Baltimore Street was a vibrant hub of commerce, attracting shoppers, residents, and day-trippers to Downtown Cumberland. On November 14, 2024, this historic street will celebrate its grand reopening following an extensive two-year renovation. The project features broader sidewalks, added green spaces, and a reintroduction of vehicle and bicycle traffic. This redesign signifies a major milestone in Cumberland's continuing revitalization efforts aimed at boosting business investment and fostering new growth in the area.“The goal of the Baltimore Street Redevelopment Project was to create a more reliable and safe downtown,” shared Melinda Kelleher, Executive Director of Cumberland’s Downtown Development Commission. “Downtown Cumberland has gone through many evolutions, and we see this as the next great chapter in its history by enhancing the area with features to attract potential businesses and investors.”Once a bustling, two-lane road lined with businesses, Baltimore Street was a key hub for commerce in Western Maryland through the 1960s, serving residents and travelers from Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and points farther south.

Allegany County is set to become the home of Kingspan Roofing + Waterproofing’s first manufacturing facility on the East Coast. This venture underscores Allegany County’s capacity to support large-scale manufacturing initiatives and highlights the essential collaborations that facilitated Kingspan’s decision to invest in Western Maryland.Kingspan Roofing + Waterproofing, a newly formed division of the Ireland-based Kingspan Group, specializes in energy-efficient roofing solutions. While the parent company is well-established worldwide, its new roofing division sought an East Coast location to launch its United States manufacturing operations. The search led Kingspan to the 348,000-square-foot former Hunter Douglas facility in Allegany County, which had closed only eighteen months prior. The building's broker, Binswanger, facilitated initial discussions with Kingspan's site selection consultant and business broker, Deloitte, drawing in the Maryland Department of Commerce for additional support.The Department of Commerce engaged Allegany County Economic and Community Development (ACECD) to provide key insights on the county and help facilitate communication between stakeholders.ACECD Director Jeffrey Barclay shares, “Just a week after our first call about the project in February 2023, Deloitte requested a tour of the building at One Hunter Douglas Drive.” Barclay and ACECD’s Senior Project Manager Nathan Price hosted the visit, showcasing the site’s potential and discussing critical requirements like electricity, solar power, natural gas, and rail access.“That information was crucial,” said Barclay. “It helped us identify potential challenges with the site and collaboratively workshop solutions to make Allegany County the best fit for Kingspan.” Despite considering other locations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Allegany’s combination of available skilled labor and advantageous rail connections played a crucial role in Kingspan’s decision.

A strategic initiative is underway in Cumberland to accelerate blight removal and transform underutilized spaces into market-rate housing. Through the Infill Development Incentive Program, jointly established by the City of Cumberland and Allegany County, the City is poised to welcome over twenty much-needed housing units.“For decades, the declining population has led to a lot of unlivable, blighted properties in Cumberland,” shares Ken Tressler, Director of Administrative Services for the City of Cumberland. The City implemented a Nuisance Property Removal Program in 2014, which was renamed the Neighborhood Revitalization Program in July 2021. Since the program's initiation, the City has acquired over one hundred unlivable properties through tax foreclosure, donations, or acquisition. 

Clym Environmental Services, a leading player in the field of waste management, is at the forefront of a groundbreaking approach to handling regulated medical waste. The company is well-known for its expertise in three core service areas: safety consulting, life science and healthcare waste management, and facility decommissioning. Clym's forthcoming Allegany facility is poised to become the home of its newly developed technology, which promises to revolutionize the treatment of regulated medical waste, offering a more sustainable and eco-friendly solution. 

Progress continues on a new, market-rate housing development in Cumberland at the former Allegany High School site. The school, which was open from 1926 to 2018 (when the construction of the new high school on Haystack Mountain was completed), was demolished in 2022. The building was deemed to be “past its usable life” and contained hazardous building elements such as asbestos and lead that were often used in older construction. After demolition, the site (12 acres) underwent remediation to clean up any contamination so that it could be used for residential infill development.  The need for new, affordable housing in Allegany County has been an issue for some time, and that urgency only heightened as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the situation. “High costs of living is a statewide crisis, but Allegany County is especially in need of affordable housing. In 2021, the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) for a family of four in Maryland was $26,500,” says Michele Walker, Executive Director of County United Way, Inc. “The most recent ALICE Report shows that 34% of Allegany County households earned more than the FPL, but less than the basic cost of living for the county, meaning they can’t afford the essentials needed to survive. It's important we provide more affordable housing for Allegany residents.” 

After years of vacancy, 118 Baltimore Street is now the focus of a transformative renovation in downtown Cumberland. Now known as “The Rosenbaum,” this former department store is being renovated by CG Enterprises into a mixed-use commercial and residential space. The aim is to draw businesses, create jobs, and provide residential living options. Given its central location, The Rosenbaum will serve as a hub where residents, businesses, and tourists intersect, fostering connections and providing a chance to explore and engage with the distinct offerings of Allegany County.The five-story building, built in 1899, was home to the Rosenbaum Brothers Department store. Owned by Jewish-German immigrants, the store employed 200 people at its peak. Even after its closure in 1971, the site left a lasting impression on Cumberland residents. CG Enterprises’ principal team members, Garrett Eagan and Chris Hendershot, remember the building from their childhood in Cumberland. Eagan shares, “My family knows local Cumberland history. Between their stories and seeing the building in paintings of old downtown, Chris and I were aware of the Rosenbaums even though the department store had closed before our time. The building’s facade remains a focal point of Baltimore Street.”

Entering 2024, the Allegany County Economic and Community Development Department is set to continue its initiatives aimed at regional growth and progress. This year, residents, business owners, and partners can expect to see critical long-term investments materialize, along with the commencement of various additional projects. A major focus for Allegany County Economic and Community Development is to make the area a more livable community through accessible housing, diverse quality-of-life services, robust business attraction efforts, and ample job and career opportunities.“All parts of the economic and community ecosystem need to improve to move Allegany County forward,” impresses Jeffrey Barclay, Director of Economic and Community Development. “Businesses can thrive here if housing is available for employees. Residents can work if childcare services are accessible. Added amenities in the area make it more enjoyable to live here. We have improvements to make, and all areas of our community are strengthening in 2024.” 

In July of 2022, the Mayor and City Council of Frostburg signed a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Salisbury-based developer Gillis Gilkerson to enter into a due diligence period to develop the strategically demolished city block on Center Street between American Avenue and Oak Street. The project, profiled in a previous blog post, represents the first major investment in what City Administrator Elizabeth Stahlman describes as a “university mixed use corridor."

This past July, Salisbury-based developer Gillis Gilkerson signed a binding Letter Of Interest (LOI) with the Mayor and City Council of Frostburg to begin a due diligence period in order to develop a new, mixed-use apartment building on the corner of Center Street and Park Avenue, across from Frostburg State University’s Center Street lot. The property in question sits between American Avenue and Oak Street, and comprises an entire city block. Elizabeth Stahlman, Frostburg City Administrator, states that the project represents the realization of a “university mixed use corridor”, which itself culminated in the rezoning of the area around Frostburg State University to mixed-use commercial/residential in 2014.