The Princess Anne Industrial Park, which has available fully cleared lots of between 3 and 6 acres, is fully connected to water, sewer, and broadband. Rail service is available adjacent to the park. Sites are marketed on a national basis. Northrop Grumman moved into a spec building funded by the State of Maryland. Prospective businesses will find that the cost of these sites is competitive compared to other locations and that there is a large workforce with incentives from the state for training.

 

Infrastructure Improvements: The Town is also designated a Sustainable Community, which makes it eligible for special set-asides of state funding. Princess Anne has been successful in obtaining grant monies every year for activities to benefit the downtown, including street work and the improvement of the buildings in the area.

 

Enterprise Zone Tax Credits: Princess Anne has a 1,297-acre Enterprise Zone, which includes historic downtown Princess Anne, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and the Princess Anne Industrial Park. Businesses which locate or expand in these areas will get two types of significant tax credits, income tax and property tax.

 

Income Tax Credits:

• The General Income Tax Credit –  The one-time $1,000 or $1,500tax credit for each qualified new employee in an Enterprise Zone.

• Income Tax Credit for Economically Disadvantaged Employees – A three-year tax credit for each qualified new economically disadvantaged employee.

 

Not every new employee hired by a business located in an Enterprise Zone is eligible for one of the Enterprise Zone income tax credits, see "Doing Business in Princess Anne" brochure for more details or contact Somerset Economic Development Commission.

 

Property Tax Credit:  Businesses in an Enterprise Zone also get a ten- year tax credit against local real property taxes on a portion of real property expansion, renovation or capital improvement.  Contact the Somerset County Economic Development Commissioned for more details:  by telephone at 410-651-0500 or by email at EDC@somersetmd.us.

 

One Maryland Tax Credit: Businesses that invest in an economic development project in Somerset County and create at least 25 new full-time jobs may qualify for up to $5.5 million in state income tax credits. Project costs include those major capital expenditures related to land acquisition, building construction, rehabilitation, installation and purchasing of equipment.

 Business may qualify for a state income tax credit of up to $500,000 of start-up costs. Contact the Somerset County Economic Development Department at 410-651-0500.

 

Small Business Expansion Program: The Somerset County Economic Development Commission operates a local revolving loan program, referred to as the Small Business Expansion Program (SBEP). The SBEP was established in 1984 to assist local businesses to obtain funding for their expansion needs.

 

The Main Street program offers assistance to downtown businesses, including assisting with façade improvement, publicizing the businesses through social media and the local press, supporting meaningful events, implementing heritage tourism initiatives which will attract visitors, and working to analyze the business space in the downtown and plan for the creative and profitable reuse of that space.

 

Another very important incentive is the willingness of the town government to work with both new and existing businesses in order to ensure that they are successful.  The Town works to expedite business requests while at the same time ensuring that all procedures are done

in a thoroughly professional manner. One important example of this is the Washington Inn and Tavern, formerly known as the Washington Hotel, at 11784 Somerset Avenue, which reopened in August 2016.  The Town of Princess Anne sought and received grants to augment the private investment attracted to this project. This public – private partnership is essential to a healthy business climate.  The Inn is the anchor of a revitalized downtown Princess Anne which will benefit merchants, citizens, and visitors.

 

Financial guidance and assistance will also be available from the Small Business Development Center at Salisbury University, the Rural Development Center at the University of Maryland.