Move Outside the Predictable

The project known as the River Park at Canal Place Trails and Trail Connections has been earmarked for $6 million through direct federal funding. The omnibus spending appropriations bill that funds the federal government for the next nine months was signed into law on December 30 and includes funding for over $35 million for projects across Western Maryland, which represents a large portion of the $200 million secured for the State of Maryland at large.

"I view the River Park at Canal Place project as another way to promote Allegany County's diverse outdoor recreational economy" said Canal Place Preservation & Development Authority Executive Director Deidra "Dee Dee" Ritchie. "The park will help foster community revitalization, enhance water quality, create jobs, support economic growth and diversification and offer new opportunities for people to connect with the natural environment."

Ritchie also recognized the role that federal legislators representing the region played. She states "I cannot thank our Federal, District 6 Legislators (Senators Cardin and Van Hollen, and Congressman Trone) enough for securing this money for our area. The initial river park discussions began over 20 years ago. And now here we are."

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.