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Structural Stabilization Grant Program to Launch to Support Frostburg Main Street Revitalization

Posted on 7/11/2025

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City of Frostburg and Allegany County Partner for Critical Repairs to At-risk Downtown Buildings

Main Street Frostburg
A view of Main Street in Frostburg.

Downtown Frostburg’s historic charm comes with a unique challenge: its mountainous topography.

As the city’s Main Street climbs the hills of Western Maryland, building stability becomes a serious concern that has delayed or prevented rehabilitation efforts for some of Frostburg’s most prominent historical and commercial structures. In response, the City of Frostburg and Allegany County Economic and Community Development (ACECD) are taking action through a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening downtown buildings and returning them to active use: The Frostburg Main Street Structural Stabilization Grant Program.

This grant program is part of a broader investment by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) through its FY 2025 State Revitalization Program Awards. ACECD received $250,000 in state funding under the Strategic Demolition Fund (SDF) to help stabilize at-risk buildings along Frostburg’s historic Main Street corridor.

According to Bethany Fife, Director of Community Development for the City of Frostburg, the need for this initiative became clear as multiple property owners raised the same concerns. “We kept hearing the same thing again and again—property owners wanted to bring these spaces back, but they couldn’t even begin renovations until serious stabilization work was done,” Fife explained.

Known as the “Mountain City,” Frostburg sits at an average elevation of 2,000 feet. Topographic and climate data also show Frostburg receiving more than 80 inches of snow annually, with snowfall occurring from October through May. These prolonged winter conditions contribute to long-term wear on buildings, particularly those on the city’s steep Main Street corridor.

“In just about a year and a half, we had four or five property owners come to us with the same issue,” Fife noted. “It wasn’t cosmetic work—it was the structural stuff. That’s when we knew we had to come together and create a solution.”

The Frostburg Main Street Structural Stabilization Grant Program provides targeted financial support to address the most critical and expensive barriers to redevelopment: structural repairs.

While the funding comes from DHCD’s Strategic Demolition Fund, the local focus is on preservation, not demolition. “Stabilization could be foundation repairs, framing, roof support beams, or the roof itself—just anything that makes up the four walls and walls inside,” Fife explained.

Eligible properties must:

  • Be located within Frostburg’s Main Street district;
  • Be commercial or mixed-use (e.g., first floor storefront with residential units above); and
  • Be owned by a for-profit, tax-paying entity in good standing with the city, county, and state.
“There’s real excitement. That’s the goal—to get these buildings back online.” - Bethany Fife, Director of Community Development for the City of Frostburg

The program will be administered jointly by the City of Frostburg and Allegany County, with city staff managing applications and intake, and county staff overseeing fund distribution and compliance. A review committee will evaluate applications based on a project rubric currently under final development.

Adam Strott, Economic Development Specialist with ACECD, sees the new grant program as an extension of the county’s larger mission to empower communities from the ground up.

“When we invest in the bones of a building, we’re investing in the future of that entire block,” Strott says. “Frostburg’s Main Street is full of opportunity, but without safe and stable structures, that opportunity gets stuck.”

Fife says the program is already generating interest among property owners. “There’s real excitement. That’s the goal—to get these buildings back online.”

Applications for the Frostburg Main Street Structural Stabilization Grant will open later this summer. City and county officials expect funding to be competitive and urge interested property owners to begin gathering information about their properties’ structural needs and project timelines.

“Frostburg’s history is written in these buildings,” Strott adds. “Now, we have a chance to write the next chapter—not by tearing them down, but by building them back up.”

For more details about the program, including on how to apply, click here.

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