The Maryland Department of Commerce has approved a Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise Zone, or RISE Zone, around Morgan State University in Baltimore City; Montgomery College’s Germantown campus; and Salisbury University in Wicomico County.

The designations aim to spur economic development and job creation by allowing commercial and industrial businesses that move into or expand significantly within the zones to benefit from real property and income tax credits. Businesses in targeted industries, including engineering, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing, aerospace, and biotechnology, among others, will be eligible to receive increased incentives.

The Morgan State University RISE Zone includes approximately 10 acres within Baltimore City at the Northwood Shopping Center area. The RISE Zone benefits will enable the university and its private partners to make improvements to the Northwood Shopping Center and transform it into Northwood Commons, which is slated to be a mixed-use site with retail and office space with the potential to create hundreds of jobs.

Montgomery College’s Germantown Campus RISE Zone covers approximately 28 acres. The RISE Zone designation will help the college develop its academic, business, and research campus, also known as the Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology (PIC MC), more fully into an innovation district; and integrate resources between academic, businesses, and community organizations. Businesses that locate in the new RISE Zone will have access to the campus’s cyber lab, Bioscience Education Center, the Montgomery County-owned Germantown Innovation Center, and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital.

The Salisbury University RISE Zone encompasses more than 129 acres connecting downtown Salisbury and the campus. Also along this stretch is the shore’s largest and most experienced health care provider, Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Recognizing that this was a key corridor for growth opportunity, the city will work to attract and spur economic development in the RISE Zone. The city hopes to utilize the incentive to strengthen collaborative efforts between the university, municipality, and hospital.

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