CHESTERTOWN — Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day visited Kent County on Monday for the department’s latest Day Trip tour stop, visiting town Main Streets and learning how DHCD has made a positive economic impact on the area.
Kent was DHCD’s 21st Day Trip across Maryland, which is meant to connect department leadership with residents, business owners and public officials.
The tours also allow DHCD staff to see firsthand how projects supported by department loans and grants help the state’s communities.
According to a news release, from fiscal years 2020 to 2025, DHCD invested nearly $62 million in Kent County for broadband, neighborhood revitalization, community development and homelessness prevention projects.
“Maryland’s counties and towns reach their full potential with a combination of strong local leadership and collaboration with the state,” DHCD Secretary Day said in the news release.
He said DHCD is proud to work with Kent County and its municipalities to achieve their vision of long-term economic success and strong neighborhoods.
“Today’s visits to our Main Streets in Chestertown and Rock Hall, along with the success story of Washington Square Shopping Center, underscore the progress Kent County is making in building vibrant communities and supporting local businesses,” Kent County Commission President Ron Fithian said in the news release.
He said the new wastewater treatment plant will pave the way for “thoughtful development” along the U.S. Route 301 corridor, including two proposed warehouses that are expected to create about 300 jobs.
Equally important, Fithian said, is looking ahead to the needs of county residents.
He said the senior housing village in Millington remains a top priority, consisting of 52 units, “which will allow our older citizens to stay rooted here, close to family, friends and essential services.”
DHCD’s tour started in Chestertown’s Washington Square Shopping Center. Staff visited Play It Again, Sam coffee shop, recipient of a department Business Boost microgrant that helps businesses seeking to expand or establish a location, with a preference to supporting home-based businesses that want to have their first separate commercial location.
Following a roundtable discussion with local officials, staff then traveled to Rock Hall, where Secretary Day and local officials toured the town’s Main Street area.
The tour concluded in Millington with a visit to the site of a future wastewater treatment plant as well as the senior housing development (known as Millington Village) and Millington Community Resource Center.
The resource center was a recipient of a Community Development Block Grant. Funded federally and administered in Maryland by the Department of Housing and Community Development, CDBG helps strengthen communities by expanding affordable housing opportunities, creating jobs, stabilizing neighborhoods and improving the overall quality of life.
