Hogan Administration Announces the First Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit Award
New program will provide $15 million for redevelopment of former mental health facility in Sykesville
NEW CARROLLTON, MD (January 24, 2022) – The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced the first recipient of the State of Maryland’s Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit, designed to rehabilitate formerly government-owned properties for economic and community development purposes. The Warfield Companies received a $15 million state tax credit for their ongoing project to redevelop a historic mental health facility and surrounding area in Sykesville into a mixed-use community.
“This credit was created to provide an attractive tax incentive to support the renovation and adaptive reuse of aging, unused government buildings, facilities, and properties” said Secretary Kenneth C. Holt. “The redevelopment at Warfield presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for the people of Sykesville to preserve a piece of their heritage by transforming the former Springfield Hospital Center into a residential and commercial hub that will enhance the local community, while preserving prime and productive Carroll County farmland and open space.”
Warfield at Historic Sykesville is situated in Carroll County’s Piedmont region and anchored by historic buildings dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries and used by the Springfield Hospital Center until the early 2000s. Formerly owned by the state, the 12 buildings carry historical designations from the National Park Service and Maryland Historical Trust. They highlight the history of public mental health care in Maryland and the modernization of the hospital system and associated medical culture.
Three of the historic buildings have already been restored and are occupied by commercial tenants. The remaining nine buildings will be rehabilitated and repurposed in a variety of ways to meet the needs of future tenants, with some combination of residential, office, light industrial, retail, and park space. This project is expected to include a housing component, as well as a multi-purpose space that will serve local residents.
Passed in the 2021 General Assembly session and signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan, Senate Bill 885 sponsored by Carroll and Howard County Senator Katie Fry Hester, created the Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit. It supports the rehabilitation and renovation of properties formerly owned by the State of Maryland or the federal government, including: colleges or universities; public schools; hospitals and mental health facilities, and; military facilities or installations. These properties usually have been vacant for a significant time and often require mitigation of a variety of environmental and health hazards.
The tax credit was a recommendation of a study conducted by the Maryland Department of Planning. It is designed to fill financing gaps between the cost of rehabilitation and the market-rate value of the redeveloped property. Proposed revitalization projects related to the rehabilitation of these government-owned properties must foster economic growth, job creation, affordable housing, or other community improvements and services.
For more information about the Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit and other revitalization and redevelopment programs, visit https://dhcd.maryland.gov.
