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Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.

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ESLC awarded Preservation Grant for smokestack repair at Phillips Packing House

CAMBRIDGE, MD – Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) was recently awarded a $25,000 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from The Bartus Trew Providence Preservation Fund. These grant funds will be used to help stabilize and repair the building’s iconic smokestacks. Cross Street Partners, in partnership with Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) will repurpose the 60,000 SF historic Phillips Packing House Building F as The Packing House - an active, mixed-use development designed to support the emerging industries related to the Eastern Shore’s famed farming and fisheries. The Packing House will house a synergistic mix of tech and creative entrepreneurs, food production and food related retail/eateries as well as a 2-story, light-filled open atrium space for continuous public programs and private events. The Packing House will serve as a connection between the growing downtown revitalization in Cambridge and the well-traveled Route 50—Ocean Gateway to Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia beaches. The commercialization, research, production, and active retail uses will support local employment and inform nutrition and public health programming on the Eastern Shore. Redeveloping this historically significant building as an entrepreneurial engine for the Cambridge community in a manner that celebrates Cambridge’s unique heritage preserves the legacy of the Phillips Packing Company. It is the last remaining factory from the Phillips Company’s empire of vegetable and food packing businesses, which once employed thousands of people in Cambridge. The company closed in the 1960’s, and the building has been deteriorating for decades. "Organizations like ESLC help to ensure that communities and towns all across America retain their unique sense of place," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "We are honored to provide a grant to ESLC, which will use the funds to help preserve an important piece of our shared national heritage." Grants from the National Trust Preservation Funds have

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Did you know? ESLC headquarters is LEED certified

Here at ESLC, we believe in the old adage, 'If you talk it, you walk it'. With this in mind, ensuring that the future Eastern Shore Conservation Center (or ESCC) -- reimagined from the abandoned and downtrodden McCord Laundry building in downtown Easton -- would be a sustainable, LEED certified building, was never in question. After all, our Center for Towns Program has been actively promoting infill development and smart growth strategies in an effort to strengthen our rural towns for the better part of a decade. Our partnership with Baltimore's Cross Street Partners on The Packing House in Cambridge is a perfect example of these efforts. But what exactly does LEED mean? Simply put, LEED is green building. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building, community, and home project types, LEED provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement. LEED buildings save energy, water, resources, generate less waste, and support human health. LEED buildings also attract tenants, cost less to operate, and boost employee productivity and retention. If you haven't taken a stroll through the Center yet, please do! We welcome visitors during normal business hours (M-F, 8:30am to 4:30pm) to take in our campus. A true mixed-use facility, ESCC tenants include (environmentally-focused) nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, apartments, office rental space, and a cafe.  

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Cambridge Residents Invited to Community Design Charrettes and Kick-Off Event for Cannery Park

ESLC and its project partners will host two community design charrettes, as well as a project kick-off event, to celebrate and gather community input for Cannery Park. The park, which will be located adjacent to the former Phillips Packing Co.’s last remaining building (soon to be known as The Packing House), is the culmination of a planning and funds-seeking process that has been in the works for approximately seven years. The media kick-off event will happen at 11am on Tuesday, January 23rd at 411 Dorchester Avenue. All residents, local businesses, and members of the media are encouraged to attend to find out more about the future park, and about Parker Rodriguez – the Alexandria, VA-based landscape architecture firm that has been selected to design and create Cannery Park. The two community design charrettes will be open to the public in an effort to capture feedback and input on the design of Cannery Park’s master plan, as well as to provide updates on Cambridge’s newest public space. The first charrette will be held from 6:30 to 7:30pm on Tuesday, January 23rd at the Cambridge Empowerment Center, located at 615 B Pine Street. The second charrette will be held at 6:30pm on Thursday, January 25th at the Public Safety Building, located at 8 Washington Street. Along with ESLC staff, members from the City of Cambridge, Dorchester County, Cross Street Partners, and Parker Rodriguez will be in attendance during all of the week’s events. The restoration of Cambridge Creek, along with the removal of an inactive railroad line so as to create a rail trail connecting the park to downtown, will be among the first action items in the creation of the new park. Parker Rodriguez was founded in 1996 as a full service land planning, landscape architecture, and urban design firm serving

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Packing House meetups scheduled

Help us create a dynamic Innovation Hub as a key part of The Packing House project - at the historic Phillips Cannery building in Cambridge. We are holding four September “Meetups” at different locations, with each running from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm. A brief presentation will be made by Cross Street Partners and ESLC, and the rest is discussion. Focus on traditional Eastern Shore sectors that also belong to the technology economy: food and agriculture, aquaculture, environmental sciences Unparalleled environment for meeting, collaborating and innovating with others – from inside our community, and beyond it Higher education presence around research and commercialization Compelling exhibit space for public education Come to the one most convenient for you, and share your thoughts about our region’s economic and entrepreneurial future, and feedback on this exciting project. If you have not already RSVP'd, please attend one of the upcoming meetups during which a presentation will be made about the planned Innovation Hub in Cambridge. Pizza, beer, wine, and beverages will be provided. Cambridge Meetup - September 27 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Chestertown Meetup - September 13 5:30pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Easton Meetup - September 14 5:30pm to 7:00 pm RSVP Salisbury Meetup - September 21 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm RSVP   Questions? Please contact ESLC Program Coordinator Rachel Roman at rroman@eslc.org

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