Eastern Shore Land Conservancy

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

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Maryland Department of Planning announces $90,000 grant for The Packing House smokestack stabilization!

Great news for The Packing House project! The Maryland Department of Planning recently announced that 50 matching grants totaling nearly $2.7M were awarded to non-profits, local jurisdictions, and other heritage tourism organizations including museums, historic preservation, natural resources, cultural, and educational organizations by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA).  Among them was $90,000 awarded for The Packing House - more specifically, the stabilization of the factory smokestacks which are in desperate need of repair. The Packing House grant fell within MHAA's "Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area" (or Dorchester County), which as a whole was awarded $235,000. ESLC also has a crowdfunding site at Razoo.com where an additional $25,000 is trying to be raised to help with a hefty smokestack repair bill. These grant funds support heritage tourism projects and activities that draw visitors and expand economic development and tourism-related job creation throughout Maryland. Tourism is the 10th largest private sector employer in Maryland, providing more than 143,000 jobs and $17 billion of visitor spending annually. Maryland’s Heritage Areas contribute to Maryland tourism by saving and enhancing the places that attract heritage tourists - people who focus their travels on historic sites, museums, cultural activities, or the natural beauty of Maryland’s Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay coastal areas and Mountain Maryland. For more information about The Packing House, please visit thepackinghousecambridge.com.

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ESLC drops crowdfunding video for The Packing House

Early in 2016, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy identified a vacant factory building in downtown Cambridge Maryland steeped in local history. The 60,000 square foot former manufacturing facility, known throughout the 1900’s as the Phillips Packing Company’s “Factory F”, is all that remains of the vegetable and food packing empire that once employed thousands in Cambridge. In addition to employing and housing much of Cambridge, the canning operation also served as the largest supplier of K-rations to American troops during World War II. The Phillips name was synonymous with the Eastern Shore of Maryland, purchasing millions in local agricultural product from surrounding farms. The company closed in the 1960’s, and the building has been deteriorating ever since. Now, in partnership with Baltimore’s Cross Street Partners – a real estate firm focused on re-building communities by creating vibrant, mixed-use neighborhoods built on a foundation of innovation and entrepreneurial activity – ESLC has focused its efforts on transforming the run-down Phillips Factory into The Packing House, a vibrant food, farming, and innovation exchange. While the word and excitement is spreading about The Packing House and its kitchen incubator, oyster bar, fresh foods market, shared innovation hub, microbrewery, and community events space, work cannot begin until ESLC raises the money necessary to begin Phase 1 of the development process. Phase 1 includes the stabilization of the Phillips Packing Co.’s iconic smokestacks. Visible from Rt. 50 by all who travel to and from the beach, these pillars of history are visibly crumbling and are in dire need of being saved. This is where YOU come in. With a donation of $5, $25, $100, or WHATEVER amount you are able to contribute, ESLC can help come up with the necessary funding needed to get the smokestacks repaired and ready to move onto phase 2 of this historic revitalization. With a legacy of

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Sen. Cardin to visit Phillips Packing Plant in Cambridge Friday, March 10th

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) will be visiting Cambridge, Maryland on Friday, March 10, 2017. More specifically, he will join representatives from the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), Baltimore’s Cross Street Partners, and Preservation Maryland for a tour and media availability regarding The Packing House – a historic tax credit rehabilitation project. In addition to addressing the media and answering questions immediately following the tour, Senator Cardin will spotlight his new legislation to improve the federal historic tax credit program, which will benefit rural communities and small towns across Maryland. A partnership between ESLC, Cross Street Partners, and the City of Cambridge, The Packing House (ThePackingHouseCambridge.com) is an urban revitalization project that seeks to repurpose the historic, 60,000 square-foot Phillips Cannery building in Cambridge into an active, mixed-use plan for office and food-related innovation. This structure is the last standing piece of the storied Phillips Packing Company empire, which employed thousands in Cambridge and served as the largest supplier of rations to American troops in World War II. The project was recently awarded a $3M historic tax credit for revitalization of a structure located within an underserved community. Plans include an array of food-related uses that acknowledge and support local hunger and nutrition needs, building off of the Eastern Shore’s agricultural resources and a growing local food economy of growers, makers, distributors, retailers, and restaurants. The ambitious vision to renovate and repurpose the former Phillips ‘Factory F’ is key to the continued revitalization of Cambridge, including Cannery Park – the adjacent 6.6 acres of land which includes the Cambridge Creek headwater area that will begin a stream restoration process this coming spring. The event is free and open to interested members of the public, friends of ESLC, and the media. For members of the media planning to attend the grand opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center immediately afterwards, a

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