You can learn more about what Laurel’s Downtown Development District designation means at a meeting on Tuesday, September 29 at the Laurel Public Library. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
If you live or own a commercial property within the district, rehabilitating or upgrading that property will become much more attractive because of local and state incentives. State grants are available for qualifying projects as small as $15,000. Besides the state DDD grants, DDDs receive priority for state historic tax credits. Rebates are available within DDDs for energy-efficiency improvements from Energize Delaware. We are developing a comprehensive community improvement/housing rehabilitation and home ownership program and applying for significant additional grants to spur redevelopment of downtown Laurel; applications within Delaware’s eight Downtown Development Districts receive extra points.
Penny Pierson, who administers the DDD grants for the Delaware State Housing Authority, will be at the September 29 meeting to explain how the state program works for both small and large projects.
The Downtown Development District is an initiative of Governor Jack Markell to provide incentives for reinvestment in distressed downtowns. Laurel has the lowest Median Household Income of any municipality in Delaware. You can read more about the program on this page of the website.
The revised map below reflects the proposed addition of the undeveloped portion of the Villas on Broad Creek. The state is scheduled to consider the addition in early October.
