Sites in three Maryland counties have been designated for economic development by the state's Department of Commerce.
The areas around Morgan State University in Baltimore, Salisbury University in Wicomico County, and Montgomery College's Germantown Campus in Montgomery County have been approved as Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise Zones, or RISE Zones, by the department.
The designation is an effort to cultivate more economic investment and job creation. It allows industrial businesses that move into those areas and expand to have access to property and income tax credits. Engineering, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing, aerospace, and biotechnology businesses are among eligible entities for the incentives.
The Baltimore City RISE Zone covers about 10 acres near Morgan State, aiming to make improvements to the Northwood Shopping Center and Northwood Commons.
Covering roughly 28 acres, the RISE Zone around Montgomery College's Germantown Campus is meant to help the school grow its academic, business, and research campus, including the Pinkey Innovation Complex for Science and Technology. Businesses that move to the RISE Zone will have access to the campus cyber lab, Bioscience Education Center, the Germantown Innovation Center, and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital.
Salisbury University's RISE Zone connects the school with downtown Salisbury through a more than 129 acre stretch of land. Peninsula Regional Medical Center falls within the zone. The hope is to use the Zone to strengthen collaboration between the university, the city, and the hospital.
