BERLIN – A decade after Berlin’s designation as a Maryland Arts and Entertainment District, local merchants have joined town officials to launch a renewal effort.
On Monday, members of the town council approved a resolution endorsing Berlin’s re-designation as an Arts and Entertainment District. Ivy Wells, the town’s economic development director, said that because 10 years had passed the town needed to seek recertification from the state.
“We’ve been informed we need to re-apply to make sure we’re still following all the rules,” she said.
She has partnered with local merchants to complete the town’s application, which is due April 1.
“I feel confident we’ll get designated,” Wells said.
Robin Tomaselli from Baked Dessert Cafe is one of the merchants supporting the effort. She said she had watched awareness of the program increase since coming to Berlin.
“It’s definitely on a building platform,” she said.
Tomaselli explained the state-approved designation was meant to bring artists to town. Qualified artists who rent or own space in Berlin’s Arts and Entertainment District are able to take advantage of tax credits.
She said members of the business community hoped to eventually see the district expand to include a larger portion of the town, namely the area along Old Ocean City Boulevard. She added that before that could happen, however, the town would need to re-apply again.
Anna Mullis, director of the Worcester County Arts Council, said she thought a lot of progress had been made in the Arts and Entertainment District since 2005. She said the committee behind the designation was active and pointed to the town’s popular Second Friday events, which give downtown businesses the chance to feature the work of area artists.
“I think we are going in the right direction,” she said.
Mayor Gee Williams agreed that significant progress had been made and said he hoped it would continue.
“I still think this is one of the aspects of the community that has the greatest potential for growth and impact economically and culturally,” he said.
Williams said he expected progress to continue through the next decade.
“The potential is exciting,” he said. “The kind of people it attracts to the community, they tend to volunteer, they tend to become involved, they tend to shop and they tend to be really nice to interact with.”