The Frederick County Office of Economic Development’s mission is to sustain, diversify and grow Frederick County’s vibrant economy by providing leadership and resources for businesses to start, locate and expand.
FORWARD » Frederick County
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
2022
ANNUAL REPORT
Letter from the AcTing Director
The Frederick County Office of Economic Development (FCOED) has many reasons to celebrate 2022. We welcomed new businesses to the County, we helped existing businesses expand, we provided grants to the agriculture industry and helped our entrepreneurs start and grow. We developed new initiatives that received international and state recognition and expanded existing FCOED programs to support our business community.
We proudly launched our new brand, returned in person for our signature events and launched a new website to support Frederick County manufacturers, MadeinFrederickMD.com. This new site was presented with the 2022 Champion of Manufacturing Award by the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland.
FCOED has been implementing the strategic plan that was developed by Jacob France Institute. The Growth Opportunity (GO) Strategy identified workforce development, infrastructure planning, targeted industry growth and branding as focus areas. The GO Strategy elevated Frederick County to a national and international level, with companies such as Kroger/ Ocado, Kite Pharma, Ellume and Quantum Loophole choosing the County for their new location.
FCOED is thrilled to be back in person for our signature events! With approximately 130 people in attendance, we held the Frederick Real Estate Dealmaker (FRED) Awards celebration in May honoring the most successful commercial real estate transactions and projects. Business Appreciation Week (BAW) was held in October, and we visited 108 businesses with our economic development partners. In December, we held our Annual Business Reception with close to 200 people representing leaders in our business community, partners and elected officials. The Great Frederick Fair was better than ever, and FCOED had more than 12,000 visitors in the Wineries, Breweries and Distilleries Showcase building, highlighting the craft beverage industry.
FCOED was happy to participate in person at the Bio International Convention held in California. Frederick County
continues to gain recognition as a premier location for the rapidly expanding life sciences industry and has a high demand for entry-level workers. The Biotech Boot Camp program was created to address these workforce needs, and to date, two cohorts have successfully completed the program at an 85% employment rate.
We would like to thank the businesses that made this year’s Top 50 Most Innovative Businesses. We have an amazing, innovative, creative business community, and narrowing it down to 50 was a difficult task. The businesses in this publication are making the biggest impact on their industries, workplace and the Frederick County Community – thriving in today’s ever-changing environment.
2022 was an exciting year and we are looking forward to driving progress throughout 2023!
TOP50 33
Jodie Bollinger, Acting Director of FCOED
Advanced Functional Health & Wellness
Agave 137 Tequila Bar & Kitchen
Antelux Capital Partners
B. Anderson’s Backyard Experience
BK Juices
BridgePath Scientific
Cannon’s Event Space
Capital Telecom Services
Catoctin Breeze Vineyard
Charm City Run
Citizen’s Ballroom
Community Title Network
Concerted Care Group
Cornerstone Genomics
Curaleaf
Dash Hair Studio
Dream FREE Art
Frederick Social
Give Rise Studio
Groundswell MMA
Harlan Hawkins Aesthetics
Hoffman Brothers Ice Cream
Hummingbird Wealth Management
Ideal Jewelers
Imagination Station Children’s Center
Interventional Pain & Spine Care
Kesar by Shivaani
Kika Stretch Studios
Lockhouse Studios
Louie’s Famous Chicken & Subs
Love Your Vessel
Magpie Fibers
Maryland Center for Brain Health
McClintock’s Back Bar
Move Buy Marsh Realty
New York Life
ODIN Crossfit
Passion Events
Pediatric Movement Center
Priscilla’s Pound Cakes
Prospect Pantry
Rollins Life Celebration Center
Rosie Cheeks Distillery
Smoketown Bait and
The Basement Hair Studio
The Premier Group of Long and Foster
The Frederick Ballroom
Traveling Bros Cigars
(L): Locations, (E): Expansions
Design
Tackle
2022 Selected Company Locations & Expansions: NEW JOBS ADDITIONAL SQ. FOOTAGE/ACRES Chestnut Hill Farm (E) Aligned Data Centers (L) Westbound Transport (E) DRS Signal Solutions Inc (L) Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona (E) Federal Stone Industries (E) New York Life Insurance Company (L) Green Leaf Medical (E) Forecyte (E) Belleza Salon & Day Spa (E) X-energy (L) Medigen (E) Rehab 2 Perform (E) Smoketown Brewing Station (E) Planar Monolithic Industries (E) Valence Vector Labs (L) Zalgen Labs (L) Union Mills Public House (L) Kiosk Group (E) Zegaz Instruments (E) Northrop Realty (L) Fitzgerald’s Heavy Timber Construction (L) Prospect Point Brewing (E) 6 Infrastructure Phase 30 150 45 5 21 25 5 5 20-10 10 8 4 5 2 15 6 19 16 Acres 460,000 128,000 88,000 72,000 41,000 36,000 17,040 17,000 15,000 10,447 9,000 9,000 8,000 17,000 7,500 6,600 6,000 5,200 4,000 3,000 2,600 2,500
Economic Development Wins 34 TOP50
Additional
A FIVE-YEAR Look Back Since 2018, FCOED has worked with 522 prospective businesses, visited 1,265 businesses and assisted 11,333 businesses. FCOED services include but are not limited to: business expansion and location assistance, incentive/funding resources, workforce recruitment and training programs, permitting/zoning assistance, marketing and public relations assistance, diversity and inclusion EmPOWER Program, business networking and industry connections, demographic and business data. *Prospects include businesses looking to start, locate or expand in Frederick County. As one of the nation’s One-Stop Career Centers, Frederick County Workforce Services (FCWS) links businesses in need of qualified employees with individuals seeking employment opportunities. For job seekers, FCWS provides comprehensive career management services. For businesses, FCWS utilizes innovative strategies to help identify and achieve recruitment, retention and training goals. Looking Forward The impact of FCOED is to: » Strengthen Frederick County’s economic foundations. » Enable the County to sustain the diversity of its industry and employment base. » Raise performance in driving high quality economic growth. » Build upon the County’s mix of industry clusters: • Biosciences • Computing and Information Technology • Hospitality and Tourism • Manufacturing • Professional, Engineering, Scientific & Technical Services • Transportation, Distribution and Logistics • Value Added Agriculture Prospects* Business Visits Business Assists 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 Total 84 112 96 124 106 522 241 233 243 264 284 1,265 1,860 2,231 2,413 2,328 2,501 11,333 Year 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 Total Year One-Stop Services CUSTOMERS SERVED One-Stop Services YOUTH CUSTOMERS SERVED Job Openings Received Frederick Business Works Projects TRAINEES Recruitment for Business Customized & Onsite Recruitment Events 4,292 4,632 9,389 5,210 5,896 29,419 437 402 223 295 284 1,641 7,388 6,037 5,439 5,244 4,879 28,987 35 17 61 84 90 287 135 115 100 110 80 540 200 250 195 416 300 1,361 Workforce Services TOP50 35
279,835 Population (2021) $461M Visitor Spending 1.852M Annual Visitors $100,685 Median Household Income 6,619 Businesses BY THE Numbers TWO - THOUSAND TWENTY TWO AAA Frederick County’s Bond Rating $12.2B GDP 42% Bachelor’s Degree or higher Small Business Services FCOED partners with the Small Business Development Center and the Maryland Women’s Business Center to offer Small Business Services. 175 CLIENTS COUNSELED 27 JOBS CREATED 13 BUSINESS STARTS 36 TOP50
$15.55 Commercial Asking Rent per Square Foot Compared to $12.56 5 years ago. 6.6% Overall Commercial Vacancy Rate Office, Industrial, Flex Costar 3rd Quarter. $306M Value of Commercial and Industrial Construction Costs (2021) 1,179,822 Square Feet Leased The amount of commercial space businesses leased in the last 12 months. $5.86B Annual Wages 3.4% Frederick County Unemployment Rate Maryland 3.7%, National 3.5% 98,144 Jobs Frederick County Employment Categories Farmer Relief Grant The Frederick County ARPA Farmer Relief grant program allocated funds to eligible farmers and agriculture crop producers impacted by the steep increases in input costs brought on by the COVID-19 public health emergency and its negative economic impact. $1,569,614.12 Total grant award 118 Total applicants awarded Leisure & Hospitality 10% Education & Health Services 14% Other 4% Professional & Business Services 17% Financial 4% Information 1% Trade, Transportation & Utilities 19% Manufacturing 6% Construction 10% Natural Resources & Mining 1% Government* 14% *CONSISTS OF 9% LOCAL 1% STATE 4% FEDERAL Source: Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Annual Average Employment 2021 Data TOP50 37
2022 top highlights
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Agricultural Innovation Grants Frederick County conducted two rounds of the Frederick County Agricultural Innovation Grant program, that is designed to improve economic viability of the agriculture industry by encouraging agricultural producers to expand or diversify their business operations. In 2022, 32 ag innovation projects received $1,029,235 in funds. These projects added 85 fulltime and 89 part-time jobs.
The next round of the Agricultural Innovation Grant program opens March 1, 2023. To be eligible for the grant program, an applicant must be a crop or livestock producer, value added producer, agricultural cooperative, seafood processor, or primary or secondary timber products processor. Grant funds are available to cover a portion of project expenses for research and development, production buildings, major fixtures and processing facilities.
There’s No Place Like Frederick County! For 22 consecutive years, FCOED has coordinated Business Appreciation Week (BAW), one of the largest business retention programs in the State of Maryland. FCOED and our economic development partners visited 108 businesses in one week. While recognizing the brains, heart and courage of our business community, we asked why There’s No Place Like Frederick County. Below are some of the responses:
“I am so thoroughly impressed, and it warms my heart how welcoming the business community is here. As a whole, our local business community is very inviting and always looking to help each other thrive.”
COAST Designs
“We love the way Frederick County supports new businesses and the camaraderie amongst business owners.”
Nelson Coleman Jewelers
All participating businesses received marketing exposure and an opportunity to win a $5,000 marketing package from Manning Media.
Biotech Boot Camp Frederick’s Biotech Boot Camp is a no-cost training program designed through the collaborative effort of Frederick Community College, Frederick County Workforce Services, The City of Frederick Department of Economic Development and Frederick County Office of Economic Development to teach participants the basic skills needed for entry-level positions within the biotechnology/biomanufacturing industry. Focused on delivering real career opportunities & meeting workforce needs, graduates are then matched directly with participating local companies for job interviews.
To date, two cohorts have successfully completed the program, and 85% of the program’s graduates are already working within the biotech industry. A Bio Boot Camp cohort is offered in January 2023.
The International Economic Development Council honored the Biotech Boot Camp with the Excellence in Economic Development Silver Award for Partnerships with Educational Institutions.
108 Businesses
» 175,000+
and 500
» In
»
» 60%
» 24%
38 TOP50
BAW By The Numbers
Represented
SF
Agricultural Acres
total these businesses employ 2,080
27% of the businesses were new
of businesses plan to expand
of businesses plan to hire
MadeinFrederickMD.com Frederick County has over 200 manufacturers that call Frederick County home and this industry continues to grow.
To highlight the value and importance of this industry, FCOED launched a new website in 2022.
MadeinFrederickMD.com, a one-stop shop for existing manufacturers, manufacturers looking to locate to the area and the overall community. Made in Frederick aims to strengthen and foster the growth of Frederick County’s manufacturing industry by providing resources, connections and tools to succeed, as well as a jobs board to post manufacturing opportunities.
Agricultural Awards
Farm Family of the Year: Glade Haven Farm Ag Advocate of the Year: Dr. Ray Edigar
Ag Business of The Year: Shuff’s Meat Market
Young Farmer of the Year: Ben and Kate Sowers
Fred Awards
Deal of the Year: Ellume at Progress Labs at Center 85
» Dan Mallon and Jeff Boyle, Ellume
» Brad Benna, Matan Companies » Pete Briskman, JLL
» Taylor Davis, Morgan Keller Construction
Creative Adaptive Reuse: Middletown Memorial Hall LLC
» Elkana Bretton, Ingrid Smith and Gerardo Lepatina, Memorial Hall Middletown, LLC
» Becky Axilbund, Main Street Middletown
» Burgess John Miller, Town of Middletown
Modern Masterpiece Award: Union Mills Retail » Jim Mackintosh, Mackintosh, Inc Commercial Brokerage
» Matthew Jamel, Douglas Development » Niko Negas, Public House
Dealmaker of the Year: Tony “C” Checchia, VCRE.CO
Emerging Dealmaker of the Year: Ashleigh Kiggans, MacRo Ltd. Commercial Real Estate
Lifetime Achievement Award: Tim Shanklin, Tyler Duncan Realty Partners
Most Valuable Partner: Innovation in Training Institute at Hood College
The Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland awarded MadeinFrederickMD.com
Manufacturing recognition Awards and Recognition THE FREDERICK COUNTY OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 118 N. Market St., Suite 300 Frederick, MD 21701 | 301.600.1058 www.DiscoverFrederickMD.com www.HomegrownFrederick.com www.MadeinFrederickMD.com Stay Connected EmPOWER Mentorship Program The EmPOWER Mentorship Program is a facilitated mentoring model designed to help underrepresented businesses generate ideas, identify blind spots, troubleshoot problems, and grow their networks in Frederick County. 2022 COHORT » Alexandra Gushard-EdwardsMarie Rose Photography & Videography » Alice Victoria MbuyiThe Frederick Ballroom » Alyssa Palermo - Shoppers Insurance Agency » Jarad Bowens - Benefactor Events » Juve Lima - Greek Aroma » Lois Pruitt - The Frederick Basket Company » Sandra HofmeisterA&S Construction » Sanathana ShanmugamMinnodi, LLC » Tina Harper - Dream Free Art » Tonya Chubb - EmPowerment Consulting Services, LLC 2022 MENTORS » Michelle Nusum-Smith – The Word Woman, LLC » Xavier Bruce – Uplift Energy Coaching » Tereance Moore – T.M. Consulting LLC » Deanna Grimm – Fulton Bank » Justin Saltzman – VCRE.co » Timika Thrasher – Thrasher’s Cleaning Service » Darrick Bowens – Colbert/Ball Tax Service » Kristopher Madore – Madore Law, LLC » Amanda Rodriguez – Trendsetters Digital Media » Simone Mitchem – JSM Enterprise, LLC » Karen Kalantzis – Maryland Women’s Business Center » Serina Roy – Dublin Roasters Coffee » Darren Sheffield – Midar International » Bethany Lord – SHRM » Ashleigh Kiggans – MacRo, Ltd. Commercial Real Estate TOP50 39
a 2022 Champion of Maryland