Salisbury Announced As A Maryland Opportunity Zone To Promote Development Growth

SALISBURY, Md. – Maryland is creating more business incentives in cities to attract investors to put money into development projects.

The “opportunity zones” will provide tax cuts to capital investors that form equity partnerships with business developers.

“It’s really matching projects with private capital in terms of bettering the community,” Executive Director of Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development Dave Ryan said.

Ryan says this promotes a match making process between developers with a vision and investors that have the money to make it happen.

“We’ve had an enormous amount of interest from fund managers in terms of investing in the Salisbury marketplace,” Ryan said.

Developer Brad Gillis, of Gillis Gilkerson, says his company has already started talking with potential investors to take advantage of this state incentive.

“If the right partnership and the right person comes to us and we strike up that relationship then we’re going to be all about it,” Gillis said.

But Gillis explains that investors and developers need to work fast in order to get the biggest bang for their buck.

“So really 2019 and some of 2020 is the time to get it done. So it’s the age old saying of strike while the iron is hot,” Gillis said.

Gillis says investors will not have to pay any taxes on their equity investments or any profits they make off the investment so long as they keep their money in the project for ten years.

“If they hold onto the investment for over 10 years, they will have zero federal capital gain tax on those investments. So they essentially get an additional 30 percent return depending on their tax bracket,” Gillis said.

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford visited Salisbury to discuss the opportunity zones with the community alongside other state cabinet members.  During the discussion at the Truitt Community Center, Rutherford stated that Maryland is investing about $56 million into job growth incentives.