Page 51 - Garrett County 2024/2025 Visitors Guide

// QUALITY OF LIFE: Business Development
Employment* (2022)
Industry
Avg. # of Reporting Units
Annual Avg. Empl.
Empl. %
Avg. Wkly. Wage
RESOURCES AND INCENTIVES
FOR EMPLOYERS
Garrett College (garrettcollege.edu) offers continuing education and non-credit workforce training in a variety of fields, from welding to health care services, through
its Career Technology Training Center. The school has also partnered with the county’s Department of Business Development on initiatives to promote well-paying jobs and advancement opportunities.
One such initiative is the Garrett Information Enterprise Center (GIEC), which was launched as a technology incubator
and supplies its tenants with resources and low-cost office space at Garrett College’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Garrett College also hosts an outpost of
the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which helps small businesses
from startup through expansion. For more information about local SBDC services,
visit marylandsbdc.org/locations/western- region.
Here are some of the most important tax credits and incentive programs offered by the federal, state and local government:
• There are three federal Opportunity Zones located in Garrett County:
o Census Tract 2, located in Northern Garrett County, which includes within its boundaries the Northern Garrett Industrial Park and Keysers Ridge Business Park;
o Census Tracts 6 and 7 located in Southern Garrett County, which include within their boundaries the Southern Garrett Industrial Park, the Southern Garrett Business & Technology Park and county-owned property located along Francis Sanders Drive in Mountain Lake Park.
• Threestate-designatedEnterpriseZones allow companies operating there to receive local and state tax breaks (commerce. maryland.gov/fund/programs-for- businesses/enterprise-zone-tax-credit).
• Garrett County is a Tier 1 County in Maryland’s More Jobs for Marylanders Incentive Program (commerce.maryland. gov/fund/programs-for-businesses/ more-jobs-for-marylanders) and the One Maryland Tax Credit Program (commerce. maryland.gov/fund/programs-for- businesses/one-maryland-tax-credit).
• GarrettCounty’sBusinessPropertyTax Incentive Program is available to all new and expanding businesses in the county that meet the eligibility criteria.
Federal government 14 Local government 47
Manufacturing 43
Information 10
Leisure and hospitality 107
Overall total 1,020
67 0.6% $1,148 1,284 10.9% 889
943 8.0% 814
191 1.6% 880
1,778 15.1% 423
11,765 100.0% 767
State government
7
259
2.2%
921
Private sector total
953
10,154
86.3%
745
Natural resources and mining
38
300
2.5%
1,330
Construction
165
1,012
8.6%
948
Trade, transportation and utilities
223
2,546
21.6%
667
Financial activities
64
563
4.8%
714
Professional and business services
164
894
7.6%
904
Education and health services
76
1,618
13.8%
870
Other services
64
306
2.6%
651
*Includes civilian employment only
Source: Maryland Department of Labor Office of Workforce Information and Performance
• There are two Maryland Arts & Entertainment Districts located in Garrett County — one in Grantsville and one in Oakland. Unique destinations reflecting the traditions and evolving culture of their communities, these districts help develop and promote community involvement, tourism and revitalization through tax- related incentives that attract artists,
arts organizations and other creative enterprises.
• The federal Small Business Administration (sba.gov/federal- contracting/contracting-assistance- programs/hubzone-program) has designated the entire county a HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Zone, which confers federal contracting preference to qualified businesses in the area.
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
Six industrial/business parks, with access to major highways and underlying infrastructure in place, are strategically
located throughout Garrett County. Acreage is still available in the 240-acre Keysers Ridge Business Park off I-68,
and the 135-acre McHenry Business
Park located adjacent to the Garrett County Airport. One lot (4.2 acres) is still available in the Southern Garrett Business & Technology Park located along MD Route 135 in Oakland. Both the Keysers Ridge Business Park and the Southern Garrett Business & Technology Park are in state-designated Enterprise and federal Opportunity Zones.
Located on the Garrett College campus, the Garrett Information Enterprise Center offers incubator space to new and expanding technology-based businesses and is the perfect environment for facilitating the successful development of technology-intensive companies.
TRANSPORTATION
Highways: MD Routes 135 and 495; U.S. Routes 40, 50 and 219; Interstate-68; easy access to Interstates 70,79 and 81.
Rail: CSX Transportation
www.visitdeepcreek.com 49