June 4,2021
CAMBRIDGE, MD -- On Monday, May 24, 2021, the City of Cambridge came to mutual agreement with Cambridge Waterfront Development Incorporated (CWDI) regarding the transfer of the ten-acre “Port Property” and the one acre “Gateway Property.” This transfer agreement is the first step in the consolidation of roughly forty acres of properties for an expected nine-figure redevelopment along Cambridge’s Choptank River waterfront that will eventually include the Shore Regional Health property and a portion of property owned by Dorchester County bordering the Dorchester County Visitor’s Center.
Following decades of studies, public surveys, and community discussions regarding the redevelopment of Cambridge’s waterfront, CWDI will advertise a public Request for Proposals seeking master development plans for the reimagining and activating of Cambridge’s beautiful and historic waterfront. The RFP will have development guidelines shaped with an eye to those decades of public input, while providing respondents the latitude necessary to make such a project financially viable. Public accessibility, event programming areas, open parkland, and mixed-use commercial and residential areas will be featured, along with connectivity to Cambridge’s historic district, the City’s rapidly re-emerging downtown, and the Packing House adaptive-reuse project being constructed by Cross Street Partners and the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.
Within the agreement, the RFP process has been made mandatory to ensure public lands are put to best use, the transferred properties may not be divided or sold prior to engagement with a master developer to ensure the property provides a blank canvas for any development plan, and summaries of all received proposals will be put to public review prior to any developer being engaged to ensure public trust that the best and most viable proposal has been selected by CWDI. Additionally, CWDI is in agreement with a proposal by the City of Cambridge to increase the ethics-reporting requirements and expand the conflict of interest policies of CWDI to ensure complete public trust as the development process moves forward. Finally, CWDI, the City of Cambridge, and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development have agreed in principle that changes should occur with regard to the CWDI board’s composition to ensure more community input and minority representation within the decision-making processes.
The agreement follows months of engagement between the City of Cambridge and CWDI, spearheaded by Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw and assisted by City Manager Patrick Comiskey, Commission President Lajan Cephas and Ward 5 Commissioner Chad Malkus. Multiple in-person and virtual meetings, as well as email dialogues were conducted with CWDI leadership, including CWDI Executive Director Sandra Tripp-Jones, Board President Richard Zeidman, and board members Jeff Powell and Frank Narr. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Kenneth Holt and Deputy Secretary Owen McEvoy also played key roles in developing a mutually-agreeable transfer that respects CWDI’s goals, the needs of the City of Cambridge, the realities that exist for a development partner, and the expectations of Cambridge and Dorchester County residents.
For more information regarding the agreement and the redevelopment project, City of Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw may be reached by emailing Mayor Bradshaw, City Manager Patrick Comiskey may be reached by emailing Patrick Comiskey, and CWDI Executive Director Sandra Tripp-Jones may be reached by emailing Sandra Tripp-Jones.
April 1, 2021
Following a tragic fire leading to the loss of three lives shortly after midnight this
morning, the decision has been made to postpone the Poplar Street Promenade that
was to begin this evening out of respect for the family, friends, and neighbors of
those who perished, This decision was reached in consultation with the
Commissioners of Cambridge, Cambridge Police Department, Rescue Fire
Company, the Cambridge-Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, and business owners
along Poplar Street We expect to begin the Promenade on April 8.
In the intervening time, I will work closely with Chief Lewis of Cambridge Police,
Chief Pritchett of Rescue Fire Company, business owners along Poplar Street, and
our partners at Downtown Cambridge and the Cambridge-Dorchester Chamber of
Commerce to ensure that outdoor dining may safely occur moving ahead.
I am personally devastated by the events that occurred early this morning, and the
Commissioners and staff at the City of Cambridge have the families, friends, and
neighbors of those lost in our prayers. We ask that others, too, send thoughts and
prayers to all those impacted and for the City of Cambridge during this sad time. As
the City of Cambridge learns more regarding arrangements and ways to assist the
family, we will share that information.
Respectfully,
Andrew Bradshaw
Mayor
