CAMBRIDGE, MD -The Cambridge planning and zoning department plans to boost growth by leveraging its deepwater port and opportunity zone development.
Cambridge is working with development company Able City to finalize its comprehensive plan. The team divided the project design into 6 phases, beginning with community input collection and ending with plan adoption in Spring 2026.
There are only two deepwater ports in Maryland. Cambridge is the only port of its kind on the Eastern Shore.
"This is a place with a lot of potential which got frozen in time," Jason King, principal and co-owner at Able City, said of Cambridge. "A place capable of doing something that no other place on the Eastern Shore is."
King introduced an opportunity zone designation for the deepwater port to Cambridge city planners.
Opportunity zone designations are an economic development tool administered by the U.S. Treasury created under the 2017 Tax Cuts to incentivize investment in distressed areas through tax benefits.
"It isn't a loophole, it's a very deliberate policy, and the idea is that the public is well-served by investment in distressed areas," King said.
Dean Gunderson works as a planner and urban designer for Cambridge. He said using the port strategically could create a cluster of industry for the city.
"Focus those efforts on both the benefit of a deepwater port, kind of a working seaport, enviornmental toursim or tourism in general," Gunderson said.
The city recently wrapped up a week-long charrette, meeting with stakeholders and community members to collect feedback on the plan. City planners said the overwhelming sentiment bolstered Cambridge's identity as a waterfront community.
Gunderson said capitalizing on the city's unique position to function as a working seaport would complement initiatives already underway to drive tourism and further develop the downtown.
The city has also been working with the University of Maryland on a seawall to protect against current and future development from frequent flooding.
"It's a way of protecting and armoring the coat in a way that's environmentally sensitive," Gunderson said. "We have this great opportunity to broaden the attraction into Cambridge for that kind of tourism that's focused on the environment and focused on the waterfront."
For more information on the Cambridge Comprehensive Plan draft, click here.