DOVER, De. - Bringing new business to central Delaware has long been a goal of Kent county and the city of Dover, and county and city leaders are doing what they can to make that goal a reality. And with the recent move of a small Maryland business to right here in Dover, their hoping this is just the beginning. Shore Industries employees were seen hard at work today inside their new building in Kent County, measuring sails for outdoor spaces and boats. Shore Industries recently moved from Denton Maryland, and plans to put down roots in central Delaware. That includes not just adding square footage, but also hiring up to 60 future employees. "We are a lease to purchase, so we are in the process of meeting with Becker Morgan engineering firm tomorrow, we're going to map out a future here and hopefully everything goes well and in the next couple of months we're going to be building, start construction on a new 20,000 square foot facility," explained owner Mike Pugh. Linda Parkowski, Kent Economic Partnership Executive Director, says attracting businesses like Shore Industries is important to improving quality of life in Kent County. "The more jobs we can bring to the area, the better everybody's living is going to be, people will be able to buy a house, buy a car, raise their children, and that's really important," said Parkowski. Dover is also playing a role in trying to convince businesses to bring their businesses to the area. City Planning and Zoning Director Dave Hugg is proposing an expanded tax abatement program for new businesses, as well as renewing the joint use agreement on the civil air terminal at Dover Air Force Base. The joint use agreement allows for use of the civil air terminal on the base, which is usually only utilized on NASCAR race weekends or for other private landings. This renewing would allow for more takeoffs and landings, potentially for future businesses that may be interested in using it, Hugg told WBOC. "We are trying to position ourselves so whether it's for distribution or aviation related, for food processing, we're trying as a city and a county to position ourselves so that if someone comes and knocks at the door, we're prepared," explained Hugg. As for the tax abatement, that would apply to a businesses real estate taxes, and would give new business owners a tax break on a sliding scale over 10 years. The first year they would pay 0%, and by year ten, they would pay 100% of their real estate tax. Each year, the business would pay another 10%, and Hugg told WBOC while at first there would be no tax revenue, by year 10, there is 100% revenue, and it would make the deal attractive for everyone involved. Parkowski says incentives always help when trying to get people to come to the area. "It's a competitive world out there, you know every community would like to have a business like this one, so we do need all the ingredients and all the tools in order to recruit and locate the businesses," she added. That tax abatement is expected to get a vote in May, and the renewal of the joint use agreement is expected sometime late this year.
Kent County, City of Dover Looking to Attract More Business
