CAMBRIDGE - Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day visited several state-sponsored projects in Dorchester County on Wednesday as part of the agency’s Day Trips tour across Maryland.

The tour to the county “Where Water Moves Us” allowed Secretary Day and other DHCD staff to connect with the area’s public officials, business owners and residents and see projects DHCD has supported. In a period from Fiscal Year 2020 to 2024, DHCD has invested more than $34 million in Dorchester County to reduce homelessness, improve broadband service and revitalize neighborhoods.

"Dorchester County has undergone tremendous change and I’m proud that DHCD has been a part of that change,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “Our commitment to this area goes far beyond our office in Cambridge, but in every community in Dorchester County. And through our partnership with county and municipal officials, we can fulfill the Moore-Miller administration’s pledge to make Dorchester County and Maryland safer, more affordable and more competitive.”

“Dorchester County was honored to host Secretary Day and his DHCD staff for a full day of discussion about the concerns and issues that face our County,” said Dorchester County Council President George L. Pfeffer, Jr.

“DHCD’s visit was greatly appreciated as it allowed us the opportunity to discuss important topics such as the need for affordable and workforce housing,” Pfeffer said.

The tour started in Cambridge with officials outlining the plans for the Cambridge Harbor, which has received financial support from DHCD, before moving to the city’s Pine Street community.

Pine Street, along with Johnston Square in Baltimore, were two sites that were part of the department’s Homeownership Works (HOW) pilot initiative which invested $10 million into new construction and rehabilitation projects in the two Maryland neighborhoods. HOW has been succeeded by DHCD’s UPLIFT (Utilizing Progressive Lending Investments to Finance Transformation) program that addresses homes impacted by appraisal gaps by accelerating the pace of new construction and rehabilitation of quality affordable housing in strategically identified communities across Maryland.

The group made a stop at the newly opened Pine Street Community Market, the first commercial business in that part of Cambridge in decades. The business benefited from DHCD’s Neighborhood BusinessWorks program, which provides flexible financing to new or expanding small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Sustainable Communities and Priority Funding Areas throughout the state. The market was also the recipient of grants from the department’s Neighborhood Revitalization Division.

Afterward, DHCD staff visited the East New Market Trading Post Museum to see its restoration progress. DHCD supported the restoration through state revitalization funds.

The tour ended at Suicide Bridge Restaurant near Hurlock with a robust community stakeholder discussion about ways the department can help Dorchester County with its key missions of creating more opportunities for affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure, business development and broadband connectivity.

This was DHCD’s ninth Day Trip across Maryland since the fall of 2023. More county visits are scheduled for this summer.