Carvel Hall sale lets Crisfield be eligible again for block grants
CRISFIELD — Just a few hours before the close of business on the last day of March the limited liability company approved by the City Council to purchase the former Carvel Hall property on …
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Carvel Hall sale lets Crisfield be eligible again for block grants
CRISFIELD — Just a few hours before the close of business on the last day of March the limited liability company approved by the City Council to purchase the former Carvel Hall property on Crisfield Highway completed the transaction.
Clerk-Treasurer Joyce Morgan arrived back in City Hall around 2:30 p.m. with a check in hand for $225,000. That included not only the $150,000 sale price plus $75,000 in penalties imposed by the council at a rate of $25,000 per month for each month after November that settlement was to occur with March 31 the final day.
Proceeds from the sale go to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) but Mrs. Morgan was not immediately sure if it would request the entire amount of just the settled sale price.
Element MD LLC and its real estate arm Phoenix Real Estate Holdings (the deedholder) are currently not licensed to grow cannabis inside the facility but that is the intent as Element MD has pre-approval for a license to process marijuana at its building in the Princess Anne Industrial Park.
Mayor Barry Dize in a statement said, “The City is excited for Phoenix Real Estate Holdings/Element MD to begin the renovations which will employ multiple contractors prior to the new job opportunities.
“In addition, the completion of this transfer will now allow the City of Crisfield the opportunity to apply for CDBG grants this year.”
CDBG, short for Community Development Block Grants, are through DHCD and often fund special projects which without them communities like Crisfield are handicapped because they cannot afford the work on their own. They have funded facade improvements, streetscape projects and other capital improvements in the past.
The city was given the 23 acre property and 70,000 sq. ft. building in December 2010 by Syratech Acquisition Corporation and in March 2021 the plan by Element MD was selected by a 3-2 vote of the City Council from among the three proposals it received.
“We look forward to working with Phoenix Real Estate Holdings/Element MD for many years to come and wish them the most success in their new business venture,” Mayor Dize stated.
