By Liz Holland

A long-awaited development that will include apartments, restaurants and retail spaces at the Salisbury Marina could be under construction by spring.

Final approval of the site plan for the Marina Landing project is expected either this month or in January by the Planning and Zoning Commission, said Mayor Jake Day. Most of the necessary environmental permits have already been approved.

Marina Landing has been in the planning stages since 2015 when the city agreed to sell one waterfront parcel and lease another at the marina to Salisbury Development Group LLC. The developer also agreed to build a boathouse on the leased portion of the land which is near the Rivers Edge apartment complex.

Day said the seven-year wait for the development isn’t unusual.

“It’s just how long real estate development takes,” he said.

The project originally included 50 apartments, but because of the current housing shortage in Salisbury, units have since been added to the boathouse, bringing the total to 76, Keith Fisher, the architect for the development, told City Council members at a recent work session.

Lot 1 development

Marina Landing is just one of the many projects city officials sought to replace parking lots and other land in the Downtown area over the past several years.

The largest is planned for two parking lots behind the Downtown Plaza to be redeveloped by Gillis Gilkerson with a multi-use plan including a mix of retail, 200 apartments and a parking garage. The developers paid $225,000 to the city for Lots 1 and 11 bordered by Camden, Division, West Market streets and Circle Avenue.

Day said the development also includes a town square, part of which has already been constructed on the Division Street side of the Downtown Garage.

The other portion will be located on the other side of Division Street, with construction expected in late 2022.

Construction on a parking garage for the development will get under way in 2023. It will be located on the Camden Street side of Lot 1, he said.

Salisbury Green

Another city parking lot was sold in 2018 to developer Bret Davis for $15,000 and a small park area next to it known as the Salisbury Green to Ryan Miller for $5,000. Miller has since sold the park area to Davis who plans to build an apartment complex and a restaurant on the lots which sit between Market Street and the Wicomico River. Day said he expects construction could begin there in 2022 or 2023. 

Affordable housing is expected to be built on Lot 30, a city parking lot on Route 50 near the drawbridge.

Green Street Housing applied for low-income housing tax credits, but the application was denied twice, Day said. However, a recent application for the tax credits was just approved, paving the way for construction of the apartments.

The city also is currently reviewing three proposals for Lot 10, the large parking lot next to the state office building at the intersection of Routes 50 and 13. Day said the city rejected two previous proposals when the developers didn’t meet certain deadlines.

Tax incentives

The city recently began seeking proposals for a small parking lot at Market and Camden streets and will be seeking bids on another small lot near Avery Hall Insurance, Day said.

The developers of the various Downtown projects are expected to apply for the new Horizon tax credit program and the “Here Is Home” development fee waivers.

Horizon was approved by the Salisbury City Council in 2020 and the Wicomico County Council this year. The new program offers tax incentives for Downtown apartment and hotel projects.

The City Council also recently approved the Here Is Home incentive program that is designed to encourage residential development throughout the city by waiving development fees.

In October, Day unveiled the initiative aimed at increasing the city’s housing stock and affordability. The city – the fastest growing municipality in Maryland -- is facing a housing deficit.

To incentivize construction of new housing stock, the Here Is Home initiative offers fee waivers. Property owners and real estate developers have a 90-day window within which they may sign an agreement with the city waiving any and all fees associated with development – including annexation fees.

Projects that stay on a defined timeline will pay nothing in city fees.

To meet the requirements, a project must receive permits by the end of 2022 and break ground approximately two years from Oct. 1, 2021. Occupancy of the development must happen no later than 18 months after groundbreaking for multi-family, or 3 years after groundbreaking for all single-family homes.

Since the program was announced, applications so far have been submitted from developers of five different projects for 172 single-family houses, 260 duplexes, 308 townhouses and 101 apartments.

“They’re pretty much from every corner of the city,” Day said.