Are you thinking of buying your own commercial real estate? Whether you’re looking at land for commercial use, an apartment building, or an office building, there are a lot of similarities in the process. Our first recommendation is to find a great commercial real estate agent in Hagerstown. You want someone that’s familiar with the area and able to help you reach your goals.

Before you get started on your search for the perfect property, familiarize yourself with the buying process with these five steps.

Lock Down Your Goals

What are you hoping to accomplish by buying commercial real estate? What inspired you to buy a building?

Whatever your motivations might be, it’s important to understand what you’re hoping to accomplish with your commercial building. If you don’t understand what you’re looking to do with a property, then it will be much harder for a commercial real estate agent to help get you into a building that suits your goals.

There are a lot of pros and cons to different building styles. If you’re looking to rent out offices, then you’ll need to decide what industry you’re looking for. For example, buildings in the medical field require more build out than your average office. But if you’re looking to rent out apartments, then you’ll definitely need to consider the surrounding area. Is there a lot of competition? Attractions within walking distance? How much are other apartments going for?

Buying land for commercial use may take more work, but it also gives you a blank slate that you can mold however you may like. Before you move forward in the process, spend some time researching and reflecting on what you hope to get out of this venture.

Build the Right Team

At AushCo, we’ve written many articles relating to what to look for in your commercial real estate agent in Frederick and Hagerstown. There’s a reason why we focus on it. Without the right team behind you, you could get yourself into serious trouble when it comes to lease negotiation or brokering deals. Commercial real estate is a big investment—you don’t want to waste your money.

When looking for a good agent, take into consideration their experience. How well do they know the area? Are they appropriately certified? How many deals have they brokered in the past? Do they have good client testimonials?

Before working with a CRE agent, do your research. See if you can talk to previous clients and meet with them a few times to get a feel for their experience, attitude, and whether or not they can help you reach your goals.

Evaluate Buildings

One reason why it’s so important to work with a great commercial real estate agent in Hagerstown is to help you evaluate buildings. If you’re new to the world of CRE, you’ll quickly discover that shopping for an office building is nothing like shopping for a home.

You’ll need to find out the answers to questions like vacancy rate, how much income it’s currently bringing in, what improvements it needs, and capitalization rate. If you don’t have experience performing the necessary calculations, then it’s a good idea to work with a great agent who can give you an idea of how well-priced the property is.

If your agent is familiar with your search area, they’ll help you narrow down which buildings to look at based on your goals. If you’re searching for an office building, you don’t want to look in the residential part of town.

Perform Due Diligence

Like previously mentioned, commercial real estate is a big investment. Don’t jump on a property without performing your due diligence. A due diligence period typically gives you thirty days to go over the property with a fine-tooth comb. You need to get all of your inspections done, calculations, and by the end of the 30-day period, you should be 100% certain that you will be moving forward with the property.

A good commercial real estate agent in Hagerstown will help you stay on track. A month may seem like a good amount of time, but it will go by quickly when you have to organize inspections and make a big decision. Your agent should know the best inspectors in the area that are efficient and honest. Working with easy-to-schedule inspectors can speed up the process and help you make your decision.

Make an Offer

Here we go; the step we’ve all been waiting for. It’s time to make an offer on your building. After all of your poking and prodding during the due diligence period, the building has still held up. You’re ready to make it official.

But making an offer isn’t as simple as it is on your home. You’ll need to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) before the negotiations start. An LOI tells the seller that you’re a serious buyer interested in making a deal, but it does leave the door open to negotiate based on your findings from the due diligence period.

Next, you’ll need to write up the contract, including any addendums. Your agent should take care of this for you, as knowing the appropriate forms and language to use can make a big difference in the outcome of the deal. Make sure to include any liquidated damages, or what the seller is entitled to should you fail to uphold your end of the contract.

The last step is to create a Memorandum of Agreement. The memorandum prevents the seller from passing over you and selling the property to another investor.

Simplify the Process

Investing in commercial real estate is complicated. You need the right knowledge, experience, and connections. That’s why it’s so important to work with the best agent you can. If you’re ready to move forward on a commercial real estate investment, consider AushCo. Our team has the experience to set you up for success.

Learn more about our brokerage services here.

When you’re looking to invest in commercial real estate, where you put your money is important. Between D.C., Northern Virginia, Baltimore, Frederick, and Gaithersburg, there are plenty of options in Maryland. But one city that is often overlooked is Hagerstown. When it comes to commercial real estate in Hagerstown, you’d be surprised by all the benefits of investing in Washington County’s biggest city.

Hagerstown sometimes gets a bad reputation for being a “less-exciting Frederick.” But that reputation is undeserved. In reality, the city is changing fast.

Perfect for Retail

If you’re investing in a retail building, you’ll need to consider the area it’s going in. What’s the foot traffic like? Is the area safe enough to park, walk, and shop in comfortably? The last thing you want to do is invest in a retail park, build it out, and then struggle to get tenants.

Retail commercial real estate in Hagerstown is a good idea. Livability gives the town a walking score of 51, and downtown walking parks like the Hagerstown Cultural Trail help to funnel pedestrians downtown. The Hagerstown Cultural Trail has been a huge investment for the city. The trail connects the downtown Arts & Entertainment District with City Park and the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Along the way, pedestrians can enjoy several art installations, green grass, and pretty views.

With the help of installations like the cultural trail and strategic positioning, your retail building would have access to the foot traffic it needs.

Affordable, Yet Full of Opportunity

Hagerstown is a pretty affordable place to live. The median home value is just $161,000 and the average income is almost $40,000. This affordability attracts younger generations and means that you won’t have to pay the premium of D.C. or Northern Virginia investments. The last thing you want to do is compete for commercial real estate with large companies like Amazon.

Commercial real estate in Hagerstown offers you a way to invest affordably, yet profitably. With a population of 40,000 people, there are plenty of buyers, tenants, and staff in the local area. There are also plenty of incentives for businesses who want to move to Hagerstown, with programs like Partners in Economic Progress (PEP) Program or Enterprise Zones. There’s affordable downtown parking, dining, entertainment venues, and plenty of businesses looking to lease a nice building.

Despite the low cost of investing in commercial real estate in Hagerstown, you’ll find plenty of opportunity in the downtown area and local population.

Population with Buying Power

Just like Hagerstown, Millennials get a bad reputation that’s undeserved. Did you know that the Millennial population has a buying power of $200 billion?

So what does this mean for commercial real estate in Hagerstown? 70 percent of the population is over the age of 21, with the median age for the town clocking in at just 34. Hagerstown is a city of Millennials, which benefits those who want to invest in commercial real estate.

Between college students looking for work, entrepreneurs looking for a business lease, and that $200 billion in buying power, Millennials are a good population to work with for those looking to invest in commercial real estate.

Downtown Revitalization

The city of Hagerstown has recently undertaken huge revitalization projects to revamp its downtown, make it more pedestrian friendly, and bring new business to the area. But unlike the already-established businesses in the area, if you invest in commercial real estate in Hagerstown now, you’ll benefit from the revitalization efforts without dealing with the related construction, traffic, etc.

The Community’s City Center Plan is an 8-project, 10-year roadmap to improve the downtown area and bring more businesses to the city. Projects include office development, hotel and conference center parks, new housing, expanded farmers markets, and home ownership support.

This program may not directly benefit commercial real estate investors, but it does benefit the community as a whole and investors indirectly. With increased population, foot traffic, businesses and a growing city, commercial real estate investors should invest in Hagerstown now, while the investment is still affordable.

Hagerstown is a growing, booming city that is quickly becoming the next Frederick. Commercial real estate in Hagerstown will soon become the next big market and is already full of opportunity for investors who care to see it.

Questions?

If you’re wondering where to start with your next commercial real estate investment, feel free to reach out. At AushCo, our team is here to help you find the right fit for your goals. Whether it’s a new retail location, a manufacturing facility, or an office, finding new space represents the chance for a fresh start, and often an upgrade.

Check out our properties listed on our website or contact us for answers to all of your commercial real estate questions.

Industrial property is a unique subset of the commercial real estate market that can be tricky to shop for if you’re not working with a knowledgeable broker. Typically, companies that are searching for an industrial property have unique needs and require a building that is able to accommodate machinery, shelving, or climate-controlled rooms for storage. Because buying an industrial property is a little trickier than buying a residential home, or even another commercial property, make sure you’re looking for these five things before you buy.

Location

When it comes to real estate of any kind, it’s all about the location. You need to analyze the area around the building. Who are your neighbors? What is the foot traffic like? Are there any security concerns?

While you still need to answer those three questions when buying industrial property, you also need to consider zoning laws. Factories are not necessarily the most subtle buildings. They can be loud and full of heavy machinery or produce certain smells that aren’t the most pleasant. This is where zoning laws can impact the buying process. Most of the time, you won’t be able to place a loud factory right downtown. Make sure the areas you’re looking at are zoned appropriately for the type of building you’re investing in.

Signs of Damage

As with buying any property, you need to look the building over carefully for signs of damage before signing on the dotted line. However, industrial properties are a little different than an office building. Make sure you’re checking for signs of chemical spills or looking for underground storage areas. It’s not too far off to assume that the previous owners worked with some dangerous chemicals. You don’t want to be stuck cleaning up their mess. Also, hire an inspector to assess the structural integrity of a building. Structural damage is serious and usually pretty expensive to fix.

If you do see signs of damage, you have to decide how that impacts your buying decision. Is it small enough that you don’t mind fixing it? Keep in mind that if it’s not a big problem and you don’t mind spending the time and money to fix some damage, you can usually get a decrease in price.

If this is your first time buying an industrial property, make sure you have someone with you who is familiar with the buildings. An experienced broker can tell you where to look, what to notice, and which areas are typically prone to the most damage.

Current Use

What is the building currently being used for? If it’s only being used for storage, and you would like to set it up for manufacturing car parts, you’ll have a lot more build out to do than if you were to buy a building that was already set up for heavy machinery.

When analyzing the current use of the building, make sure to also take into account how successful it is. Does the building layout lend itself to inefficiency or efficient processes? If it isn’t doing well, is it because it’s in a tough location or is it because of its current management?

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to an industrial property’s current use. It’s important that you appropriately account for its profitability as well. An experienced broker can help you perform the correct calculations to get an accurate picture of its current financial state. Especially if you’re hoping to lease it out, understanding the price you could rent it for in your area as compared to your expenses is hugely important.

Correct Utilities

Running heavy machinery or maintaining a controlled climate for storage takes a lot of power. If the industrial property you’re looking at isn’t hooked up to the right amount of voltage, then you could be in for a big overhaul. The utilities your industrial property will have access to is also related to the location. An industrial park will be more suited to accommodating the energy needs of various types of equipment versus a downtown area that’s more accustomed to small shops.

Don’t make the mistake of just checking the voltage available. Also take note of the water. Does it have enough pressure to run sprinklers? Is there gas available? How are the utilities charged?

Make sure that all of the utilities are compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This act was passed to regulate working conditions. For example, your workers need access to clean bathrooms, drinkable water, and enough light to work by comfortably. What utilities are currently installed in your building can have a big impact on the working conditions of your factory.

The Right Broker

When you’re buying an industrial property, you shouldn’t do it by yourself. As a matter of fact, I would highly recommend against it. Working with an experienced broker gives you all the benefits of years of expertise. Plus, you’ll have someone working for your best interests. Remember, the seller and their broker are working towards the seller’s interests. You cannot count on them to include your interests as well.

Working with a commercial real estate broker ensures that you get the best deal possible on a great industrial property. AushCo offers proven expertise, deep knowledge of the market, and customized guidance.

If you’re ready to take advantage of all that AushCo can offer you, get in touch with us today. We’ll thoroughly review all of your needs and expectations for selling or buying a commercial property and set you up for CRE success.

There are commercial real estate tenants that make leasing easy – the ones that are committed for the long-term, that treat your property with respect, and that provide value. On the other hand, there are tenants that elicit complaints, push the boundaries of their terms, and generally detract from your property’s value – or worse, break their leases entirely.

The need to find a valuable and responsible commercial real estate tenant remains crucial.

Let’s look at a few early warning signs that will make you want to look deeper into your potential commercial real estate tenant’s history.

Are They Pushing for a Short-Term Lease?

When potential commercial real estate tenants are indicating that they want a one- to two-year lease, that is an immediate red flag. Make sure to dig into the details of this in order to be fully informed on this push. It may be simply because they don’t know the location they plan to settle in for long-term (which is a problem in itself). However, it may also be that they don’t want to commit to a lengthier lease due to a cash flow problem or a business instability.

The last thing you want is for a business that is ill-equipped and inexperienced to move into your commercial real estate property and only stay a year or two. Many times, this will end in the breaking of your contract due to an inability to comply. In result of that, you will be immediately brought back to square one.

You do not want to go through that process multiple times when, after doing the process right the first time, you could gain a steady tenant for five or more years.

Do They Have Insufficient Finances?

As mentioned earlier, insufficient funds or a desire to cut a short lease should immediately raise concerns. 

For starters, if the commercial real estate tenant cannot pay the security deposit, you know there is a cash flow issue. One way to avoid this issue and have a more thorough check in the beginning is by obtaining letters of credit and running a credit check prior to signing. This should be standard; it’s a great way to track the potential tenants and business’ income, credit score, cash flow, and other important financial details.

A credit check will provide you with detailed information on the potential tenants past addresses, other names used, credit score, loan information, and possibly even past employer information. This is a step that is crucial in the commercial real estate tenant screening process, so do not skip it!

Do They Have a Negative History with Previous Landlords?

After obtaining information from the credit check on previous rentals or home ownerships, contact the potential tenant’s previous landlords. Dig around to see what the general feeling of the potential CRE tenant is. If there are any weird feelings, negative feelings, or strange answers to questions ­– pursuing that tenant may not be worth the hassle.

Negative history, such as tenants not paying their rent on time, causing excessive noise, or damaging property, are all reasons to deny the potential renter. These issues give you clear reason to re-evaluate the potential tenant. Having a business or company move into your commercial real estate property when they are not equipped to handle the general guidelines in the contract is a mess you do not want to deal with.

Lastly, it wouldn’t hurt to throw in a quick Google search for their name to see if anything notable appears. 

Are They Too Friendly?

Listen to your gut on discrepancies or unsteady feelings from your potential tenants’ history, information, demeanor, etc. If the tenant you are interviewing seems too good to be true, don’t immediately dismiss those thoughts. 

You don’t want to mess around with signing a lease with a possible trouble tenant, and consequently pass up on many other trustworthy tenants.

Are You Feeling Overwhelmed? AushCo Is Here to Help.

As important as this CRE tenant screening is, don’t let the process intimidate you. Yes, the stakes of finding great tenants are high ­– leases can go a long way toward impacting the success of your property investment. But there are good people who can help you navigate the process. Doing it alone will cause unnecessary stress, restrict your access to industry knowledge, and may result in a failure to maximize the leasing potential of your building.

Hiring a property management company means you don’t have to worry about the nitty gritty of vetting tenants. At AushCo, we offer customized guidance through the tenant search so that you can trust you’re accessing the right knowledge and taking the right steps to find the best tenants. You’ll have a person to call for everything.

And at the end, you’ll have a leased building that maximizes its value.

By choosing to work with AushCo, you can have confidence in finding great tenants without the stress of doing it alone. To take the first step toward successfully leasing your commercial property by getting in touch with us today.

Manufacturing property is unique. It’s required to meet a different set of needs than your average office park, corporate campus, or medical facility. Instead of air conditioning for tenants, manufacturing properties need to accommodate climate-controlled rooms to prevent equipment malfunction. Instead of a luxurious and plush office build out, manufacturing properties need durable large areas to fit heavy machinery.

Naturally, searching for a property that meets the needs of a manufacturing company can be difficult. In the past two decades that AushCo has been in business, we’ve helped clients find their ideal industrial property, broker a fair deal, and find the right tenant to match the property.

Here are five tips we’ve learned about buying manufacturing property over the last twenty years.

The Most Well-Known Secret in CRE

We’ve said it once; we’ll say it again. Ask any real estate agent in any field what’s most important when buying a property, and chances are good that location will come up. When you’re buying a residential property, you need to consider local schools, the distance to the grocery store, etc. When buying an office park, you need to consider competition in your area, parking, the accessibility of your facility, and more.

But when you’re investing in manufacturing property, you need to consider zoning laws.

Most cities and towns don’t take kindly to the placement of a large and noisy factory right in the middle of downtown. So, on top of the usual considerations of buying commercial real estate, you also have to be very familiar with zoning laws and where you can operate a manufacturing plant. In some cases, you may be able to have a warehouse in one district, but not a plant.

Don’t Forget the Tenants

It’s easy to get caught up in your own perspective when investing in a manufacturing property. After all, it’s your decision, your money, and your livelihood. But if you’re renting out the property to tenants, you need to view it from the client’s point of view.

Is there enough parking for employees? Is it in a secure area or will they have to invest in a serious surveillance system?

If it’s currently being rented out to a tenant or tenants, make sure you collect data on the average lease length in the building’s history, how long it has sat vacant between tenants, and how much it can be leased for. When you’re debating how much to lease a building for, study the surrounding area, what similar buildings have rented for, and the expenses it costs to run the building.

Pay Attention to the Market

What’s the market like in your area? Remember, the commercial real estate market can differ greatly from the housing market. Vacancy rates put you and your investment at risk. Work with a broker who’s familiar with the area you’d like to invest in. They can help you figure out the current market vacancy rate.

Markets with low vacancy rates offer the least risk for investors. Most markets with low vacancy rates have unique draws, like high-quality tenants with multinational presences, access to major transportation hubs like ports, railways, and highways, as well as limited land for development.

If it’s your first time investing in manufacturing property, ensure that you’re choosing a market with a vacancy rate that you feel comfortable with.

Decide Between Buying or Building

Like most things, there are pros and cons to both building and buying. If you buy an appropriate piece of land that’s zoned correctly, you can build the ideal manufacturing property. As a new construction, there won’t be any damage and the tenant will have a fresh slate to work with without the energy inefficiencies or needed upgrades present in older buildings. There’s an added possibility to make more money off a new construction due to the better condition of the building and customizability of the layout.

But building a manufacturing property has its cons as well. Without a building history, it can be difficult to determine how well it will rent. Building a property requires a significant time investment. There could be weather-related setbacks, and due to the sheer size of manufacturing properties, they could take months to years to build. They also require a large monetary investment up front.

Buying a manufacturing property means that you don’t get the opportunity to create a custom layout, there could be existing damage to the property, and you may have to upgrade several systems in order to be up-to-date with the latest technological innovations. However, buying an existing property also means that you have a full building history and you can start receiving a return on your investment almost immediately without having to wait for construction to complete.

Work with a Broker Who Knows

Manufacturing properties are unique. Work with a broker who’s familiar with their ins and outs. At AushCo, we don’t just help you with your commercial real estate brokerage needs; we can also help with finding the perfect property, renting a manufacturing property, and taking care of all of your property management needs.

Working with a great broker can prevent you from making a bad investment and help you find the perfect property for your needs.

Work with a broker who knows manufacturing property. Contact us today.

Investing in commercial real estate can be exciting. You’re embarking on a new journey as a building owner. Soon you’ll have tenants, passive income, and a building to hang your hat on. But the process of choosing a building can be complicated. When it comes to Frederick commercial real estate, you want to make sure that you’re making the right choice choosing your building.

There’s a lot to consider when picking out the right building. What are your goals? Are you looking to rent it out to tenants? Or will your business take the whole building? Are you planning to flip the building? Or will you have it for years?

While what you’re looking for in a building will vary based on your goals, there are a few things that will always factor into your search for Frederick commercial real estate.

Location

Frederick is a diverse city with industrial and medical parks, a corporate campus here and there, and, of course, the downtown full of thriving shops and various small businesses. Where you choose to buy a building will vary greatly based on what you’re looking for. Just as you wouldn’t put an industrial property in downtown, you also wouldn’t pick out a medical park as the perfect spot to build a small shop.

When choosing a building, pay attention to zoning laws. Frederick commercial real estate is subject to a strict set of regulations that enforce where you can put certain businesses. If you’re renting it out to tenants, do some research on the different types of markets for various business owners in Frederick. You’d hate to rent an industrial property only to find that there is no market for manufacturing businesses in Frederick.

Location also plays into your budget. While downtown buildings are prime real estate for stores and small businesses, they will come at a premium. It pays to explore other areas that attract foot traffic and may come at a cheaper price.

History

When buying an already established building, it’s important to know the history of the building inside and out. How much has it rented for in the past? What maintenance needs has it required? How often is it vacant?

Be wary of buildings that have sat vacant for long periods of time. While you will get one for a lower price, it may not be in the optimal location and you could have a hard time filling it. If you work with a broker who knows Frederick commercial real estate, you’ll have an experienced voice of reason helping you figure out what’s worth it and what isn’t.

You should also look at the rates for buildings in nearby locations. Is it worth moving to a different spot? Is it reasonable of you to expect to get higher rates for a better build out? Ensure that buildings nearby are of good quality. You don’t want to have the only nice building on the block, or you’ll find that your rates are lower due to your surrounding area.

Market

The Frederick commercial real estate market can be tricky. As a matter of fact, all real estate markets are tricky. It takes an experienced broker to be able to read the market accurately and decide when it’s a good time to buy or sell. The last thing you want is to buy a property, pay a premium for it, only to have the market drop right after you move in. You’ll see your building value plummet.

However, it can pay off to buy when the market is in a slight downturn. You’ll be able to spend less capital on the building itself and sell at a higher market value than what you paid for in a relatively short time period (should the market turn back around rather quickly).  

Demographics

Similar to your location, the demographics of the area near your building can have a big impact on the success of your new venture. If your new building is housing your business or the businesses of others, you’ll need a good source of talent. Dig into the demographics of your area to see how many people nearby have the skills you require. Is the surrounding area mostly college-educated? The right age? Are they ambitious and young or nearing retirement?

You don’t want to buy a building in the prime spot for your business only to find that all the talent in your area moves down to D.C. for work.

Utilities

How much does it cost to run and maintain your building?

Older buildings can cost a fortune in maintenance and energy efficiency. A drafty industrial property that hasn’t been updated since the 90s will need significant upgrades to cut down on energy costs. However, while you may spend more upfront, a newer building that has had recent updates to its HVAC, electric, and water systems will cost you less in monthly maintenance.

Frederick has a long history of manufacturing properties that are currently being repurposed into shops or offices for local businesses. This could be an interesting route for you to take if you’re looking at Frederick commercial real estate with the goal of repurposing the building.

Before you sign on the dotted line, enlist the help of your commercial real estate broker to go over the maintenance costs of the building. When was the last time systems were updated? Remember, commercial buildings are much bigger than your average home and therefore put more strain on utilities and maintenance. If the previous owner didn’t do their due diligence, then you could be stuck picking up the slack.

Working with a great broker who knows the Frederick commercial real estate market is very important. As a lifelong resident of Frederick, Justin has a firm grasp on market conditions, and he uses his insight to find the ideal solution that impacts his clients’ bottom line. From design to legal document review, the AushCo president ensures real estate success from start to finish.

If you’re looking for a broker who can help you get the best deal in Frederick commercial real estate, get in touch with us today.

If you’re an investor in commercial real estate in MD, you’ve probably heard of opportunity zones. These zones provide a lot of tax benefits to investors who are looking to buy commercial buildings in designated areas. Unlike other incentive programs, the opportunity zone incentive can be combined or overlapped with various other programs.

Opportunity zones can be a big benefit to investing in CRE in Frederick, Hagerstown, or various other cities throughout the state.

What are Opportunity Zones?

Let’s dig a little deeper into what exactly opportunity zones are. The OZ program is a nationwide initiative that was created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The initiative allows commercial real estate investors to receive substantial federal tax incentives by investing their capital gains into select communities (also known as opportunity zones). Investments in these communities are made through opportunity funds.

Essentially, opportunity zones allow investors to receive a large tax break if they invest their profit from building sales in an opportunity zone via opportunity funds.

The last quarter of 2018 marked the full implementation of the program by the Department of Treasury. The first deadline to invest capital gains into an opportunity fund was December 31, 2019. This allowed commercial real estate in MD investors to be eligible for 15% tax relief. In 2021, capital gains invested in opportunity funds offered a 10% tax relief. And at the program’s conclusion in 2026, capital gains must be invested by December 31st to be eligible for tax abatement on accrued value if held in an OF for 10 years.

Frederick Opportunity Zones

Frederick County has five different opportunity zones available. Three are within Frederick City limits, one is in Brunswick, and the last is located in a municipality. Several of these opportunity zones overlap with other incentive programs, including an Enterprise Zone, Arts and Entertainment District, and a federally-designated HUB Zone. Because the opportunity zone is designed to be flexible and accommodating to commercial real estate in MD, investors can take advantage of multiple programs at the same time.

The city of Frederick’s opportunity zone is located on the southern side of downtown and is adjacent to Carroll Creek. This zone makes for a particularly great investment as it sits in between two major highways and the location of Fort Detrick, the National Cancer Institute, and world-leading biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca. With the local airport, Marc train, and an extensive bus route nearby, this opportunity zone has many benefits.

The second opportunity zone in Frederick County is located along the route 355/85 corridors. Lying just south of the city limits, the region boasts 70% of the county’s employment including companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Phoenix Mecano, and Music & Arts’ corporate headquarters. This opportunity zone isn’t only located in a prime area, but it also features significant corporate parks, including Westview Corporate Park, Arcadia Business Park, and Frederick Corporate Park.

The last opportunity zone in Frederick County is actually in the City of Brunswick. This opportunity zone overlaps with HUBZone, an enterprise zone, and even part of the main street area. The Brunswick opportunity zone includes the Brunswick Shopping Center that serves the town.

Hagerstown Opportunity Zones

Hagerstown has only one opportunity zone, which covers the majority of the downtown area. While Hagerstown doesn’t have as many different zones as Frederick does, it does have a wider variety of incentive programs which you can combine with the opportunity zone program.

Hagerstown offers the Façade Grant program, which rewards Hagerstown business owners for improved storefront designs and overall aesthetic enhancements to the City Center. These projects only pertain to commercial and mixed-use buildings. While the Façade Grant is not large, it does offer some relief for commercial real estate in MD owners looking to update their storefronts.

If renovations are holding you back from buying a building in Hagerstown, look into the Partners In Economic Progress (PEP) Program. This program provides funding for building owners to renovate buildings in order to attract more businesses to the newly-renovated structure.

Take Advantage of Available Opportunities

Whether you’re looking for commercial real estate in MD or across the country, make sure you research all of the grants, programs, and special zones that could provide you with benefits for moving into certain areas. If you don’t see property available in a valid opportunity zone at the time of your search, be sure to check back often. You never know when a commercial real estate agent in MD will add a new listing to the site.

If you’re looking for the best property for your business, check out the available properties on AushCo’s website. If you have questions about what incentive programs you’re eligible for, get in touch with us today.

We can help you achieve your commercial real estate goals.