Annual Report 2023-2024

YEAR IN REVIEW

As of this writing, we are midway through FAA Certification of our Part 147 Aviation Maintenance Technician school at the Salisbury-Ocean City: Wicomico Regional Airport. To help fill the need for more mechanics and fill existing job openings, SWED and our partners are establishing the program funded through the Rural Maryland Economic Development Fund. The anticipated start date is January 2025 for an initial cohort of 25 students. Teaming with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), the State Maryland, Wicomico County and Piedmont Airlines, the 12-month Aviation Maintenance Technician initiative will create a pipeline of mechanics and enhance the aviation and aeronautics sector for our region. 

SWED is further enhancing commerce at SBY through the development of a strategic plan and shovel-ready sites. The strategic plan seeks to capitalize on the school for new development opportunities while shovel-ready sites will allow for faster construction cycles, leading to more jobs and commerce at the airport. 

With a regional airline headquartered at SBY along with UMES’ aviation science degree, pilot training and aviation mechanic programs, it’s a robust offering unparalleled anywhere in the nation.

SITE READINESS

Lacking large, vacant industrial properties in a very competitive market hinders our collective ability to attract new firms to our community and accommodate resident firms in their expansion plans. Windows of opportunity are short and those communities with the infrastructure in place for quick build-out will be those communities that will take advantage of new opportunities.

We closed this past year on our first ‘Shovel-Ready’ site with our partner, Westwood Development LLC. This program includes a design of a 100,000 sf facility, expandable to 200,000 sf, on twenty acres within Westwood Commerce Park. Designing such a facility and addressing permitting issues associated with site approval allows for a quicker construction cycle. This process and initiative can mitigate the time to construction by eliminating the twelve to eighteen months of the site approval process and allow us to better compete for large-scale economic development projects.

More information about the program can be found at www.swed.org/projects.

We were pleased to initiate our SWED Ag Grant Fund with a goal of fostering growth in Wicomico’s emerging agriculture and resource-based industries. Partnering with the Maryland Agriculture and Resource Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO), we executed our first grant to The Elf Enchanted Garden. The startup firm will use funds for the purchase of a shipping container used for grow space. The company supplies area restaurants with locally-grown microgreens.

Marvel Road LLC began site work for its new manufacturing plant in Northwood Industrial Park. The holding company will lease the facility to a sister entity for distribution of fragrances to other businesses and consumers. SWED was also pleased to work with St. John Properties as the company is acquiring significant acreage in the Greater Salisbury area for commercial and industrial development. Progress on Marvel Road and St. John’s will be seen in the latter part of 2024 and into 2025.

We continued our long standing practice of calling on resident businesses, inclusive of those firms with offices outside of Wicomico’s jurisdictional border. Calling on our existing customers allows us to better understand the needs of our business community and to tailor programs and services to meet those needs. At the same time, we recognize that attrition will occur and attraction of new businesses and jobs to our community is an important component to our program.

Public speaking engagements enhance collaboration among many partners throughout our region. We were pleased to present at this year’s Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce’ Economic Forecast event, Wicomico Rotary Club and the Maryland Economic Development Association’s Primer event.



Our 55th Annual Meeting was held at EVO with featured guest, Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary, Kevin Anderson.

Our Strategy Forward

Our strategy for the coming year is to capitalize on our assets, develop additional and innovative programs to target job growth and work collaboratively with our many partners for the betterment of all.

Targeted Economic Sectors

Agribusiness, Health Care, Higher Education, Manufacturing, Aviation & Aeronautics, Distribution

Infrastructure Investments

Entrepreneurship

Industry Diversification

Strengthened Partnerships

Download a PDF file of the 2023-2024 SWED Annual Report.