Welcome, 2024
New Year Means New Opportunities for Local Economy
By Gina Gallucci-White
Photography By Turner Photography Studio
WHILE WALKING IN DOWNTOWN FREDERICK, RESIDENTS AND VISITORS OFTEN CRANE THEIR NECKS TO SEE THE ICONIC SPIRES. BUT SOON THERE WILL BE A NEW REASON TO LOOK UP FROM THE STREET-LEVEL SHOPS, BUSINESSES AND RESTAURANTS AS ONE OF THE COUNTY’S NEWEST BUSINESSES WILL SOON RUMBLE INTO ACTION.
Maryland Double Deckers will offer a unique bus experience for folks to see the city beginning this spring. The company is refurbishing two 1940s-era double-decker buses from London to provide fun adventures to residents and tourists alike.
The business is just one of many businesses planning to open, expand or commence construction this year in the city and Frederick County. Several notable projects coming up include the Frederick Commerce Center on Gas House Pike, the Marriott Visitation Hotel in Downtown Frederick, the Frederick Innovative Technology Center facility and perhaps movement at last with the development of the Downtown Hotel and Conference Center in the former home of The Frederick News-Post.
The openings and expansions leave many local officials believing the county is well positioned for 2024.
“Obviously, the last couple of years because of COVID and post-COVID impacts, the city has done pretty well,” says Mayor Michael O’Connor. “It leaves me confident with all of that cleared out of the rear-view mirror that we are well positioned. The economy seems to be at a national level in a stable position. The inflation that we have seen a year or so ago seems to have calmed down substantially and I think all of that benefits our businesses—particularly our core Downtown but really throughout the city—so I feel good about where the city is. I think our residents generally enjoy a pretty high quality of life and I think it helps to contribute to an overall strong economy.”
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater echoes a positive economic outlook.
“Unemployment in the state of Maryland is the lowest in the country and Frederick County’s unemployment is lower than the state and one of the lowest compared to other counties,” she says. “When you couple that with the innovative businesses that we are attracting to Frederick County and the good-paying jobs that are coming, we are really excited about the opportunities that are coming for Frederick County residents. In terms of our county’s revenue, we have seen really stable income tax revenues over the past several years and nothing to lead us to believe that that trend will shift in the immediate future. We receive regular updates from our partners at the Maryland Comptroller’s Office on any trends that they may be seeing so we feel like we are going into the new calendar year in a good position.”
ROLLING INTO A NEW YEAR
Over at Maryland Double Deckers, management is currently seeking feedback on what kind of experiences people would want: rides to breweries, wineries, historic sites, tours of the city, etc. There are also plans for private rentals, such as corporate events, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and more.
“The great thing about this business is we can build one bus one way and we can build the other bus another way,” says Scott Alexander, one of its founders. “…Our goal is doing something really cool for Frederick. If it is something that people want to do then we will try to make it available.”
Shannon Wagner came onboard Maryland Double Deckers as its general manager in late 2023. She took a ride on one of the buses as it spun around the Downtown Frederick streetscape draped in Christmas lights. “I got up on the top of the bus and I thought, ‘OK. This is cool,’” she says. “It is very cool being inside the bus itself but to go up and see Frederick from a different perspective was really fascinating. Just being able to look down and see everybody’s faces as this bus is going through town was a lot of fun. People are definitely interested. We had people running next to the bus asking how to get on it.”
Alexander believes the business will blend in nicely with Frederick’s mix of new and old world charm. “People are more likely to buy experiences than things and we felt like this would be a really good experience to bring to Frederick,” he says.
One likely stop for the double-decker buses will be the new RAK Brewing Co. Located just steps away from Carroll Creek in what is informally known as the city’s “beer district,” RAK occupies the space formerly held by another brewery, Smoketown Creekside. The business opened in late 2023 with great fanfare.
OPTIMISM AHEAD
Richard Griffin, director of the city’s Department of Economic Development, says local economic opportunity cannot be examined in a vacuum. He cites improving national data such as the easing of inflation, an increasing Gross Domestic Product and positive job growth as factors that ripple into the local economy.
“When you look at all of that together and assuming that the national outlook remains positive, then I would say Frederick’s opportunity for 2024 is outstanding,” he says. “We are in a great position to continue attracting net new investment, private investment in jobs, business and housing. We expect that the City of Frederick is going to continue to drive a sizable portion of the county’s economic opportunities.”
Griffin anticipates the growth in commercial permits, with 2023 outpacing 2022’s developments valued at $152 million. “I fully expect that in 2024 we will see that continue,” Griffin says. “We expect to see somewhere between 300 to 400 new jobs in the City of Frederick over the next year with a large portion of them coming in health care and retail and professional scientific and technical services.”
There are more than four million square feet of commercial and industrial space currently being developed on 443 acres in the City of Frederick. Officials expect to see these buildings completed and occupied this year. “We are the fastest-growing city in Maryland, both in terms of jobs and new residents, and we fully expect that we are going to continue to be a highly desirable community where both investors that are creating jobs are coming but also workforce is wanting to be here to take advantage of those jobs and the great community Frederick has built,” Griffin says.
Lara Fritts, director of the county’s Division of Economic Opportunity, sees similar growth ahead. “Since 2020, Frederick County employment has grown and is continuing to grow more rapidly than [the rest of] Maryland, as well as the Baltimore and Washington metro areas,” she says. “Our unemployment rate remains below 2 percent and the diversity of industries in Frederick County helps to ensure this stability of employment. Our office, industrial and retail space vacancies are stable and are hovering a little above full occupancy, which can be expected at 6 percent.”
AN ENTREPRENEUR’S STORY
One new business coming to the county is Whistle Stop Coffee, located inside a train car at the Walkersville Southern Railroad.
Owner Felicia Warfield-Martin was looking for a new opportunity in mid-2023 when she had a dream she owned a coffee shop that sold train whistles. She was telling her husband about the dream as he was reading a local newspaper article seeking entrepreneurs to open a coffee shop in Walkersville.
“I thought ‘What in the world?’” she recalls. “My mom said, ‘Why don’t you call the train station and see if they would be interested?’” Warfield-Martin met with the Walkersville Southern Railroad president, who loved the idea of a coffee shop paired with the railroad and even handed her a train whistle. “I didn’t even tell him about the dream.”
Choosing the name Whistle Stop Coffee, the business opened during a soft launch in late 2023 during the railroad’s annual Santa Train trips. The nonprofit offered Warfield-Martin an unused train car as a space. Initially, she planned to have a mobile trailer unit, but due to the overwhelming response during the soft opening the company will be staying at the railroad. “It is unique,” she says. “It is different. It’s an oddity that has a draw to it.”
Her coffee comes from the Thurmont-based Fortitude Coffee Company which is veteran- and family-owned. Warfield-Martin was impressed by the quality and care the company puts into its products. “I haven’t seen that many other roasters with that amount of passion and dedication,” she says. When the business formally opens later this year, Warfield-Martin plans to add baked goods to the menu including cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, cookies and cake pops.
Warfield-Martin worked as a barista for seven years. “Everybody would come in grumpy before their coffee,” she recalls. “They would be upset. … They get a cup coffee and they have that conversation with the barista, with me, and they would all leave with a smile and they were happy. Having a space where people can have coffees, communicate with one another outside a train or just talk face to face, it brings such a charm to the community, I think. There is just magic in a cup.”
A NOTE OF CAUTION?
Rick Weldon, president and CEO of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, pumps the brakes a bit when considering the county’s economic outlook for 2024.
“Typically, when I have a conversation like this I am very optimistic about Frederick County’s economic future,” he says. “There is a lot of activity and vitality, but it is undeniable that national economic trends manifest themselves locally so things like inflation, higher interest rates, increased consumer debt at the national level are factors that influence investment decisions right here in our backyard.”
Weldon pays attention to things like statements from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the National Economic Council when they talk about what the Gross Domestic Product numbers look like for next year. “Just about every expert that I read and follow is predicting a drop in Gross Domestic Product for the country next year,” Weldon says. “Some are projecting drastic drops.”
Weldon cites the construction industry as an example of an industry that can be dramatically affected when interest rates and the cost of goods increase. “Those are some factors that have me a little bit anxious about what 2024 looks like because I don’t think we will see the same level of enthusiasm and investment that we have post-COVID over the last two years or so,” he says. “That is a concern.”
Nonetheless, when looking at the local economy, Weldon says the infrastructure remains strong with stalwart industries such as life sciences, biopharmaceutical and agriculture-related industries. “I think the bones are strong but I think there are some indicators on the horizon that would suggest we have a little bit of caution as we enter 2024,” he says.