Chestertown A & E District Plans Major Expansion

At Monday’s Town Council meeting, Arts & Entertainment(A & E) Economic Development and Marketing Coordinator Kay MacIntosh, proposed a plan to expand the A & E District.

The expansion would include Cannon and High Streets beyond Mill Street, almost up to the traffic roundabout on High Street.

Expansion of the A & E District would offer tax incentives for artists who produce and sell their own work either within the district or on the internet. 

“The point of doing that is to capture some more affordable residential and commercial property that artists can afford to buy and live in the district,” MacIntosh says.

John Schratwieser, Director of Kent County Cultural Alliance, is helping to steer the proposal. He says that one driving reason for the expansion is to bring economic opportunity particularly for artists, and t that it would also work in the case of developers. Schratwieser will continue guiding the project after MacIntosh’s upcoming retirement.

Income earned by artists in the Chestertown A & E District, or any other A & E District, can be subtracted from their Maryland income taxes. “For a developer or property owner, the assessed value of the property would stay the same for 10 years,” MacIntosh says.

Currently, the district and about 51 acres, and the expansion would almost double it. A Letter of Intent will be sent to the State by August 1, 2021.

This video is approximately five minutes in length.