CALIFORNIA — Defense and technology companies near St. Mary’s County Regional Airport could one day qualify for state fee waivers, investor tax credits and priority for state infrastructure grants, after the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland won approval Oct. 27 as a qualified institution under Maryland’s Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise, or RISE, Zone program.
USMSM is the first regional higher education center in Maryland to qualify, the campus announced Nov. 1. Until now, the program’s qualified institutions have been traditional universities and colleges.
The approval does not create a zone. USMSM said its RISE Zone Roundtable has started planning a zone application and identifying land that could be included. Businesses would see benefits only after a zone is drawn and approved.
What a zone could bring
RISE Zones were reworked under Gov. Wes Moore’s DECADE Act, which the Chronicle covered when it was proposed in January. The Maryland Economic Development Corporation, known as MEDCO, took over the program July 1. According to MEDCO’s program page, businesses inside a zone may be eligible for:
- Waivers of state business filing fees, starting in fiscal 2027, for companies in sectors such as aerospace, defense, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and sensors and robotics
- An enhanced biotechnology investor tax credit of 75% of an investment, up to $750,000
- Priority consideration for Build Our Future grants for wet labs, cyber ranges, secure facilities and prototype manufacturing
- A MEDCO business concierge to help with permits, licenses and state programs
A zone can cover up to 500 acres and lasts 10 years, with one 10-year renewal possible. The program’s tax benefits are authorized through Jan. 1, 2030, MEDCO says.
Why it matters here
USMSM sits in the AeroPark Innovation District, near St. Mary’s County Regional Airport between Lexington Park and California, an area the county has worked to develop as a hub for aviation and unmanned and autonomous systems work close to Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The campus’s $86 million, 84,000-square-foot SMART Building, which opened in October 2021, houses classrooms and a large unmanned and autonomous systems research facility.
The district has drawn new investment. In July, the Chronicle reported that an aerospace company expanded in St. Mary’s with state and local incentives, and last week the airport moved to add a sustainable jet fuel tank.
Local leaders have long pushed to make the regional economy less dependent on the base. A recent workforce study found Southern Maryland’s defense jobs face a security-clearance gap and a wave of retirements, pressures a zone aimed at startups and new employers could help ease.
Joining a short list
Only three RISE Zones are active statewide, according to MEDCO: Towson University’s 419-acre zone in Baltimore County, Montgomery College’s 28-acre zone and the University of Maryland, College Park’s 470-acre zone in Prince George’s County. None is in Southern Maryland.
What comes next
Under MEDCO’s two-step process, a qualified institution must apply for a zone jointly with a county, a town or a local economic development agency as a co-applicant. MEDCO accepts applications on a rolling basis and says it decides within 60 days of a complete submission.
USMSM did not say how many acres it is considering, which parcels are under review or when it expects to apply. Questions can be sent to marketing.usmsm@umd.edu.
