As the headquarters of the Phillips Packing Company, which thrived in the early 20th century as the world’s largest producer of canned tomatoes, the city of Cambridge on Maryland’s rural Eastern Shore earned the nickname “Tomato Capital of the World.” At its peak, the Phillips Packing Company employed approximately a quarter of Cambridge’s population. Production largely took place at Factory “F,” known as The Packing House. The 60,000-square-foot building, dating to 1920, fell into disrepair after the company was sold in the 1960s, taking many precious jobs with it.

Today, The Packing House is poised to become an engine of economic prosperity in Cambridge once again. In 2016, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC), a nonprofit devoted to preserving the region's farmland, forests, and natural habitats, introduced Cross Street Partners (CSP), a Baltimore-based real estate developer that focuses on mixed-use revitalization of historic buildings, to the former factory, and CSP saw the potential for rejuvenation.

This effort was bolstered by a $5 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC), a tax credit syndicator and subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The NMTC, a federal program designed to encourage private investment in low-income communities, was crucial in bridging a significant funding gap left by a low bank appraisal. “Without New Market Tax Credits, this project would never have happened,” said CSP development partner Margaret Norfleet-Neff, who is overseeing The Packing House project.

The result is a facility designed to support a broad range of business ventures and community services, ranging from aquaculture to business incubators to public and private event space, that will create new jobs and other economic opportunities.

“I just love that this building, which has such a rich history, can be repurposed to support the community in so many different ways,” said David Clower, president of NCTIC.

A Hub for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Phillips Packing Company was founded in Cambridge, the seat of and largest city in Maryland’s Dorchester County, in 1902. In addition to tomatoes, the company also produced canned fruit, lima beans, white potatoes and sweet potatoes. During the First and Second World Wars, the company was the main supplier of individual canned and pre-cooked meals for soldiers stationed abroad, known as K- and C- rations.

The Packing House is the only one of the company’s former factory buildings that still stands. It retains many original features, including masonry, oversized warehouse-style windows, and industrial doors. It has an open floor plan, cavernous ceilings and a two-story atrium that serves as a space for community events, as well as weddings and other private functions.

In addition to the NMTC allocation from NTCIC, CSP also secured Historic Tax Credits (HTC). Tony Maruca, the project manager at NTCIC who oversaw the financial closing of The Packing House, described CSP’s efforts to secure the necessary funds as “remarkable.”

“The market did not support this project,” says Maruca. “The only reason it could happen was New Market Tax Credits, all of the various grants from the state, and really the developer’s patience and their cobbling together the various sources to pull it together.”

As part of its restoration, the building has received LEED Gold certification for meeting high standards in energy and material use, lighting and water. Thanks to these upgrades, The Packing House is expected to save 148.9 MWh of electricity annually—comparable to the energy produced by burning a whopping 120,000 pounds of coal.

The Packing House is located in a broader area of Cambridge known as the Packing District that is targeted for revitalization. As part of the vision, ESLC will be involved in transforming a 6.6-acre property adjacent to The Packing House into a green space called Cannery Park offering recreational opportunities, including a rails-to-trails system—defunct railway lines that are transformed into walking and biking trails—that will connect the park with downtown Cambridge.

“It’s the environmental revitalization of this project as well that’s important,” said Clower.

A Completely Local Venture

The new iteration of The Packing House has already opened its doors to a diverse group of tenants, notably anchored by Blue Oyster Environmental (BOE), a sustainable oyster farming company that is working to restore eastern oyster populations—which act as natural filters and improve water quality—in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. BOE was co-founded by Johnny Shockley, a local third-generation waterman, and his son, Jordan. While leasing approximately 11,000 square feet within the building with space for a cold water processing facility and an oyster bar, BOE alone is expected to create around 38 new full-time and 10 part-time jobs at The Packing House .

The Packing House is also home to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, a state agency that supports affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. And, the site welcomed Four Eleven Kitchen, an incubator that offers a shared-use commercial kitchen where, at any one time, at least 30 local food entrepreneurs will be able to prepare their products without incurring major overhead costs.