Aldermen to consider grants to FITCI, Arts Council

Ryan Marshall, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·2 min read

Oct. 31—Two local organizations are in line to receive federal recovery funds from the city of Frederick to help expand their operations.

The city's aldermen are scheduled to vote on Thursday on grant agreements with the Frederick Innovative Technology Center Inc. (FITCI) and the Frederick Arts Council.

If approved, the agreements would provide $250,000 to each organization.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 set up Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to provide state, local, and tribal governments with resources to respond to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's director of strategic planning and executive projects, Marc DeOcampo, wrote in a report to the mayor and aldermen ahead of Thursday's meeting.

The money can be used to give grants to nonprofit organizations for capital projects or expenditures.

The FITCI grant would go toward the renovation of the incubator's 21,000-square-foot space on Ballenger Center Drive.

The space will house state-of-the-art lab, office, and community space to nurture the development and acceleration of innovative start-up businesses that can drive the local tech, biotech, and life sciences communities.

The incubator will initially use about a quarter of the building's listed 81,500 square feet, with plans to eventually take over the whole building.

FITCI will host an event Thursday to mark the beginning of the renovations, CEO Kathie Callahan Brady wrote in an email Monday.

The incubator received a $4.6 million federal grant in August, which is in addition to $1.2 million in local money.

The investments were expected to create or maintain at least 320 jobs and generate $125 million in private investment, according to the U.S. Commerce Report when the grant was announced.

The grant for the Frederick Arts Council would go toward helping the council purchase the facility Sky Stage occupies on South Carroll Street, or toward building accessibility renovations if the council can't work out a sale of the property. The arts council currently leases the space.

Arts Council Executive Director Louise Kennelly could not be reached for comment Monday, but told the News-Post in May that the organization is looking to add a semi-retractable roof to the building to allow the venue to host events rain or shine, as well as add permanent restrooms.

The building dates back to before the Revolutionary War, but was severely damaged and lost its roof in a 2010 fire.

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