Maryland is the first state in the nation to create Arts and Entertainment Districts specifically designed to stimulate local economies and revitalize neighborhoods.  

An A & E District designation establishes cultural footholds in an area, which attracts artists to live within the community.  More galleries, studios, concerts and artists ultimately improve the quality of life within an economically distressed area.

In 2001, the Maryland General Assembly created its Arts and Entertainment District Program.  This statewide competitive process designates up to six new districts each calendar year with accompanying tax credits and exemptions designed to revitalize those communities.  To be considered for an A & E District, a city or county applies through Maryland’s Department of Business & Economic Development.

A Real Property Tax Credit is available for existing buildings renovated for arts purposes in music, visual arts and performing arts.  It’s especially valuable to communities like Waldorf, where new growth is developing outward, in revitalizing the town’s older neighborhoods that struggle to fill their less desirable commercial property.  The credit gives developers incentive to renovate existing properties that would otherwise continue to bring down the area. 

The application stresses the importance of affordable housing near the proposed district in which artists could live.  Those who both live and earn income from their art within the district would also receive certain tax benefits.  Such a district is attractive to a variety of arts businesses and programs.   

Having a concentrated district where musicians and artists can thrive improves the quality of life for all the surrounding areas as well. Residents who work long hours and suffer long commutes could have easy access to evening and weekend entertainment options beyond chain restaurants and movie megaplexes.

Classes and programs in music, drama, visual arts and dance for children of all ages could be funded in part by an abundance of grants available for such after-school programs.  These programs offer area youth something more constructive, creative and enriching than hanging out at the mall or on the streets.  The programs also fill a gap for home-schoolers in need of group activities and public schoolchildren whose arts programs have been drastically cut.

Current A&E Districts like Station North and Highlandtown in Baltimore, and downtown areas of Cumberland, Hagerstown, Bethesda, and Silver Spring have given their citizens access to independent films, live readings, dramatic theatre and music concerts, as well as studio and gallery space to peruse and enjoy their arts.  A & E Districts are created to bring quality of life improvements which make the whole area a more desirable place in which to live.

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