First phase of Bel Air's Armory Marketplace nears completion, Harford Artists Gallery will be first tenant

The first phase of the Town of Bel Air's project to retrofit the L-shaped bank of garages behind the Bel Air Armory into a combination business incubator and marketplace is nearly completed and the first tenant will be moving in this fall.Most of the funding for the project, called Armory Marketplace, has come from grants, and the town is seeking another, more modest $15,000 grant to help pay for maintenance and marketing.The latest funding would come from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development's Main Street Improvement Program, according to a resolution approved Monday night by the Board of Town Commissioners.The resolution, which passed without discussion, 5-0, authorizes the board chairman/mayor to sign a grant agreement once the money is awarded.Town Economic Development Director Trish Heidenreich said the latest grant would be used to augment the building conversion that has been accomplished so far, turning three of the complex's five garage units into usable work suites.There will be, however, ongoing costs for maintenance and utilities, she said, as well as to market the spaces to prospective tenants.Heidenreich calls the project &quot;a slow process&quot; because of all the grant money involved and the lengthy application processes, adding: &quot;I think it's going to be over the long run – fantastic.&quot;The new Armory Marketplace's first tenant, the nonprofit Harford Artists Gallery, will be moving into one of the spaces Nov. 1, Heidenreich said. The gallery, located at Rockfield Manor, will pay rent based on 25 percent of its sales, the same arrangement it has at Rockfield.Heidenreich's department, which is on the second floor of the armory, is temporarily using one of the new garage spaces for a conference room, freeing up additional space inside the armory for the Bel Air Downtown Alliance, which has its operations in the armory, she said.She has fielded a number of inquiries about leasing the other two spaces and will be working on lease agreements over the next two months.In addition to the grant the town is applying for that was approved by the commissioners Monday, Heidenreich said they have other grant applications already pending to make improvements in the courtyard/parking area formed by the garages and the armory building, including making everything ADA compliant.In June 2015, the town let a $656,000 contract to retrofit three of the five garage sections in the complex: the two sections nearest to Frederick Y. Ward Armory Park and one of three sections on the east side that are perpendicular to Lee Street. The remaining two sections closest to Lee Street will continue to be used for storage by the town until money becomes available to retrofit them.Prior to this latest grant request, the town commissioners had approved spending $696,000 for the garages/marketplace project: $500,000 in Community Legacy grants from the state, $96,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds and $100,000 in general town funds.In the long run, the goal of the marketplace project is to promote sustainability of the Main Street business community by providing the so-called incubator space for start-up businesses.&quot;It's the wave of how things are now,&quot; Heidenreich said of the project.

First phase of Bel Air's Armory Marketplace nears completion, Harford Artists Gallery will be first tenant

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