Commercial revitalization improves communities, reduces blighted areas, increases property values, and reduces sprawl. Anne Arundel County encourages revitalization of its older commercial corridors through rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, or redevelopment.
In order to stimulate private investment and encourage revitalization in older commercial corridors, the County established eleven Commercial Revitalization Areas which are adopted as Overlay Areas in the Zoning Ordinance (Article 18, Title 14, Subtitle 3). This encourages revitalization and reuse of vacant properties and facilitates redevelopment opportunities by allowing expanded uses and greater development flexibility in certain zoning districts within a Commercial Revitalization Area.
- Area 1 - Brooklyn Park - Ritchie Highway
- Area 2 - Glen Burnie Town Center North - Crain Highway & Ritchie Highway
- Area 3 - Glen Burnie Town Center Core - B&A Blvd.
- Area 4 - Glen Burnie Town Center South - Crain Highway
- Area 5 - Pasadena - Mountain Road
- Area 6 - Riviera Beach - Fort Smallwood Road
- Area 7 - North Odenton - MD 175
- Area 8 - Maryland City/Russett - MD 198
- Area 9 - Ferndale - B&A Blvd.
- Area 10 - Glen Burnie/Harundale - Ritchie Highway
- Area 11 - Glen Burnie/Marley - Ritchie Highway and Mountain Road
The County further encourages revitalization in these areas by offering tax incentives to qualifying properties. The Commercial Revitalization Tax Credit Program allows taxpayers who revitalize their properties to receive a property tax credit for up to five years, equal to the incremental increase in their real property tax assessment for improvements of at least $100,000. Properties must be located in one of the eleven Commercial Revitalization Areas and certified by the Office of Planning and Zoning as a qualified property. The owner must apply to the County Office of Finance for the revitalization credit within 120 days after the notice of assessment from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation.
For questions about the zoning ordinance provisions governing these overlays, please contact Zoning Administration at (410) 222-7437.