July has been a hot one with exciting opportunities for our Frederick County businesses.

We are excited to share that on June 28^th we welcomed Quantum Loophole, Inc. (QL) to Frederick County. QL completed the purchase of 2,200 acres of land of what was formerly known as the Alcoa Eastalco site in the Adamstown/Buckeystown area. QL will transform the property over the next 10+ years into a first-of-its-kind environmentally friendly data center campus. The project will get new life as the home of a state-of-the-art data center development and bring high quality employment opportunities from world-renowned businesses to our community. OED is poised to partner with QL to develop this data center site, visit our newly launched Data Center webpage.

As we emerge from COVID, OED’s theme for 2021 is “Going the Distance.” We want to specifically thank those businesses who started, located or expanded in Frederick County during 2020 – 2021. These are the businesses we will focus on in this year’s Business Appreciation Week (BAW) 2021, which will take place the week of October 25^th-29^th. We want to encourage you to visit our webpage to preview the marketing opportunities available to your business and register for this year’s event.

Plan family time at one of our great farms! Summertime means fresh fruit and produce, flowers and ice cream (and more) and Frederick County is bursting with bountiful opportunities. Check out our Homegrown website to plan some farm visits, locate a farmer’s market or learn about fun summer day activities. If you are a member of our farm business community, note that our Agriculture Innovation Grant cycle closes in just a week, so if you have not yet filled out your application for this agriculture value-added grant, take time to do so now.

OED has a great employment opportunity with our Business Retention & Expansion Team! We are hiring a Senior Business Development Manager who will specialize in diversity & inclusion, services & construction industries. If you are interested or know someone who would be a great fit apply today. We look forward to announcing our new team member in September.

OED has partnered with several organizations to provide small business services. Continue to explore, learn and network by attending one of the several upcoming training events. Find a full schedule on our website. This month, you can also learn more about a new tool from Maryland - Project Restore. Restore will provide financial support to Maryland’s small businesses and commercial developers re-occupying or investing in vacant commercial and retail space.

As part of its ongoing support of our business community, Frederick County launched a small business grant program to disburse $2.95M in funds. With strong interest from the community, we received many applications. Our grants team is working to process the applications with the goal of awarding funds later in August.

We hope this summer allows you time to travel and time to recharge with your family and friends, keep up the great work Frederick business community!